New Orleans!

     Since you have to sign Ecuadorian visa paperwork in person, and our nearest Ecuadorian Consulate General is in New Orleans, my family decided that would make a nice last little family trip for us before I left. I mean, if you’re going to drive all that way anyway, might as well get some fun out of it, right? I love New Orleans, so I was all for it :)
     We drove down Sunday morning. My parents had arranged for us to stay at the Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter. They stayed there twenty-odd years ago on a former trip to NOLA and loved it, so they wanted to go back. If any of you want to spring for a great room the next time you’re down, I highly recommend it! The staff was amazingly polite and attentive, it’s located in walking distance of everything you want in the French Quarter, and the rooms are very plush. Also a bonus - valet parking garage, so you don’t have to fight to find parking. More on NOLA parking wars to come.

     Sunday afternoon we walked around a little, seeing the Quarter. My parents haven’t been in NOLA in years, so this was their first time back post-Katrina. My sister Molly had never been at all, so it was sort of a culture shock experience for her!

Me and the sis iPhoning away before we start our day :)

Bourbon Street

Jazz Funeral...is that the New Orleans version of an Irish wake? haha

     We ate supper at an amazing little hole-in-the-wall, the Crescent City Brewhouse. A little pricey, but the food is devine and the service was unbeatable. I ate the best chicken sandwich I’ve ever had, and ’crunchified mac & cheese’, which was mac & cheese topped with cruched cheetos! The server said the chef got the recipe ’from the hood’. I told him I had to get more hood friends! Haha
     Of course, for dessert I just HAD to stop by and get Cafe du Monde to go. I figured the few blocks walk back to the hotel would settle my supper enough to make room for those amazing beignets, and whadda ya know, it did. I think if I were on death row, I'd request beignets as part of my last meal.

Little fried pieces of heaven, topped with powedered sugar glory

     Monday we were going to walk around some more, in the daylight, but we only got about an hour in before it started monsooning. Molly got to eat her first po’boy though, and even though it was bigger than she was she enjoyed it immensely.

   

This is her 'Oh my holy Lord, this is good' face.

    We decided since it was wet, we’d drive out along the River Road and see some of the big plantation houses. We stopped and toured Oak Alley plantation, which was GORGEOUS! and we took pics of several others along the road.

The famous oak alley...300 year old Virginian live oaks! 

Me & Molly twinking in the yellow

Great trees!

Giant copper pot they used to boil sugarcane syrup in to make molasses. They make great flower pots, no?

The 'baby oaks'...only 150 years old.

This would be an AMAZING climbing tree!

Oak Alley from the front

St. Joseph Plantation, next door to Oak Alley

Spanish moss...love how it looks on all the trees!

     Tuesday morning me and Dad dealt with my visa at the Consulate while Mama and Molly slept in (jealous!). We checked out of our hotel when me and Dad finished and drove down the coastline to Biloxi, just sightseeing. Molly had actually never been to Biloxi, and Mama and I hadn’t been down since the Christmas before Katrina, so it was kind of unreal to see the difference. We stopped and walked along the beach for about a half hour, but we were majorly disappointed in the beach there, so we didn’t stay as long as we wanted to. The beach was awful! The sand was nice and white, yes, but right at the water was covered in dead fish and stingrays the gulls had left, almost to the point you couldn’t walk there. It smelt awful, and looked worse. I’ve been to a lot of beaches in a lot of places, and that pretty much takes the ’worst beach ever’ award.
     We did stop at one souvenir store…lol. I love beach souvenir shops. It’s the epitome of clearance shopping. Where else can you get five t-shirts for ten bucks? Or a pair of flip flops for a dollar? Anyway, I found two shirts so I can show off my Mississippi roots while I’m in Ecuador. They are BRIGHT! One's highlighter pink and one is bright tiedye!