Bright and early (ok...it was still dark) we hit the road for a long weekend in New Orleans with Morgan's friend and her mom. We pulled into town early afternoon and went straight for some food. Liuzza's by the Track was recommended.
I split a BBQ shrimp with Morgan. Even halving that thing, there were still a few shrimp left on the plate. Absolutely delicious. The bread was perfect!
Then we cruised over to New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) to take advantage of one of the best deals in town. Every Wednesday admission is free.
NOMA has such an amazing collection.
We loved this giant sparkly Warhol
Yes. I made her take a picture by the Picasso
This one reminded me of New Mexico
Another Picasso
A bust of Degas, with one of his paintings just over his shoulder
Monet
This piece made me giggle. It was titled The Domestic Life of a Rainbow
Faberge Egg
Incredible blown glass octopus
Pictures of the aftermath of Katrina. Sobering, yet beautiful
I was particularly struck by the fan blades
From NOMA we went to check into our hotel. Then we quickly freshened up and headed out into the Quarter to catch a show at Preservation Hall. We were treated to a performance by the Storyville Stringband. While it wasn't the jazz/brass sound I was hoping for, we still really enjoyed them.
Thanksgiving morning we went down to Cafe du Monde for some breakfast. Beignets and cafe au lait. Perfect
Then we headed out to the race track for opening day and some fabulous hat spotting.
His fedora was sewn paper. Pretty smooth
Yes, that is a cornucopia
The Bayou Classic is held the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We were able to catch the parade early Thursday evening and got to see 10 great marching bands, a couple floats, and catch a few beads.
Once the parade was over, we hopped in the car and headed over to Rock 'n' Bowl for a healthy dose of bowling and live zydeco. Loved it.
Friday morning we wandered the Quarter looking for food and ran across these guys and had to stop for a listen. I'm loving the suitcase turned drum.
The band's name is the Fauxbarrio Billionaires.
We then caught the streetcar out to the Garden District
And snapped some pics outside Lafayette Cemetery
Unfortunately the gates were locked, so we strolled the neighborhood while we waited for our lunch reservations at Commander's Palace.
Of course, lunch was amazing. I got the soup sampler to start. The gumbo was decent, the sweet potato soup was suprisingly good as I don't care for squash/sweet potato, and the turtle soup was just as wonderful as I remembered. Of course I finished with the bread pudding.
Morgan with her birthday hat.
Our waitress gave them all balloons on our way out.
And we strolled on down to Magazine Street for some window shopping
It was starting to get late, so we grabbed some snowballs (snowcones) and caught a ride on the streetcar back to the French Quarter. This guy was there to greet us when we got off the streetcar.
Walking down Royal, we ran into Nathan. Nathan is a missionary we had met the previous night, singing gospel and Christmas tunes. He sang Happy Birthday to Morgan, and then got them to all chime in with him on Lean on Me
After getting Belinda and the girls settled into the hotel, I went out to meet an old high school friend who lives outside New Orleans. We caught up with each other on Frenchmen Street and ended up at Maison, where the Pinnettes were playing. Love, love, love these girls and the energy they bring into a room.
Saturday it rained off and on most of the day, so I didn't take my camera out much. Highlight is probably lunch at the Camellia Grill.
Some more pictures from our wanders around the Quarter. I'm loving the Christmas decorations.
Our last stop before heading home Sunday was St Louis no. #3
I'm already planning our next trip. Love this city.
