Nov 17, 2025 – We usually use this blog to record international adventures, but a trip to New Orleans feels like an opportunity to experience a different culture, so I think it qualifies. Want to come along?
Jim booked us a direct flight, which takes about two and a half hours. Easy breezy! We left home in the afternoon and expected to be in NOLA for a late supper.
Without the excruciating details, let’s just say our plane did not pass muster, and the airline had to dispatch another from Louisiana. Our friendly representative cautioned, “I’d rather be on the ground wishing I was in the sky, than in the sky wishing I was on the ground.” Wise words.
Eight hours later, we were airborne at 1am. Our plan to hop on a city bus to get to our hotel had to be amended, as buses don’t run at 3am. One taxi ride later (the cabbie wisely quoted the exact same price as Uber) we were able to rest our weary heads. We are here!
Nov 18 – Due to our very late night, we are feeling as jet lagged as if we’d crossed the Atlantic. We decided to just walk in the sunshine and look around today. Here is Louis Armstrong, right outside our hotel.We walked to Jackson Square, a pretty park right next to the St. Louis Cathedral The Cathedral was closed, but the shop next door had some hilarious tee shirts We visited the famous Café du Monde, where one must stop for a cup of chicory coffee and a beignet – the New Orleans version of fried dough sprinkled with lots of powdered sugar.Right outside the cafe was a busker who treated us to some jazz saxophone Lots of carriage rides available for those who want to ride around townEmpanola famously puts anything you can imagine into an empanada. The aroma was lovely!Lots of voodoo imagery Here we are at the Jazz Funeral shopWe were on a mission to find the Central Grocery and Deli, home of the Original MuffulettaThe word muffuletta refers to the huge round fluffy bread that the sandwich is made with This is one eighth of the Muffuletta – salami, ham and several types of cheese topped with pickled olive salad – we’ll be eating this for days! Delicious!
Taking Our Time 