The Second day of New Orleans was even better, we took a trolley to the French Quarter and had a fantastic tour from David the https://www.facebook.com/NolaTourGuy/
We started at the cannon with the view of St Louis Church
and learned amazing history how New Orlean was a vital port in the war of 1812, the sad past of history (but astonishing future), and the VooDoo religion. Jazz music was playing everywhere, all you had to do was listen, and of course you had to swing by the iconic Café De Monde for Beignets.
Be aware, the line is over 30 minutes long, you may want to visit the mall for a shorter line.
We heard about pirates and the wealthy. An interesting note is that Nicholas Cage has a tomb waiting for him in the cemetery.
and the iconic tomb shown on easy rider was filmed here, but of course I was not allowed to climb up to the face.
After creeping around the crypts, we needed to eat, so we headed to Bourbon Street and Hard Rock café. On the way there we passed a favorite photo spot on Bourbon and St Louis Streets.
I have been told that going to Hard Rock is a sellout, but I have found that in cities that you first visit, it’s a great place to see local flair, and many of the well known tour spots. This is the case in New Orleans, it’s a happening place with a lot of rock and roll history.
That is was also the case when I have been to Amsterdam, Singapore, and the Cayman Islands.
We had a wonderful time, and finished our walk with standard stops at tourist traps. In one of the t-shirt shops, I saw the Elephant god,
I tipped Ganesha, and in doing so my drink fell tipped out of my hand, when I leaned over to pick up the ice, Gansha, had blessed me with a quarter for the penny that I had given.
I love elephants and we have seen elephants everywhere.
When we walked by a candy store, the wafting fragrance of pralines was over whelming and I had to give in to the erg. Luck was with us again when I received a “wheat” penny as change. I love wheat penny’s they hold so much history and they are all older then me. I am still shocked when I find them in circulation.
My initials are PJ, so when I found the PJ’s coffee, you know I had to stop.
On the way home we caught the same trolley that we took to the French Quarter in the morning.
We tried to take a new way to the hotel, but the trolleys were stuffed full and we ended up walking back to the hotel for the snack.
All in all, it was a great day of touring and we created memories forever, but the trip is not over yet. The next day is the WWII museum.
New Orleans is a great spring break location