New Orleans

I’ve been so busy lately and it has been evident in my lack of recent posts! I do apologize, but being busy is normally a good thing, and for me it has been.

Craig and I spent the Labor day weekend in the great city of New Orleans. I think one thing that makes New Orleans so special is the fact that it’s always so different on each trip. Not just in the changing galleries or boutiques or events, but also in the type of crowd, the different musicians and peddlers in the street, the experiences. The fire in the gas lanterns seem to flicker less, the wood on the doors crack deeper, the paint chip more freely. Not that the city is falling apart, we all know the Hell it's been through, but that it's aging with character, like the deep wrinkles around the eyes of a woman who has known many loves.

But you know what my second favorite thing to do in New Orleans is?


To get lost.
That’s after eating, of course.


We spent a day walking through the grid-lined streets of the French Quarter with absolutely no particular destination in mind. We admired the art in galleries and vintage furniture in antique shops. Craig pointed out a chandelier in the French Antique Shop Co. for $400,000!

I real beaut, but geez you’d need a mortgage for that. We dined in the famous Court of Two Sisters, where the table-side bananas foster was the best I’ve ever had, but the table-side cooking show wasn't that impressive.


 Preservation Hall was incredible!

What I love so much about the Hall is that it still has that feel of antiquity. The lights are a dim orange, the cork-board walls weathered with age and the brass instruments gleam on rickety wooden chairs. The jazz musicians tap their feet to the beats, and during the solo of one, the others nod in enchantment . I remember these things as if they happened in sepia, like the brown-washed picture in my mind of the singer standing to belt out a tune that was a little off-tune. He was fantastic.

If you’re ever in New Orleans for a couple of days you have to take a day to venture just a short drive west and visit the Oak Alley Plantation.

the breathtaking view from the veranda

The two-story Greek revival house rests among 600 acres of sugar cane. Twenty eight live oaks line the cobblestone driveway in perfect symmetry from the front door to the iron gate, separating the manicured grass from the slight hill that protects the land from the mighty Mississippi river. Take a house tour given by a Southern belle, historically dressed, and enjoy a mint julep on the second floor veranda, where the view of the driveway is absolutely stunning. The early morning or evening hours are the best times to go for photographs, as the light pours in at different angles and the sun paints the sky in magical hues. If you experience a surge of serenity and don’t feel the need to leave, you don’t necessarily have to –the house is also a Bed and Breakfast, and you might get lucky and snag a room!

Monday we ventured into the Louisiana bayou and took a swamp tour with Cajun Adventures. We had a choice of three boats – two covered and one uncovered – and chose the uncovered one for the better view. All three boats were full! The swamp business is booming this year!

We came across several alligators, ranging in age and length (they grow about a foot a year) from tiny babies to large seven-footers. Our Captain, Bishop, who had an intense (and sexy) Cajun accent, threw marshmallows out to the gators to bait them towards the boat (the effervescence attracts them) and then fed them hotdogs from a stick only about two feet long. The gators would stick their tails straight up, as if for leverage, and then lunge half of their body length out of the water for the small snack. It was thrilling to be so close to an alligator in feeding action. Craig was sitting against the side of the boat and could reach down and grab their tails!

"Jimmy" doing a trick

They were cute, with their individual personalities and seemingly playful nature. Of course, these gators are in protected waters and are used to being fed, but it was both educating and entertaining. Besides, any ride on a boat and I’m a happy girl!

That’s all for now!