New Orleans

Texas Adventure | home

New Orleans

Monday 6th Jan

Up early monday and our wonderful hostess with the mostest drops us off at Houston Hobby airport to catch our flight to New Orleans, we have a pleasant flight and about an hour later we are touching down at New Orleans airport. We catch the airport shuttle bus into the city and it drops us off at The Holiday Inn on Royal. It is Donna's idea for us to stay in the french quarter and not in the garden district as we had originally planned. Although it is marginally more expensive to stay in the french quarter it has its advantages, for instance if you are walking round the town and get tired your hotel is always handy for you to pop back to for a nap. At night time you do not have to worry about catching a tram or taxi to get back to your Hotel.

We check in unpack then set off for a wander round the city, feeling peckish we drop in a cafe for a snack to keep us going until dinner time, this is where we encounter the local dialect. Linda orders fried chicken and the girl behind the counter ask her if she wants "side orders" it takes about 5 seconds for her to say side orders, they sure are laid back in New Orleans (sorry Nawlins) We walk down Canal Street (not a canal in sight) every other shop seems to be selling cameras and electrical goods.

That evening we dine in Fridays, the restaurant is attached to the Holiday Inn and the fare is good. Linda is not feeling too hungary and has the soup of the day and a ceaser salad, I plump for the Friday Shrimps it is a good choice they are delicious. Finish off the evening down Bourbon Street, now to be honest It is not like I imagined it to be, I think it is a little tacky. It certainly is very busy and very noisy although I expected it to be all jazz music I find they cater to all tastes from heavy rock to country. And so these two tired travellers wend their weary way back to The Holiday Inn and up them wooden hills to bed. (glad we took Donna's advice on Hotels)

Tuesday 7th Jan

Walk down to the Riverside for our first close up view of The Big Muddy, very impressive, the river is a hive of activity with barges and ocean going ships sailing up and down the waterway. Feeling peckish we head for Johnny Po-Boy's for breakfast, I wonder if this is the one mentioned in John Grisham's "The Runaway Jury" (I was reading this whilst on holiday) After breakfast we head for The Aquarium on Riverside Walk, if you ever get to New Orleans this is a must, very interesting place. (full of fish and things) :-) We came out the Aquarium and saw a New Orleans walking Jazz Band. I did not mention before but I took my trusty Fuji digital camera with us on the Texas trip, could I get it to work ? could I hell as like. I had used it the week before at Lou's Do and took approx 70 to 80 pictures no problem. I bought two new 64 meg smart cards to cover the whole trip so I knew that was not the problem, but what ever I did the error message kept coming up "error card" Now lucky for me I had packed my old 35mm Canon SLR which I was able to use at the start of the holiday (scanned them when I got home and converted to jpegs) I still missed my digital camera so walking back to the hotel along Canal Street, yes thats the one full of camera and electrical goods shops, I had a sudden urge to look in with the view to buying a cheap digi camera to see me through the rest of the holiday :-) yes you are all ahead of me. I ended up buying another Fuji camera, a Fujifilm F401 4 million pixels. The price when converted to UK pounds was quite reasonable, plus I got a slip to claim back $42 tax at the airport. Now I'm a Happy Chappy thankyou my Little Silverfox. Back to Holiday Inn to try it out, sorry cannot show these one's :-) nudge, nudge ;-)

That evening we walked down Bourbon Street again, had a drink in Pat O'Brien's then a late dinner , we had the triple combo Ribs, chicken and shrimp, delicious enough said.

