we hunkered down in the park, and after the worst of the storms had passed, which actually we avoided the worst winds and rain and the tornado warning was just that, a warning, we decided to forge our way to the big easy, slowly and cautiously.
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| hunkering down watching the storm |
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| driving north towards NOLA--according to our gps, it looks like we're driving on water |
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| the Mighty Mississippi |
with only a few bouts of rain along the way, we made it unscathed by about 5pm...we settled into the KOA West, one of the closest campgrounds to the French Quarter and downtown NOLA. their prices were very reasonable, you meet some nice folks to share stories with and a BIG plus is the campground offers a free shuttle service to/from downtown. how convenient for us...
Thursday we took them up on the free shuttle and had a SPLENDID day in town, with the shuttle taking us through the garden district by all the lovely plantation style homes, Loyola and Tulane Universities and bohemian touches at almost every corner then dropping us off at the waterfront of the French Quarter. we walked through the financial/warehouse district and all of the French Quarter. it was so much fun to just walk and see what downtown NOLA is all about. we started our morning at the ever famous 'Cafe du Monde' ordering fresh beignets (small french donuts covered with powdered sugar--yummy!!) there is indeed a residential district in the French Quarter, but there is also the very touristy section with clothing shops, toy stores, gentleman's clubs, adult shops, trinket shops, restaurants everywhere and the 'walk up and order bar'-so very fun we just had to place an order. it is not illegal to walk the streets of NOLA with a drink in hand, so different from any other city we've ever been too. we ordered a 'hurricane' (a rum-based punch drink) and continued walking and looking.
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| our 1st photo of the French Quarter--Jackson Square in NOLA-almost looks like Disneyland! |
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| our morning beignet stop--the world famous |
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| most of the employees were Asian |
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| Buddy with our server |
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| our beignets, NOLA style |
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| Praline's from a shop window--we passed on these |
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| beautiful wrought iron and flowering plants |
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| entering the downtown French Market |
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| the spirit of the musical city |
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| a corner pub |
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| the one and only Bourbon Street! |
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| Lafitte's Blacksmith's Shop turned bar on Bourbon St. |
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| just tie 'er up |
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| entrance to Louis Armstrong Park |
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| ready for patrons at 11am |
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| NOLA style |
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| Bourbon Street |
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| home of jazz |
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| in the square where you can eat from any number of food providers |
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| ordering a Hurricane on the street! |
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| Canal St cable cars |
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| a quaint entrance to a hotel in the French Quarter |
after strolling around all day, late in the afternoon we met up with an old friend of Aly's, Julie, where the friendship goes all the way back to Burundi days. we were taken to lunch by Julie and her mom, Sue, (thank you both soooo much!!) to the iconic 'Mother's' restaurant. the food was so-so southern fair, with Buddy ordering a seafood gumbo which he gave a 2+ and Aly ordering a grilled shrimp salad which was quite tasty. the reunion with Julie and her mom was the highlight of our lunch. thanks again you two.
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| Aly, Julie and Sue outside of Mother's Restaurant |
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| a very eclectic group |
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| more excellent street music |
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| art for sale |
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| a tourist riverboat |
Friday was the day we chose to ride the MRT (Mississippi River Trail) and what a great day we had. after morning coffee with Julie, we took to the levee riding 33 miles round trip following a wonderful bike path along the river which then turned into road riding throughout the city. despite being downtown (and uptown) we found riding in NOLA was fairly bike friendly and easy to get around. spending more time in and around the French Quarter, we found a yummy crab cake Po-boy lunch break and more live music, more side walk art and people watching before heading back to the campground.
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| our delicious crab cake Po-boy on whole wheat with grilled veggies! |
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| Buddy on Bourbon St. |
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| more beautiful flowers and wrought iron |
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| I asked her what she was painted blue for and she said that she is a Hindu Goddess for Peace |
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| more street art |
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| people everywhere |
the bike ride out was much more eventful than the ride in...just as we reached the levee, with about 10 miles till reaching the campground, Aly get's a flat. we had a patch kit and pump, but due to the severity of the flat (the stem completely separated from the tube), we really needed a new tube...our only option in getting home was walking, so we headed down the trail. a local levee patrol policeman, Mike, came by and asked us if we were having troubles. we told him of our flat and off he drove. about 5 minutes later he returned with a tube in hand explaining that as he patrols this levee often, he knows many of the local riders and another Mike just happened to be unloading his bike to ride just a few miles up the trail at a local bike/ride stop. talk about luck. Buddy put in the new tube and off we flew, just in time to meet up with both Mikes to personally thank them and offer to pay for the tube and their assistance. neither would take any payment, so a definite 'pay it forward' is looming in our future.
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| Buddy, Aly and our lifesaver Mike |
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| Mike, Aly and Mike--very friendly and helpful southern people |
just after that little mishap, Buddy noticed his rear tire was making a funny noise and we looked down and saw that the tread was separating from the tire...i'm telling you, don't forget to change your tires before you go on a riding vacation! we were able to limp the 10 miles back to the campground and decided to make a bike shop for new tires a 1st stop for our Saturday morning.
Sat am we did just that, leaving the campground, we headed to Bicycle World of Louisiana for 3 new tires--we've gotten quite a few miles out of our old tires, but with such hot summers and all last year of our road bikes hanging and not being ridden, it was time. Buddy already had 1 new tire, so we only needed 3. the sales guy was very nice and we had tires and tubes in hand and were out the door in less than 30 minutes.
the 2nd stop along our way out of NOLA was at the Buttermilk Drop Bakery, where the owner is the one who starred in the 2012 movie 'Beasts of the Southern Wild'...we felt obliged to stop--plus we heard that the buttermilk drops are tasty! we found the bakery in an old part of town and the drops lived up to their reputation...
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| Buttermilk Drop Bakery |
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| inside the bakery |
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| looking back at NOLA from the bridge |
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| 'The Causeway'...the longest bridge in the world |
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