New Orleans and the French Quarter

Though not related to buns OR knitting, I just have to share some photos of my recent trip to New Orleans. I wasn't prepared for how lovely the French Quarter was, or just how yummy and addictive beignets could be. Cafe du Monde was one of the highlights of our trip. Special thanks to my fellow traveler and dear friend Patricia, the eye behind the camera and the composer of these lovely pics.

We took the Riverwalk Street Car along the Mississippi after stopping for our daily dose of beignets (fresh fried donuts with lots of powdered sugar) and frozen cafe late. The weather was spectacular, warm, clear, and spring like with fresh breezes off the water.

One of my favorite sights: Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. And see, I'm even wearing flipflops. A pity I couldn't sample all the flavors here, but I did bring back a souvenir mug.

Along Chartres street, several blocks from the hotel, we stopped for lunch at a little cafe. Patricia tried the Crab and Corn Bisque and pronounced it excellent. I was busy downing more iced coffee. New Orleanites love their coffee (and so do I!)

We stopped to browse through a labrynth of antiques and other strange things in this treasure shop at the end of Decatur, two blocks from Margaritaville. It was full of jumbled heaps of odds and ends, some priceless, some just odd. Lots of vintage clothing, costumes, and mardi gras mementos of times past. We ooo'ed and ahhh'ed over a set of pink depression glass cups, carved ivory ornaments, fantastical ironwork creatures, and jewelry we couldn't afford. Wish we'd had more time to explore the entire contents, but we starving and trying to find our restaurant. Turns out that Tipitinas is only a music revue these days and doesn't serve dinner.

Though we were never able to make time for a carriage tour of the French Quarter, we did linger in the cool shade of historic Jackson Square. Some of the oldest (and surely the most picturesque) buildings in the city line this square named after Andrew Jackson. While Patricia took lots of photos of the ironwork and lovely house facades, I marveled at the ancient trees that have survived all sorts of wars and hurricanes and city renovations. Shading a variety of lunch goers, itinierant street musicians, amateur artists, mimes, and flocks of tarot card readers, the trees cannot be overlooked or ignored, an integral part of the city's historic legacy.