Wed 8th Jan

Up early, breakfast in fridays then off to find internet cafe to catch up on e-mails and send a few out into cyber space. (sad or what ?) We find one on Royal street, it costs us $3 to log on for 20 minutes, quite reasonable I thought. We walked down to Jackson Square and spent half an hour looking round the artist stalls that surround the Square. Hearing the wail of police sirens we are drawn towards The French Market, we are just in time to see about a dozen Mardi Gras floats pulled by tractors pass by. By the look of the state of them they are most likely going for a bit of TLC before this years event. We have a look around The Market and then Linda is drawn into the old Jackson Brewery Building for more retail therapy, I thought she might have got this out of her system by now. (OK so I was wrong) You walk out of The Jackson Brewery and you are on Riverside Walk again, we decide to take an afternoon lunch cruise on the River Paddle boat "The Creole Queen" Again if you visit New Orleans this is a must, not to be missed. It was a nice sunny day temps in the 70's as we cruised up the river with the Captain giving a commentry on points of interest. Overall I would say along with the Aquarium visit this trip was the highlight of our visit to Nawlins :-)

Thursday 9th Jan

Another round of retail therapy this morning (have to buy presents for all the folks back home) to work up an appetite for lunch :-) eaten at Bubba Gumps, shrimps of course. We head back through Jackson Square and I spot an antique shop that sells Antique coins, notes, stamps and weapons. Now I am not that interested in guns, not modern ones anyway, but they had loads of black powder pistols and rifles and we spent a good hour looking round. Heading back to the Hotel for our afternoon nap (well we are on Holiday you know) we are walking past a ladies fashion shop when Linda pulls up sharp and says " I don't believe it there is my blouse" I must explain at this point that the blouse in question was worn by Linda at Lou's do, it is the only item of clothing in the nineteen years we have been together that Linda has declined to tell me how much it cost, this makes me feel it was very expensive. Anyway she says we must go in and see how much it is, in we go and Linda goes up to the first Lady assistant and explains about buying the same blouse in England and that she would like to know how much it is on sale for in The USA. Straight away the shop assistant says " Oh your from England, I have a friend Marsha Williams lives in London, I bet you know her " she seems disappointed when we tell her sorry but we have not met her :-) Anyway we digress outside I say well ? how much ? Linda is quite happy that it is a fake ( hers is a Joseph Ribhoff) and this one is a copy, I still do not know how much it cost :-)

We spend our last evening in New Orleans walking in and around The french quarter listerning to the music and soaking up the atmosphere.

Friday 10th Jan

It is packing day, but we have travelled light so this does not take too long. Linda decides the other side of Canal Street looks interesting. I am pleased she did, we find a little menswear shop and I get to buy a couple of shirts and a waistcoat, this retail therapy is not so bad :-) Check out time comes and we sit and wait for the airport shuttle bus to pick us up and transport us to the Airport. The driver gives us a running commentry as we pass through the town, reminding us that gratuities are not included in the fare ;-) nudge nudge. Arriving at he airport we pass through the stringent security checks and mosey down to the departure gate, stopping to buy some chocolate peanuts and raisins for the plane journey. It is a serve youself kiosk, next thing Linda drops the lot and they scatter all over the marble tiled floor ( how embarrassing, I move discreetly away from her)

Down at the gate we settle down to wait for our plane, Linda reads a book and I opt for a snooze :-) with the plane pulling into the gate and getting ready to discharge it's passengers I wake with a start and realise I have not redeeemed my $42 tax voucher, I jump up and leg it down back through security stopping only to ask where I can claim my tax back. Of course it is at the far end of the Airport, I scuttle off as fast as my legs will carry me and arrive panting clutching my voucher, the nice man quickly redeems it and I collect my $42 in cash and off I go back through security again. (this involves taking boots off again, and a thorough body search) Now if I was panting when I arrived at the Tax counter you can only imagine what I was like when I reached Linda, who by this time is having kittens as the plane is boarding. Still I got my tax back, it is nice to beat the tax man :-) The plane is packed with commuters going home for the weekend but I must give Southwest their due I am a big chap but did not feel squashed in. We land on time and walk out of the Hobby Airport and there is the ever dependable Donna waiting with the engine running to pick us up and whisk us off to a wonderful Vietnamese restaurant prior to going home and relating to her our adventures in Nawlins.

