Nov 22 – Although we’ve been in New Orleans for almost a week, we have yet to see the Mississippi River. It’s only a block from the heart of town on Canal Street, so we sauntered over to have a look.
The Mighty Mississippi This riverboat has a mighty horn and blasted it repeatedly for all to enjoySome wall art near the waterIt is Saturday, and there is a New Orleans Saints game today. The crowds were phenomenal, and we’re not sure if all the extra people are here for the game, or just because it’s the weekend.Today is Jim’s conference presentation, so we didn’t get to do much sightseeing. The presentation was a great success.To celebrate, we went out to dinner with Jim’s colleagues, to the fancy French restaurant Galatoires. We started with turtle soup, which was a first for me. Very good! I had the shrimp étouffée in brown roux, and it was delicious.Jim ordered the seafood bouillabaisse in a saffron stock, and pronounced it equally excellent. A fine day.Nov 23 – We checked out Marie Laveau’s Voodoo Shop.Marie, a midwife, healer and hairdresser, was the most famous of the voodoo practitioners of the 1800s.No pix were permitted inside, so here is what you can see from the door. Incantations for every purpose, and tarot readings upon request.Mother River statue in front of the Port of New Orleans The other side of the statueRight on the river is Mardi Gras World, a huge warehouse where figures for Mardi Gras parade floats are made and stored.Most figures are sculpted in styrofoam, covered in papier-mâché, then painted The figures are reconfigured and repainted as neededHere is one of the parade floats. Our tour guide was a hoot. He told us that each float contained a porta-potty so the crewe could “oui oui” if necessary.This is the same company that made all the cows on billboards for Chik Fila’s “Eat Mor Chiken” campaign. We didn’t see any cows today.An ent?So much to see and so colorful! Thank you, Mary, for this recommendation!On friend Tom’s suggestion, we stopped in at Port of Call for a hamburger and baked potato lunch. We thought we could avoid the crowds by showing up at 3pm, but still had to wait half an hour for a seat. They make a signature rum drink called The Monsoon, and we enjoyed watching people trying to walk after finishing one!Thanks New Orleans, you’ve been grand!
Taking Our Time 