Down in the Swamps and City Park

Here it is: the last New Orleans post. This has taken me embarrassingly-long to get around to finishing. Oh well.

Our favorite part of this trip was when we actually left New Orleans and drove south about 30 minutes to the Jean Lafitte National Park.

Crossing the Mississippi aways seems so monumental.

From the visitors center, there are several trails to choose from. Most of them meander through the swamps with these boardwalks, which put us just inches over the wild. We never saw any alligators, but not because we weren't anxiously keeping our eyes out for them. We saw some fresh tracks through the murky areas, and a few suspicious splashes in the distance, but mostly it was just a steady hum of insects, birds, frogs... it was surprisingly noisy.
Walking through so many cypress trees dripping with the moss was beautiful.

We walked for a couple of miles before turning around. On our way back we were horrified to realize that in all of that time we'd spent scanning the swamp below for danger, we had missed the humongous spiders in webs spun across the boardwalk, just over our heads. They were frighteningly large.

Eventually I'll get around to posting more about all of the crafting I did in preparation for our trip over on my blog; but for now, here's a shot of the dress I made for the trip.

One of the mornings we drove up to City Park. Let's just say that nothing in New Orleans opens before 10 am, including park attractions. But we had a nice time admiring the ancient oaks an meeting some overly-eager ducks.

They all came waddling at us with surprising speed.

This one was especially bold.

These Canadian Geese apparently have decided to hang around all the time. It was neat to see some up close.

The history of the place seemed to be the most dominant theme in New Orleans, everywhere we went. As if the city is clinging to a bygone era. What a great opportunity to get just the smallest taste of it for a few days. I'm glad we went.

Uptown to the Zoo

While walking the French Quarter was a lot of fun, taking the St Charles streetcar Uptown was even better. The breeze through the open windows was almost refreshing, and sitting back and watching was a great alternative to all of that walking.
The streetcar went along with traffic, so there was a lot of stopping and going. We had to hold on tight.

This streetcar was an antique. It was neat to watch the operator pull the different levers.

And then we stopped at a corner and the operator hopped out and stepped into a corner market. He was gone for a good 10 minutes, without giving a word of warning.

Then he came back. With his lunch. And we kept on going.

The line went though the Garden District, where this was the average home. Gorgeous.

Liam took a snooze on the way.

We got off at Audobon Park and walked the mile to the zoo. They have a "shuttle", which is really just a small SUV that can only take 4 people at a time... There were others, so we walked.

We're glad we did. This park was beautiful. Full of these amazing trees.

Liam was really happy to get to the zoo. It had been 6 months since our San Diego Zoo trip. He enjoyed it then, but he seems to be old enough now to really get excited about the animals.

Here he is, pointing out our first stop.

Growing up with the San Diego Zoo as my standard, I guess some may call me a zoo snob. I was so impressed with this zoo. It was beautiful: lots of bronze scultpures, incredible landscaping, gorgeous fountains, and, most important of all, great animal exhibits.

Liam thought this little elephant was just his size.

Getting to touch the real elephant was a little scary for him, but he smiled when he felt the elephants bristly skin.

It was such a hot day that most of the animals were napping, but a few were still out and about. It was so much fun to see Liam eagerly look for animals in each enclosure.

But it was sure a hot day to be outside in the sun.

The reptile house seemed to be one of Liam's favorites. Besides the fact that it was dimly lit and air conditioned, it was full of snakes, lizards, and turtles. Liam really enjoyed looking and finding the creatures in each tank... I'm afraid he may be one of those boys.

Because we're in Louisiana, here is an alligator:

And because we're in New Orleans, well...

He thought this was realy funny. Being a seal.

And then he tried to climb through it...

He wasn't so sure about touching the snake. They're definitely better behind glass. That's right.

Meeting some goats in the petting zoo.

He felt safer petting the sheep behind the fence.

And because we were roasting hot (have I mentioned that yet?) some sorbet was definitely in order. It was too much of a cold shock for Liam at first.

But he settled into it just fine.

In the French Quarter - part 2

We spent the majority of our time walking up and down the French Quarter. It was hot hot hot, but with our water bottles handy and some smears of sunscreen, we were good. We just got used to being constantly sweaty (and a bit stinky, too).

Here we are in that yarn shop, where they offered to wind my yarn for me. It was a lot of fun to actually see a swift in action, and the lady said she's heard of woodworking patterns for making your own. I think that would make an excellent gift (*hint hint* Gabriel).

As much fun as it was to see the different architecture and eclectic assortment of shops, perhaps the best part was actually watching all of the different people. We never knew what we'd find.

Like these people who, apparently, just got married and were out for a stroll.

Or this lady. In front of the St Louis Cathedral.

Right after I snapped her picture, she looked right at me and then began walking straight at me.

Gulp.

Her: You know what?

Me: Just stares dumbfounded and speechless

Her: I went in for communion, and when it was my turn, the priest said "Not for you today" (she says this as if she were impersonating Gollum, while recoiling her body around the forbidden -and imagined- chalice)


Me: Wow.


Her: It must be the way I am dressed. He was totally judging me. And I didn't even take the balloon in with me (Refer to the phallic balloon above. Point taken.) How did he know I wasn't a Messenger or something?


Me: Umm... Well, I think you have to be baptized in the Catholic church to take Communion.


Her: I am. From when I was a baby. I told him and all he said was "Not for you today" (assumes Gollum impression again).


Me: Geez. I'm really sorry.


And then she walked away. At least she wasn't mad that I took her picture...

Here's the St Louis Cathedral, where, apparently, Gollum is the priest.

It was gorgeous inside.

Just in front of the cathedral is Jackson square. And bananas grow there, too.

These horse/mule-drawn carriages were all over the Quarter.

And we couldn't spend time in the French Quarter without a stop at the famous Cafe du Monde for beignets (we passed on their equally famous chicory coffee - bleh).

It seemed that everyone else made the obligatory Cafe du Monde stop at the same time as us. It was packed. While waiting in line, this dragonfly landed on the lady in front of me. It stayed there for a few minutes. She never noticed.

While we waited, Gabriel and Liam watched them making the beignets through the window.

In the French Quarter - part 1

Being in New Orleans was like being in another place, literally. Walking down Canal Street could have been downtown San Diego (+ 30 degrees F), and the French Quarter could have been old world Europe. The streets were narrow and lined with historic buildings just brimming with ornate iron work and lush tropical plantings. Of course Bourbon Street had more than its fair share of bars, but there were also restaurants aplenty (more on that later), curio shops, antiques and junque shops, and a great little needlework shop, where I snagged 2 skeins of alpaca yarn...

Our hotel was one corner out of the Quarter, on Frenchmen Street, and was called The Frenchmen Hotel, of course. It was built in 1860 and had lots of charm, including a courtyard pool.

And like any charming hotel built in 1860, the rooms were more hobbit-sized.

And because travelers in the 1860s didn't bring along pack n' plays to put their child into the extra small closet, ours had to sleep in the shower.

But the beautiful pool more than made up for the room's diminutive size.

Liam especially thought so.