NEW ORLEANS DECORATIVE IRONWORK

One of the many elaborate wrought iron balconies in the French Quarter.

Here are a few other examples....

Most buildings in the French Quarter are no more than three stories high and date to the early 1800's.

The iron work balconies are a work of art....and there are many of them.    Here are closeup views of a few...

All are extremely ornate....some have a subtle quality while others make a bolder statement.

And this time of year the Mardi Gras decorations provide a colorful dress to the architecture.

New Orleans is a city that has much to offer and is steeped in history....not to mention the impact the hurricanes have had on this below sea level city. The New Orleans area has been hit by over 50 of the more than 275 hurricanes that have made landfall in the US since records began in 1851.   We did learn that the city has more than 100,000 fewer residents following Katrina....those folks moved away and did not come back.

Despite such adversity, New Orleans is the perfect place for Mardi Gras celebrations....as they like to say here...."laissez le bon temps rouler"!

Note:   We move on from our stay in Louisiana in a couple of days.   A stop in Houston for a day or so and then a quick "tour" of South Padre Island and the Rio Grande Valley before settling in to Fredericksburg, in the Texas Hill Country for the month of March.  Somewhere soon along the way I hope to get up a last blog about Louisiana's River Plantations.....fingers crossed as we will be on the road from the 19th to the 28th.