Day 10: New Orleans, Baby

Food, sightseeing, the Mississippi River, art, food, voodoo, food, Bourbon Street, music, and drinks. It was a fun day.

Here, women call you baby, as in "Here you go, baby," or "Get you some napkins over there, baby," the way some waitresses in other places still might say "hon." It's kind of cute.

Republicans used to chant "drill, baby, drill" for no good reason at political rallies, and I once saw Rachel Maddow say that the reason they started saying that was that Michael Steele, who was then head of the Republican National Committee, liked to say "baby" a lot. So that makes me wonder if Michael Steele is from around here, although I don't care enough to look it up. Still, "drill, baby, drill" and New Orleans are linked in my mind from now on.

We started with breakfast in the hotel, which included boudin cakes for me, because I never had those before. Turns out they are sausage and rice and made for a good breakfast.

Next, we walked over to Jackson Square, which is named after Andrew Jackson, and has a statue of him in the middle of the square. From there I walked a couple of blocks to the edge of the Mississippi River, then Jackie and I bought a picture from a woman selling her art in the square.

Next, we walked to Johnny's Po' Boys (get you some napkins over there, baby) for a shrimp po' boy, a big sandwich that even I couldn't finish in one sitting. I didn't tell Jackie about the mouse I saw run across the floor at Johnny's until we were several blocks away. Good sandwich though.

We spent most of the afternoon in our room, resting and avoiding the heat, which was in the high nineties, with humidity.

Next, we visited a voodoo store. Voodoo is a big deal in New Orleans, along with vampires, and it seemed like a good opportunity for some souvenirs. Then one more New Orleans meal, fried catfish, oysters, and shrimp. Tomorrow morning, Jackie wants beignets for breakfast, and that will round out our local food experience.

We ended the day by walking down part of Bourbon Street, which was crowded tonight and got busier as it got later. They close it off from traffic so that it is a pedestrian area at night. Then we stopped in the bar attached to our hotel and listened to music while we had drinks. All in all, it was the kind of day we wanted.

New Orleans is an old town, with its own architecture, narrow streets, and small shops, reminiscent of some European cities. Tomorrow we leave, but this has been a good stop.