...con't....

We came back from the bayou tour and decided to hit Bourbon Street, which was really close for us, just one block N of where we were. We were walking around aimlessly, when we spotted a bar playing some good rock 'n roll and while peeking through the doors, they had this really neat courtyard that we could hang out in, so into Razzoo we walked. We were lucky to be walking when we left, LOL. Happy hour is all day, every day, until 9pm. 3 beers for the price of 1. I started off with a 32oz Margarita. I did not KNOW it was a 32 oz drink when I ordered it, but I finished it nonetheless. Several of the barmaids had offered us jello shots or test tube shots. I think John might have had one......I can't recall. Anyway...... I had booked a Crescent City Night tour that had included dinner, a cocktail at a jazz cafe and beignets, for our anniversary, so we went there, quite tipsy (for me anyway) by 5:45pm.

When we arrived, John was teasing me, as we were the youngest guests, by far. We ALWAYS get ourselves involved in something like this when we go away. But, we make the best of it. There was a group of 8 ladies from Wisconsin who were celebrating someone's 60th, a couple of ladies from Wisconsin who were QUITE odd, and 2 couples from Missouri who were nice enough.

By the time we walked to dinner and got seated, and had some fresh bread, my tipsiness was wearing off, pshew..... Dinner was at Tujaque's I had their specialty, Boiled Beef, which was just like corned beef, and John had some crawfish dish. I really like the bread pudding in a caramel sauce that was served after dinner. Then we walked to the CanCan Jazz Cafe. There was a jazz band there, and we all were allowed one free drink. That was nice, but I would have left after one song. That kind of music all sounds the same to me. By the time we got to Cafe Du Monde for our Cafe Au Lait and Beignets, I was beat. We had one beignet each and decided to walk home, rather than wait for our free taxi. I think we were in bed by 10pm. While walking through the Quarter that night, we saw all kinds of *neat* stuff. Voodoo people in the park, female impersonators, bead throwers and catchers (no flashers), people in odd clothing, naked clubs, etc...John kept trying for me to see what one was all about, especially Larry Flynt's place, but truly I had NO interest in wasting time there :-)

Friday, we decided to explore the French Market We bought some souveniers here, including alligator heads for the boys. We then walked all along the riverfront until we got to Harrah's Casino. We went to go in, but I did not have an ID with me and I just told John to forget it. So, we ended up at the D-Day Museum. That was an emotional visit. I teared up right in the beginning as I was perusing through a guestbook, that was signed by veterans. Oddly enough, historian, Stephen Ambrose died that Sunday, when we were returning from our trip. We had watched a presentation by him and Stephen Spielberg during our museum tour.

I think for dinner that night, we went back to the oyster bar for more po-boys. I'm tellin' you, they were THAT good!! After that, we headed back out to our favorite hangout, Razzoo. I had a beer, then we left to check out the Cat's Meow (ha......there is a karaoke cam there!! I stood at that window under the word CATS), but came back and I decided to go light, with a wine spritzer, and you guessed it, it was a 32 oz spritzer. Totally defeated the purpose, LOL During our trip, I heard enough of disco (To Be Real......(which I am watching on the cam right now)), Bobby Brown, Ja Rule and Nelly, for a long time.......

Next morning, we decided to hit SwampFest at the Audubon Zoo. That was fun listening to Zydeco, seeing all the crafts and vendors, and the whole slew of food stands. We took a streetcar to get there and back, and that was another fun experience. For dinner, we dined on a balcony on Bourbon Street and then hit........RAZZOO's again!!

teeny bit more to come...... ;-)

Okay.......I am really late with my New Orleans recap, and since my to-do list has the bathrooms on it today, I will blog instead, LOL.

We woke up at 4am for our flight Wednesday morning. Got to the airport, had no problems, boarded the plane and waited the agonizing 45 minutes for the plane to taxi to the runway. My goodness, Newark was SO busy.

Coming in we flew over Lake Pontchartrain. Being that I had no CLUE about the geography down there, at first I assumed it was the Mississippi, but as the water kept going and going and going, I finally saw on my handy-dandy map (and heard murmuring from our fellow travelers), that there was a lake just north of N.O. The causeway on this thing was LONG. I don't know if it still is, but it has been stated that it is the World's Longest Bridge I really don't think I would ever drive on it......

We got to N.O., boarded the shuttle and started to notice that the highways are not black with asphalt, but they are all tan, and.....there were palm trees. It felt quite tropical to us, LOL. There were really no signs of either the Hurricane or Tropical Storm that had hit there about a week before we got there, luckily.

Coming down the highway we saw the SuperDome, and as we neared the French Quarter, I felt like we were visiting Atlantic City, where you drive through the *slums* to get to the *city*

When we first arrived, I was QUITE disappointed as the city was very dirty looking.....WHY did I want to spend my anniversary here. After looking through some guide books, and going out to eat, I felt much better about my decision, as the night came and the city came alive. At the Aft-Deck Oyster Bar, which was actually part of our hotel, I had my first Po-Boy. All it was, was fried shrimp on a french roll, but it was GOOD!!! Starting at this meal, John ate crawfish, in some fashion, for every meal except our first breakfast there, when he had a crab omelette instead.

We took a walk down Royal St, and came across a movie set, in the old courthouse. Unfortunately, as many times as we walked by, we NEVER saw any of the stars :-(

We ordered room service that night for dinner and I had a DELICIOUS Shrimp Remoulade (The classic remoulade is a brick-red whipped mixture of olive oil with mustard, scallions, cayenne, lemon, paprika, and parsley. It's served on cold peeled shrimp or lumps of backfin crabmeat.) and a piece of Creamy Pecan Pie. The next morning, it was our 10 year anniversary, so we headed to Brennan's for the *famous* brunch...(even though I've never heard of them) We spent $80 on two omelets, two mimosas and a bottle of Pellegrino. Expensive, much?? Our omelets were HUGE. I don't know if the waiter was kidding, I doubt it, but he said the omelets were made with 12 eggs each.......I had like 6 bites and was stuffed. So much went to waste. Then our waiter surprised us and bought us out this scrumptious triple layer choc cake for us and they all sang Happy Anniversary.

It was a little rainy, so we went to Walgreen's and bought our umbrellas, two for $5.99, what a deal!!! LOL We were going on a swamp and bayou tour. By the time the tour bus got to Westwego, LA, the rain had stopped and we had BEAUTIFUL weather for the rest of our trip. We saw a couple of small alligators, enjoyed the talk given by our cajun native, and enjoyed the scenery. The captain did mention how the bayou had about 3 feet of *extra* water from the hurricane and tropical storm, and that made it harder to get the *big guys* out by the boat. He did try to grab another alligator, though, and bring him on the boat. I was a little relieved that he failed in his attempt. He was definitely had a few screw loose.

Okay, I've wasted an hour on here, so I guess I should really get to my house work now......more to follow :-)