I really, really wanted to at least see New Orleans. Our timing was not the greatest as the only day we could schedule a trip there was the Saturday of Mardi Gras weekend. (I incorrectly had believed it was a one day event.)
After researching we decided to head to Jackson Square early in the day. We made the 80 mile drive in record time and found a spot to park.
We wandered down the street making our way to Jackson Square. As tradition would dictate, I “needed” a t shirt to commemorate our trip so we slipped into a gift shop where I got this GREAT photo (in addition to a t shirt.)
But we also found out that gift shops were NOT a good idea. Their target audience were people who wanted to be at Mardi Gras at the height of the “excitement”, not people like us. I’m glad I found my t shirt so quickly.
We headed to Jackson Square which was closed but it was lined with all sorts of things . . .
Pirates Alley. There must be something significant about it, but I don’t know what that is.
I thought this guy was original and cool looking. As we kept going, I found out he wasn’t that original, but he was still cool looking!
I really wanted to “experience” beignets at Café du Monde, but so did EVERYONE else.
There was not a seat to be found. So we bought some to go and headed out armed with the tasty treats . . .
and enjoyed each other’s company. It seemed like Leah “might” be warming up to us.
I decided to stop and take a picture of this random sign. I thought it was pretty funny when someone else copied me without even looking at what I took a picture of. (I am amazed at how often this happens.)
We decided to explore the French Market. It wasn’t what I expected. At the front there were some nicer shops but the rest was a food area followed by a cheesy flea market.
There were some really interesting food options, but we had filled ourselves with beignets. (The end result is that we will HAVE to return someday.)
By midday, it began to get more and more crowded . . with folks we wouldn’t normally hang out with. It was time to head home.
As we were heading back to our car, Paul pointed out that Disneyland did a good job with New Orleans Square. Duh! Why hadn’t I put two and two together? Of course it would.
On the way out of town, I spied this statue of Joan of Arc, but I wasn’t sure why it was there. I figure it’s something to research.
On our way out, we saw the traffic heading to where we had been and we felt quite pleased that we had our jaunt early in the day.
We enjoyed the rest of the day in relative peace!
