THE CRESCENT CITY.....THE BIG EASY

Pam had not been to New Orleans before so I was looking forward to our visit and "showing her the town".....I knew she would love it....well, most of it anyway!   We parked near the French Quarter Visitor Center for the day and began walking the city.   One of the first places you come to from this part of the city is Saint Louis Cathedral.....it is a gorgeous place just behind Jackson Square....the park where street artists ply their artwork and where horse and buggy tours of the French Quarter all start.

St Louis Cathedral

This time of year offered up a bonus as many parts of New Orleans were getting "decked out" for Mardi Gras.   The gorgeous balconies were being decorated as were many of the older buildings and doors and windows of homes as well.   Here are a few examples of what we saw around the city.....

A very attractive Mardi Gras wreath with the festivals colors of purple, gold and green....with a very decorative mask.   And as you can see, the windows were wrapped with Mardi Gras garland.

                                 This store offered all manner of Mardi Gras masks.

Cafe Beignet is one of the two most famous beignet restaurants in the city.   The other is the Cafe du Monde.    Rather than stand in the very long line at du Monde, we headed over to Royal Street and enjoyed a cajun breakfast, followed by beignets in an outdoor courtyard.  Good Stuff!

Many street musicians were out and about on this gorgeous Sunday afternoon.   These guys ....the Smoking Time Jazz Club...offered up some foot stomping zydeco & jazz stuff....we liked it well enough to purchase one of their CD's.

These two ladies....Tanya on the fiddle and Dorise on the guitar played all kinds of music....from new age to Cajun to classical to their own interpretive stuff....they were excellent and we bought one of their CD's as well.

This is the kind of thing you see all over the French Quarter in New Orleans...especially on Royal Street...one block over from the more famous (or infamous) Bourbon Street.   Speaking of Bourbon Street.....it might be more aptly named The Big "Sleazy" (as opposed to Easy) as the street has really been taken over by  "jiggle joints" and other less than desirable spots....mostly for the Spring Break crowds of young people...

Here is one "gent" in a tu-tu"
attempting to drum up business for one of the joints.

 

These signs speak for themselves.

I'm sure this Bourbon Street couple are working their way through college!     'nuff said on this subject except that fortunately virtually all this type of activity has not spread beyond Bourbon Street.....

Here's Pam at the corner of Bourbon and St Ann streets.  After a quick look at Bourbon she (me too) was anxious to head back over to Royal Street, where the more traditional offerings of The Big Easy were still evident.

Part II of New Orleans will show some of the beautiful ironwork in the city.......