Our first day was hectic. We tried to check in early, which they informed us was fine before we got there. When we got there, the room wasn't ready and we were in limbo. It was fine with us, so we just got a few things from our car and let them park it in their secure parking lot. Our hotel was the Holiday Inn French Quarter Chateau Lemoyne. Phew that is a mouthful! We just called it the lemon while we were there. Our hotel was in a pretty good location for walking, so we decided to take off. We were amazed with all of the old architecture. I took plenty of photos, of course. I feel like there was so much to see that I could never get enough pictures and I don't feel like my pictures capture the true beauty of the buildings, not to mention I'm not a great photographer!
We found out that if you are an owner in the tourist area, you have to paint your home and leave it like it was historically. The tour guide for our cemetery tour said that the historical society of New Orleans will even scour around for old newspaper clippings and photos of your home to confirm any colors. If any changes are to be made to your home, it has to be approved and that is highly unlikely if it is to the exterior.
We spent a small portion of the first day just walking, but we did run into the Voodoo Authentica Museum. It was quite interesting and there was even a medium doing some work with a customer. There were oils, spells, voodoo dolls, and other spell/witchcraft items. They did not allow pictures inside, unfortunately.
Somehow, we ran into Jackson Square and found some good opportunities for some pictures. We decided that when the rest of our family arrived, we would have to show them our find. There were many artists set up along the street, lots of shops to check out and gorgeous apartments. We found out that the apartments run $3000 and up per month! Wow that's pretty steep to live in that area! My Husband also informed me that "Brangelina" lives in the area. We never did figure out which home was theirs, but we did find out that it is for sale at a hefty price!
Of course, we had to get a picture of the whole family!
So, the story behind this statue is quite interesting. The man on the horse is Andrew Jackson, and he is always tipping his hat. The person he is forever tipping his hat to is also the same person who paid to have the statue made. This person is Baroness Pontalba. Apparently, Jackson would never tip his hat to her because he did not feel that she was a lady. So, the Baroness paid to have the statue built facing her apartment, much to Jackson's dismay. Now, there are a few other stories that I googled and read, but this one has some spicy juice to it, so I will stick with it!
These apartments are the ones that go for $3000 and up per month
Selfie!
I mentioned above that there were artists. I bought one piece of art that I think is odd, but I love it! I bought a painting of the Luck Dog stand. I had taken some pictures of the stand and the painting just had to be mine! The person we bought it from has no website or cards. She explained that she just prefers to sell her art there at the square and does just fine.
My picture is the white vertical photo on the middle right side and it was only $20
After checking out Jackson Square, we decided to walk down to the river. It was a gorgeous sight with the bridge we came in on in the background. There is an aquarium down there as well as some boats used for tours.
The following day, we hit up Jackson Square again, but my Grandma was too worn out from walking everywhere, that we decided to take a horse drawn carriage back to the hotel. The carriage was $126 for all ten of us and it was a brief history lesson on some of the hotels, shops, and restaurants. It was quite fun. I said horse drawn, but this carriage was not pulled by a horse. Check it out in the pictures :)
After a carriage ride, we had to get ready for our swamp tour. This was one of the items on my list of to-do's in New Orleans. We booked with New Orleans Swamp & Airboat tours in the jean Lafitte Swamps. The website to book is www.jeanlafitteswamptour.com and their prices are reasonable. We felt like it was too much to get three vehicles out, drive around New Orleans, and find the establishment, so we opted for them to pick us up at the hotel. Once picked up, it was only 20 minutes to the swamp. We got onto a big pontoon boat with two big motors and bench seating all around the edge. When we got on the boat and took off, we saw a small gator right away. The Captain said that this is his typical hangout. I definitely wouldn't want to walk along at night out there! We had over an hour cruising the swamps and saw many birds and gators. On the way back, the Captain had a small gator that he brought out so the kids could get up close and personal. It had tape over the mouth, of course.
The last thing I wanted to write about is Bourbon Street. We did a cemetery tour as well, but I am going to have a whole write up about that. I didn't necessarily feel like I had to do Bourbon Street, but I wanted to say that I did, if that makes any sense at all. I'm not much of a drinker, but I did have a few drinks because what the heck...I'm on vacation! I had a daiquiri and a margarita, which were quite tasty, and Brad had a few beers. In my opinion, Bourbon street was loud and gross. There were people flashing others (this was expected and I only think it was bad because of the idiots with their kids), beads being thrown (so hard at times, I saw drinks spilled out of hands and people crying out in pain), homeless people that were getting somewhat irate if you didn't give them money (scary), and it smelled badly. I love to people watch, have a good time, and you all know I'm all about freeing the nipple; however, this was just gross drunken debauchery. We heard that down the street there was a teenager giving oral sex to an 80 something woman. Age isn't an issue, but sheesh keep it to yourself! There were some people that had their children in tow. I'm quite sure it was not the appropriate place for them to be hanging out. After some walking around, we found a pretty decent bar that was playing some 80's and 90's music and we found a seat. The music was good and we were actually enjoying ourselves! I wish in knew who the band was. We ran into one of the Tennessee Titans football players and his girlfriend and we met some others who were there for a conference. We made friends with both groups. Overall, we had a decent time. I can now say I have done Bourbon Street (I may never be back, though). The only negative thing that came out of the whole experience was my Brother's Girlfriend had her debit card stolen. I'm glad I didn't have my nice camera or any of my cards on me! I will leave you with some pictures and videos :)
"Touchdown" Jesus was seen on the way back from Bourbon Street. Our tour guide told us that the lights were simply adjusted making him appear this way.
Overall, New Orleans was fun! I loved the shopping, the food, and the architecture. I will stick to the daytime activities, though!!! The nightlife was a bit too much for me!
XOXO...Becky
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