New Orleans Pictures

Linda below the flag On board the Creole Queen Waiting to board the paddle boat

Big Al relaxing at the french market Mardi Gras floats Open carriages plying their trade

Linda gets aquainted with Andrew Jackson Cheers every one

About to board The Creole Queen Full steam ahead


	Texas Adventure \| home Contact Me \| Prologue to Visit \| Week One \| New Orleans \| The Races \| Last week New Orleans Monday 6th Jan Up early monday and our wonderful hostess with the mostest drops us off at Houston Hobby airport to catch our flight to New Orleans, we have a pleasant flight and about an hour later we are touching down at New Orleans airport. We catch the airport shuttle bus into the city and it drops us off at The Holiday Inn on Royal. It is Donna's idea for us to stay in the french quarter and not in the garden district as we had originally planned. Although it is marginally more expensive to stay in the french quarter it has its advantages, for instance if you are walking round the town and get tired your hotel is always handy for you to pop back to for a nap. At night time you do not have to worry about catching a tram or taxi to get back to your Hotel. We check in unpack then set off for a wander round the city, feeling peckish we drop in a cafe for a snack to keep us going until dinner time, this is where we encounter the local dialect. Linda orders fried chicken and the girl behind the counter ask her if she wants "side orders" it takes about 5 seconds for her to say side orders, they sure are laid back in New Orleans (sorry Nawlins) We walk down Canal Street (not a canal in sight) every other shop seems to be selling cameras and electrical goods. That evening we dine in Fridays, the restaurant is attached to the Holiday Inn and the fare is good. Linda is not feeling too hungary and has the soup of the day and a ceaser salad, I plump for the Friday Shrimps it is a good choice they are delicious. Finish off the evening down Bourbon Street, now to be honest It is not like I imagined it to be, I think it is a little tacky. It certainly is very busy and very noisy although I expected it to be all jazz music I find they cater to all tastes from heavy rock to country. And so these two tired travellers wend their weary way back to The Holiday Inn and up them wooden hills to bed. (glad we took Donna's advice on Hotels) Tuesday 7th Jan Walk down to the Riverside for our first close up view of The Big Muddy, very impressive, the river is a hive of activity with barges and ocean going ships sailing up and down the waterway. Feeling peckish we head for Johnny Po-Boy's for breakfast, I wonder if this is the one mentioned in John Grisham's "The Runaway Jury" (I was reading this whilst on holiday) After breakfast we head for The Aquarium on Riverside Walk, if you ever get to New Orleans this is a must, very interesting place. (full of fish and things) :-) We came out the Aquarium and saw a New Orleans walking Jazz Band. I did not mention before but I took my trusty Fuji digital camera with us on the Texas trip, could I get it to work ? could I hell as like. I had used it the week before at Lou's Do and took approx 70 to 80 pictures no problem. I bought two new 64 meg smart cards to cover the whole trip so I knew that was not the problem, but what ever I did the error message kept coming up "error card" Now lucky for me I had packed my old 35mm Canon SLR which I was able to use at the start of the holiday (scanned them when I got home and converted to jpegs) I still missed my digital camera so walking back to the hotel along Canal Street, yes thats the one full of camera and electrical goods shops, I had a sudden urge to look in with the view to buying a cheap digi camera to see me through the rest of the holiday :-) yes you are all ahead of me. I ended up buying another Fuji camera, a Fujifilm F401 4 million pixels. The price when converted to UK pounds was quite reasonable, plus I got a slip to claim back $42 tax at the airport. Now I'm a Happy Chappy thankyou my Little Silverfox. Back to Holiday Inn to try it out, sorry cannot show these one's :-) nudge, nudge ;-) That evening we walked down Bourbon Street again, had a drink in Pat O'Brien's then a late dinner , we had the triple combo Ribs, chicken and shrimp, delicious enough said. Wed 8th Jan Up early, breakfast in fridays then off to find internet cafe to catch up on e-mails and send a few out into cyber space. (sad or what ?) We find one on Royal street, it costs us $3 to log on for 20 minutes, quite reasonable I thought. We walked down to Jackson Square and spent half an hour looking round the artist stalls that surround the Square. Hearing the wail of police sirens we are drawn towards The French Market, we are just in time to see about a dozen Mardi Gras floats pulled by tractors pass by. By the look of the state of them they are most