New Orleans

We made our first trip to New Orleans last Saturday, although the following Tuesday we had plans to go with a group here from the RV Park, Mitch, my man of steel, couldn’t wait. If you recall in my last post about the rust on the truck, and how we bought tools to work on Willy you know where I am going with this.  Mitch was sanding, forgetting the all important eye protective gear and later that day, he felt discomfort in his left eye. Initially, it wasn’t too bothersome and he forgot about it, until the next evening when he couldn’t ignore the pain any longer and asked me to look at his eye.  The second I shined the flash light on his eye, there it was, a little tan colored dot next to his pupil. No matter how much he tried to flush it out, it was still there.  By this time it was Friday night, what eye clinic will be open on a Saturday? Oh no.  Thankfully we found a place called EyeCare Associates, they’re open on Saturdays and could take him in.  Dr. Sumich was able to put numbing drops in Mitch’s eye, used a needle and pick out the little shard of metal from his eyeball in about 5 minutes. 

We were sweating bullets about how much the visit would cost, but  thankfully when we went to pay to the bill it was less than any of us had imagined.

Bay Saint Louis has a monthly event called Second Saturday; all the merchants in Old Town Bay Saint Louis from 4-8pm have snacks, little glasses of wine, eggnog (for the holidays), margarita’s and such, all free for shoppers. Seriously, you can walk around with drinks from shop to shop getting all these free goodies.  We had such a great time, and then met a group from the RV Park for dinner at Trapani’s in Bay Saint Louis, right down the street, (I recommend the shrimp scampi).  It was a great evening, and definitely a new experience for us in the shopping world.

Our trip on Tuesday to New Orleans and the French Quarter was wonderful.  I even wore a hat for the special occasion and got a round of applause from the RV crowd when I showed off my outfit for the day, I think everyone thought I only had sweats and slippers until that moment.

Our first stop when we arrived was Café Du Monde, the original French Market Coffee Stand since 1862.  It was so busy, and it was only a Tuesday!

One thing to consider if you decide to go here when visiting, is use the restroom before you arrive.  They only have two restrooms and papa and I spent at least 15 minutes in line when we arrived, plus they are located right next to the work station and in the back where they are doing dishes.  You end up standing right in the way of the workers as they are flying by you trays full of coffee and beignets.  To put it in perspective though, as one of the ladies in the group said, “just be glad they have indoor plumbing”!

I really enjoyed my first beignet, it was a delightful yummy surprise, the powdered sugar ends up all over your face, clothes and hair and is just part of the experience.

My second one was even yummier because by that time I had relaxed a little from the fiasco of waiting for the restroom.  We all moseyed along though all the shops, so many shops, and the farmers market for hours and still didn’t see everything they have to offer in the French Quarter.

Some of the shops are odd little novelties, specializing in voodoo and they prohibit you from taking pictures.

They also have people in front of the Catholic Church at Jackson Square that will predict your future and read your palm too. We walked a little faster past those booths and just enjoying listening to the musicians along the way.

One group that was playing invited me to come sit with them and get a picture.  I ended up buying their CD, the Jackson Square All Stars.

We also walked down Bourbon Street; we had to walk a couple blocks down when we got to the street sign to get a picture of it because some of the Bourbon Street signs had been stolen.

We had lunch at Café Maspero’s, and I experienced true Jambalaya, the rice was too soft but the flavor was good, and I would have liked to have more shrimp.

Papa got the shrimp plate and I kept sneaking bites from his plate.  Mitch got a Muffaletta; which is Ham, salami, and pastrami piled high on a seeded Italian roll topped with melted Swiss cheese and an olive salad. It is a massive meat sandwich, but Mitch said the olive salad overpowered the rest of the meal.

As we headed out from the parking lot, knowing it would cost more than a few dollars to park, (since it was near the French Quarter) we were all taken aback when the girl with blue hair in the booth said $18.00.

We listened to the newly purchased CD all the way home, and it’s definitely the sounds of New Orleans.  There is nothing like music to ignite and invoke a feeling of a time in ones life or an experience and take you right back to it.  I look forward to listening to it later in life to remind me of the great day we had.