Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Let the good times roll as the French might say so indeed we did and went back to New Orleans, this time through Slidell. We parked on the edge of the French Quarter and enjoyed a morning stroll looking at the old homes on Esplanade.

We noticed the streets were being cleaned to start the day and I wondered if they worked all night! They were using a powerwasher attached to the black cart that drove alongside.



Nearby the crawfish were already boiling. It seemed a bit early to me but it was 10 am and they did look good.









We wandered through the French Market, the oldest open-air market in the country, supposedly. It began as a Choctaw trading post and now includes a farmers' market, flea market, gift shops, etc. but perhaps the best known spot is the Cafe du Monde where you can't resist beignets and chicory coffee! So we didn't!

We looked at boas in the French Market but I insist on catching one sooner or later. They just seem to throw these things to younger women!

Then we began our 1 1/2 hour walk throughout the French Quarter admiring the Mardi Gras decorations.

Other people chose a tourguide but they perhaps weren't trying to walk off beignets.

You just can't get enough of the Spanish architecture in the French Quarter and many homes really went all out decorating for Mardi Gras.


Can you Hot Springs folks remember where you have seen advertising similar to this?


We walked and walked looking at old buildings and passing Pat O'Briens, which we wished were open so we could have a Hurricane. We wished we weren't too full to eat the breakfast buffet at the Court of the 2 Sisters. Often we just stoppe to rest on the street corner.

Green, gold, and purple are the traditional Mardi Gras colors and pinks seems to be a favorite house color.

I always seem to find myself going back to Jackson Square and the St. Louis Cathedral.

Jackson Square is surrounded by street artists selling their art or at least hoping too. Musicians and mimes help complete the picture.


I don't know where else one would see so much purple. Even this double shotgun house did not escape. It's style is typical of many of the homes in the area although most are not so colorful. But colorful seems to be what New Orleans is about.



After exploring the French Market we took a driving tour of the Garden District, an area of fabulous older homes a bit further west. With the trees budding and the azaleas blooming it seemed a most appropriate name.


As we drove north to the causeway across Pontchartrain I noticed this shotgun house that sent a typical message.