likely going for a bit of TLC before this years event. We have a look around The Market and then Linda is drawn into the old Jackson Brewery Building for more retail therapy, I thought she might have got this out of her system by now. (OK so I was wrong) You walk out of The Jackson Brewery and you are on Riverside Walk again, we decide to take an afternoon lunch cruise on the River Paddle boat "The Creole Queen" Again if you visit New Orleans this is a must, not to be missed. It was a nice sunny day temps in the 70's as we cruised up the river with the Captain giving a commentry on points of interest. Overall I would say along with the Aquarium visit this trip was the highlight of our visit to Nawlins :-) Thursday 9th Jan Another round of retail therapy this morning (have to buy presents for all the folks back home) to work up an appetite for lunch :-) eaten at Bubba Gumps, shrimps of course. We head back through Jackson Square and I spot an antique shop that sells Antique coins, notes, stamps and weapons. Now I am not that interested in guns, not modern ones anyway, but they had loads of black powder pistols and rifles and we spent a good hour looking round. Heading back to the Hotel for our afternoon nap (well we are on Holiday you know) we are walking past a ladies fashion shop when Linda pulls up sharp and says " I don't believe it there is my blouse" I must explain at this point that the blouse in question was worn by Linda at Lou's do, it is the only item of clothing in the nineteen years we have been together that Linda has declined to tell me how much it cost, this makes me feel it was very expensive. Anyway she says we must go in and see how much it is, in we go and Linda goes up to the first Lady assistant and explains about buying the same blouse in England and that she would like to know how much it is on sale for in The USA. Straight away the shop assistant says " Oh your from England, I have a friend Marsha Williams lives in London, I bet you know her " she seems disappointed when we tell her sorry but we have not met her :-) Anyway we digress outside I say well ? how much ? Linda is quite happy that it is a fake ( hers is a Joseph Ribhoff) and this one is a copy, I still do not know how much it cost :-) We spend our last evening in New Orleans walking in and around The french quarter listerning to the music and soaking up the atmosphere. Friday 10th Jan It is packing day, but we have travelled light so this does not take too long. Linda decides the other side of Canal Street looks interesting. I am pleased she did, we find a little menswear shop and I get to buy a couple of shirts and a waistcoat, this retail therapy is not so bad :-) Check out time comes and we sit and wait for the airport shuttle bus to pick us up and transport us to the Airport. The driver gives us a running commentry as we pass through the town, reminding us that gratuities are not included in the fare ;-) nudge nudge. Arriving at he airport we pass through the stringent security checks and mosey down to the departure gate, stopping to buy some chocolate peanuts and raisins for the plane journey. It is a serve youself kiosk, next thing Linda drops the lot and they scatter all over the marble tiled floor ( how embarrassing, I move discreetly away from her) Down at the gate we settle down to wait for our plane, Linda reads a book and I opt for a snooze :-) with the plane pulling into the gate and getting ready to discharge it's passengers I wake with a start and realise I have not redeeemed my $42 tax voucher, I jump up and leg it down back through security stopping only to ask where I can claim my tax back. Of course it is at the far end of the Airport, I scuttle off as fast as my legs will carry me and arrive panting clutching my voucher, the nice man quickly redeems it and I collect my $42 in cash and off I go back through security again. (this involves taking boots off again, and a thorough body search) Now if I was panting when I arrived at the Tax counter you can only imagine what I was like when I reached Linda, who by this time is having kittens as the plane is boarding. Still I got my tax back, it is nice to beat the tax man :-) The plane is packed with commuters going home for the weekend but I must give Southwest their due I am a big chap but did not feel squashed in. We land on time and walk out of the Hobby Airport and there is the ever dependable Donna waiting with the engine running to pick us up and whisk us off to a wonderful Vietnamese restaurant prior to going home and relating to her our adventures in Nawlins. New Orleans Pictures Linda below the flag On board the Creole Queen Waiting to board the paddle boat Big Al relaxing at the french market Mardi Gras floats Open carriages plying their trade Linda gets aquainted with Andrew Jackson Cheers every one About to board The Creole Queen Full steam ahead