The Big Easy

New Orleans, as someone there said, has character. They were gearing up for Mardi Gras, although it doesn't appear that they need a reason to party. We walked the French Quarter after a parade the night before - what a mess! It definitely is a "party place" all day and all night.

We did our first cruise on the "Big Muddy" on a steam powered sternwheeler. What a great time we had complete with delicious creole lunch!

Of course a visit must include cafe au lait and beignets at Cafe de Monde, so we enjoyed that treat one morning. Also visited the French Market which turned out to be a flea market of the usual "stuff". Walked lots of streets in the French Quarter.
We were not expecting it to be quite so dirty, even after a clean up from the parade. Many of the buildings are in disrepair and oh my goodness, watch where you walk on the sidewalks that are full of holes and loose slate pieces. They clean the interiors of the bars and restaurants by washing them out with hoses and lots of water mid-morning, ready for another day.

New Orleans is known for its street entertainers and they are everywhere doing many different things. Of course they all want a tip and one could spend a lot of money tipping all of them!
We saw many versions of this man, jazz players, magicians, street dancers, guitar players, and artists to name a few. It was fun to watch them.

Ralph went to the WW II Museum, while Pam walked in the French Quarter and found a street called Pirates Alley that was her favorite place in the French Quarter.

For a change, it was very warm, more like HOT, and humidity to match - they broke records! Usually we are breaking the "cold" records, so a pleasant change.

We stayed in a park on the north side of Lake Pontchartrain and drove the 24 mile causeway over the lake - worlds longest bridge! It is quite the bridge with its own police force.

We enjoyed our visit here, but time to move on down the road!