WALK THE WALK IN NEW ORLEANS

On our second day in New Orleans, we walked into town and caught a Hop on Hop off bus to tour the city and get our bearings. We had a list of things to do in NO so we thought this is a good way to find them. One such place was Cafe du Monde, probably the most famous cafe in NO. We found it easily but there was queue a mile long waiting to get a table. It is a huge cafe and it was full to the brim at 10 o'clock. We watched the chef cooking the renowned Beignets through a viewing window. They are a type of deep fried doughnut. I had never heard of these before let alone tasted them. We were also surprised to learn that this is the only thing on the menu.

 We decided to walk back to the wharf where we had seen another smaller version of Cafe du Monde and we easily found a seat there and so we tried this much sought after dish. Very sweet .

 We jumped on the bus again and went to Congo Square.  It isn't a very impressive square/park today but it has a fascinating history. Before white settlement it was a meeting place for the Houmas Indians. During the French era it was used for the corn harvest celebrations and later it was where enslaved African's gathered and had a market, this continued through the Spanish time. By 1803 the square had become famous for the gathering of African slaves who drummed, danced, sang and traded. The dances that evolved were the Bamboula, Calinda and the Congo. These activities were the start of Mardi Gras, jazz and  rhythm and blues music. The sculptor is A.S. Adenle.

 We walked further down the street to Armstrong Park. This was a lovely park just teeming with sculptures of musicians and other interesting items like the above.

After exploring most of the day by bus or on foot, our friends Kathy and Rob assured us it wasn't far to walk back to the B&B. We walked and walked and it was a long way. Poor old Bill with his dicky ticker found it quite exhausting but he made it.

 I just loved all the different architecture and especially the brightly coloured houses. See below.

Some weren't in such a good state of repair but they still had a charm about them.

Finally we arrived home at the B&B. In the last post I mentioned that we were a bit disappointed and surprised that the host didn't provide tea and coffee making facilities but we found a way around that. There was a microwave available in the lounge and cups and tea bags were in a cupboard used for breakfast. There was a water cooler in the lounge too. So we microwaved a cup of water and used a breakfast teabag and milk which we found in the little fridge.

Apart from that it was a comfortable and beautiful home. In the hallway above the doorway there was a historic 80 pound head dress made of satin, rhinestones, mirrors and feathers. It was worn by a former owner of the house when he ruled as King of the Krewe of Endymion.

 The house was built in 1850's for a French Creole Family. It was a boarding house in World War 11 and later it was a school.

The previous owner was artist Stuart Auld. The tree murals were painted by Auld.
There are over a dozen Sweet Olive Trees on the property hence the name Auld Sweet Olive B&B

 Bill rests in the lounge before we have to walk again to a restaurant for dinner. After this photo I turned around and snapped the other end of the lounge.(below)

It was huge. This is where we had breakfast and the tree trimming party the night before.

 Kathy and I caught up with emails and blogging, Kathy could blog but I had problems.

After we walked again a few blocks to a restaurant we finally fell into bed. It was an interesting day. But we were looking forward to tomorrow as we had booked a photo safari through the French Quarter. (next post) Bill shuddered at the thought of walking into town again and then walking for 3 hours on the photo safari. He nearly bailed out but he wanted to learn more about photography so he agreed to come but he would get a taxi to town.