New Orleans

I headed to New Orleans early Thursday morning for a conference.  I spent all day at the conference on Thursday.  Thursday evening, I had the pleasure having dinner with a friend who lives in New Orleans, followed by an impromptu tour led by her.  It was great!  I saw Brad and Angelina’s house (although there was nothing really special about it) and also saw a movie being filmed.  Sweet.  Friday morning was more conference festivities, then that afternoon, I had a few hours before my flight, so I strolled around the French Quarter and took the following pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

First, I headed to Jackson Square to see the St. Louis Cathedral.  Here is a view from the fence just outside Jackson square.  There were lots of street vendors here with misc. artwork and horse and donkey drawn carriages available to rent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can’t get to the cathedral without passing by this famous statue of Andrew Jackson (right) or this fountain right in front (left)

 

 

 

 

 

 

From inside the cathedral.  If you know me, you know I’m obsessed with pipe organs (left).  To the right is a view from the back of the church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I left the church and found these creepy babies in a shop in the square.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, I headed to the famous Cafe du Monde for famous beignets and famous cafe au lait.  Mmmmm!  First, I thought I should knock some of the sugar off those, but I learned that you really ought to try to keep every bit of sugar on those things.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found the homeless people hanging out by the river enjoying a song by some other people who may or may not be homeless, but decidedly could NOT sing well.  I finished my coffee, waited for a train to pass, and continued my stroll.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I came across the State Supreme Court building (left) and thought, like many other court houses across the country, it was OK to go in and take a look.  I was met with an airport-style security setup, and they said it was OK for me to come in, so I went through and let Big Brother document my visit with a picture (right).

 

Once inside, it wasn’t all that thrilling.  I got yelled at by a security guard for trying to open a closed door, and I did briefly view the actual Supreme Court room for a minute or two before leaving.  Pros: got to use the restroom and got a cool official looking visitor badge that the security guard let me keep.

I was pretty pooped at that point, and my feet were KILLING me in my dress shoes, so I headed slowly back to the hotel for the airport shuttle to pick me up.  I browsed through some antique shops on the way.  The flight home was uneventful, but the Cruzan rum bar at the airport was pretty alright.  ;-)

Coming soon, one day, I will blog with our snow pics!  Maybe I should save them for a hot summer day.