New Orleans

My little sister Liz is attending graduate school in New Orleans. It had been over a year since I'd seen her (she hadn't met Noah yet!), so I decided to take a trip down to NOLA to visit her. Also, I recently finished reading Anne Rice's series, "The Mayfair Witches," which takes place in New Orleans and had me wanting to see the city, as I haven't been there since I was very young. So on last the day of June, Noah and I flew from Madison to New Orleans, with a quick layover in Chicago. Noah did great on the flights, not sleeping for more than twenty minutes, but happily playing in my lap. Once we got to   New Orleans, Liz picked us up from the airport and thus began our trip! I'll let the photos tell the story:

Lunch the first day at Dat Dog. AMAZING.

The Dat Dog menu. Look at all of the toppings you can put on your hot dog!

Liz and Noah (enjoying the fries)

Walking along the Mississippi. It was SO hot, even in the evening, that we didn't walk too far.

Noah's practicing his New Orleans voodoo.

Anne Rice's old house in The Garden District. The Mayfair family lives in this house in her Mayfair Witches series.

Garden District

Garden District

There are beads in the trees year-round along the Mardi Gras parade routes.

Garden District Cemetery. The tombs were hundreds of years old here. This one houses the remains of a family that died during the Yellow Fever outbreak during the early 1800s.

Jefferson Fire Company No.22

Katrina did a lot of damage to the cemeteries.

Some of the graves are just barely above ground.

The tombs were all shapes and sizes.

The bricks in the French Quarter look like legos!

Breakfast at Cafe du Monde

Beignets and hot chocolate. INCREDIBLE.

Jackson Square

Jackson Square

Back to Dat Dog for chili dogs another day. (Yes, it was that good.)

Destrehan Plantation

Spanish Moss hanging from the trees at the plantation

Destrehan Plantation was the site of one of the largest slave revolts in history.

The kitchen building

The plantation home--I cannot even fathom how these people lived without air conditioning in the summer. It was SO hot down there and we were just taking a tour!

I had a fabulous time in New Orleans. It was wonderful to be able to see Liz and meet her boyfriend Danny, and get to know a new city. I ate a lot of wonderful food, watched a lot of good Netflix with Liz (after Noah went to bed every night), and saw a lot of really cool sites. It was sobering to see the damage that's still left from Katrina, especially the spray paint on houses showing when they were searched and who/what was found. But it was also inspiring to see how much of the city was rebuilt and how strong the people are who survived. New Orleans is definitely full of character, beauty and charm. Thanks for having me, Liz!