Saturday morning we slept a little late and then got up, got dressed and decided to hit the city streets. We walked through the French Quarter. The French Quarter is also known as the Vieux Carré and is the oldest part of New Orleans. New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville and was originally centered on the French Quarter or the Vieux Carré, which means "Old Square" in French. Even though it is called the French Quarter, most of the present day buildings were built under Spanish rule and show Spanish colonial tastes. The district as a whole is a National Historic Landmark, and contains a lot of historic buildings.
There is lots of entertainment in the Quarter - some family friendly, some not so much. There are various musicians playing music on the street, mimes, artists displaying their artwork, smells of wonderful food wafting through the air, beautiful courtyards and incredible architecture. Below you can see Benjamin and five of his cousins having fun with a street performer who has painted himself silver. Interesting!
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| A motley crew |
Jackson Square is named after General Andrew Jackson. Various artists converge on this location to show their goods to tourists. You can also take a guided carriage ride around the city.
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| Jackson Square with St. Louis Cathedral in the background |
I took a picture of the historic marker near Cafe du Monde. It gives a little history and tells you that the Crescent City got its nickname by being located on the bend on the Mighty Mississippi River.
I took this picture as it shows the traditional New Orleans balcony with plants. These balconies are ideal places to view parades and catch beads and people watch.
Here are Tricia and Laura having a seat at Cafe' Du Monde, a famous New Orleans coffee spot.
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| Beignets and Cafe' au Lait. Breakfast of Champions |
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| Laura Lee & Mom |
And here is a photo of some beignets on a plate along with a cup of cafe au lait. Beignets actually mean "bump" in French and are just some fried dough covered, absolutely covered, with powdered sugar. Beignets are the official State Doughnut. Sugar Cane is grown locally and as you can tell, there is no shortage of the farm commodity, sugar. Cafe au Lait is just hot, fresh brewed coffee and chicory with hot, steamed milk added. A lot of the coffee served in New Orleans is Coffee and Chicory. As the story goes, during the civil war, coffee was scarce, so chicory was added to "stretch" the coffee. The Acadians from Nova Scotia brought this taste to Louisiana. Chicory is the root of the endive plant., a type of lettuce. The roots of the endive plant are roasted and ground and added to the coffee. They bring you cold water as well at Cafe du Monde. You have to be careful to not put your elbows on the table as everything gets mighty sticky. As we enjoyed our breakfast, a trumpeter played gospel songs with a jazz twist - very nice.
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| Yum! |
Here is Laura Lee standing on the side of Cafe' Du Monde as the smell of coffee mixes with the sound of jazz on a beautiful, albeit hot, Saturday morning.
I love clever lyrics and advertising campaigns. I had to capture this one on the side of a garbage truck as it passed by Cafe du Monde. These guys are creative! I guess if you are in the garbage business, it helps to have a good sense of humor!
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| Love it! River Parish Disposal - "Our business Stinks, But It's Picking Up!" www.bizstinks.com |
I also like the old street signs in tile on the sides of some of the buildings highlighting the history of the city.
St. Louis Cathedral, named after King Louis IX, the King of France is a famous landmark in New Orleans and is positioned right by the Cabildo, the Presbytere, and General Andrew Jackson on his bronze horse.
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| St. Louis Cathedral |
Here is a traditional New Orleans balcony. Pay particular attention to the blades on the ceiling fan. They stand (or droop, maybe) as a witness to our hot, humid summers!
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| Black & Gold "Saints" style American flags with Fleur de lis instead of stars. |
Gas lights flicker on balconies and buildings. They are handmade in the French Quarter by the Bevolo Gas Lamp Company. It's the oldest and largest manufacturer of handmade copper riveted lanterns in the United States. You can see some on the balcony below.
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| Nice ferns on a balcony |
Right in front of the Louisiana Supreme Court building, we watched as a band played beautiful music as a couple jitter-bugged. They had an entire sidewalk entranced with some really nice music.
We had an enjoyable morning taking in the sights and sounds of the French Quarter.
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