Slept in until 8:30a or so. The ladies had a reservation at The Court of the Two Sisters on Royal for brunch while Addison slept in and dad and I headed to Cafe Rose Nicaud for some breakfast (scrambled eggs, bacon, and a banana) then to Cafe Du Monde via the Riverfront street car line. At Cafe Du Monde we had beignets and frozen cafe au lait. We then walked around Jackson Square a bit then headed up to Royal. The Black Butterfly, the gift shop I had hoped to visit, was still closed — came to find out by talking with the neighboring shop’s owner that the wife of the husband and wife team that ran the shop had passed away. Walked back to the unit.
Riverfront street car
Beignets at Cafe Du Monde
Exterior of Cafe Du Monde
Saint Louis Cathedral from Jackson Square
After rousing Addison and giving him time to shower we three headed to a newly opened (as of yesterday) restaurant called Dat Dog. The building looked as if it had been there forever but had actually just been built. We saw a can of “anti-graffiti” paint, turns out this $100 a can stuff is made of silicone and the paint doesn’t stick to it. Learned that it took 20 cans just to cover the bottom floor. It was very rubbery to the touch, which is to be expected as it was basically caulk. Addison and I had pork hotdogs while dad had a duck hotdog. Good food!
Dat Dog in Marigny
Headed back to the unit to relax a bit until the ladies showed up around 3p. They had really enjoyed lunch and then taken a carriage ride from Jackson Square all the way to the Garden District. Sounds like they had a wonderful time, the carriage driver (and his mule “Crawdaddy”) were apparently quite the character — the driver claiming that his house had no fewer than three ghosts. They saw many famous people’s houses such as John Goodman’s, Sandra Bullock’s, and one of the Manning’s. They also got out and visited one of the cemeteries.
Michelle and I let the kids rest a bit while we went a few blocks over to a nursery on Elysian Fields. They had some really neat yard art, fountains, and even a nice bench but we couldn’t think of a way to get it shipped at reasonable cost to North Carolina. Still it was an enjoyable way to spend part of the afternoon. Headed back to the unit and left shortly thereafter for dinner at Praline Connection. I had the red beans and rice and sausage again — it managed to top the first time I had that! Wrapped up the meal with cheesecake topped with praline sauce.
Carriage on Royal near Courtyard Inn
Beautiful house in the Marigny (yes, this was in 2012's blog too!)
Water Lillies at the nursery on Elysian Fields
Iris at the nursery
Wrought iron grapes -- wait for it -- The Grapes of Wroughth
Red beans and rice and sausage at Praline Connection, yummy!
Headed back to the room for a bit before heading out one last time so that Michelle could get some hot chocolate at Cafe Du Monde. We had a couple of beignets as well and I had another frozen cafe au lait (I know, I know — hey, it’s vacation). We then went up to Preservation Hall at Saint Peter and Bourbon to stand in line for the 10p performance — our last shot before leaving town. The line wasn’t long, thankfully, but we realized that we were $11.25 short of the three of us getting in to see the show as it was cash only and $15 per person. I decided to stand outside and let the ladies go in and enjoy the show. Four years ago we visited and Addison and I were able to watch the show but Genetta got a massive headache and had to sit it out. It was really important that she get to see it this time around.
Saint Louis Cathedral at night
Stain glass windows of Saint Louis Cathedral
Pat O'Brien's, world famous for their Hurricanes (never again)
The usher / hostess / whatever saw me standing outside the building and figured out what had happened and asked me to come on in and see the show. That was incredibly nice of her and she only asked that I tip what I had (knowing it was less than $15) to the band when they were through. It was an amazing set, played by the Kinfolk Brass Band, and included many standards including of course Saints — the trombone, trumpet, and sax players even marched in a circle around the room through the crowd during that. If you are ever in New Orleans definitely check it out, it’s an amazing hour of music in just this really cool setting, a dimly lit dingy hall.
Preservation Hall's sign
I thanked the lady again for letting me in then we bought some souvenirs (they took credit card for those). Headed back out and saw a whole group of police on horseback heading to Bourbon to clear the streets for the night. Later saw some obviously drunk people being hauled off to sleep it off. On the way back we saw many familiar sites along Royal that look different at night including the statue at the rear of the church, many courtyards, and even noticed that the stained glass window at the top of the Cornstalk Hotel looks like an ear of corn.
Dramatic shadow
Painted soldiers in the Black Butterfly's window
Got back to the unit to an annoyed Addison (as we were gone later than he had anticipated) and blogged. A great day!