New Orleans - Day 15

We had a tour of the city today with VIP City Tours. We dropped Tony off for daycare at Shampooch again and took the Algiers ferry over to New Orleans. We decided to walk back to the Cooking School of New Orleans because I really didn’t have a chance to look around their shopping area and get some things I might want. I looked up the Gumbo Filé online and it cost twice as much from Amazon so I wanted to go back for that for sure. I don’t like shopping much but LOVE kitchen stores, different cooking items, and looking at the Louisiana and Fleur de Lis themed items. Anyway, the mind wanders.  

We got a call on my cell phone to see if we were waiting at the Hilton yet for the tour pickup. We were and we were the first ones picked up so we got the front seat, which probably had the best view. We booked this particular tour because the woman who book it told us it went into the French Quarter (it didn’t, only skirted it) and the 9^th Ward (it did) because the bus is smaller and therefore better. We did have a guided walking tour through the St. Louis Cemetery #3, which was interesting. In the 9^th Ward we saw the places nicely rebuilt but also the devastation of the homes abandoned and still in dilapidated condition. We also saw the Musician Village, all rebuilt after Katrina. We drove through the Treme district, the birthplace of Jazz. We saw the 17^th Street Canal that failed, it is rebuilt and looks the same. We drove by brackish Lake Ponchartrain, which we also crossed over on our way here. We did not go on the 24-mile causeway though! The brochure says it is “one of the longest…” Our driver said it IS the longest causeway in the world. Who knows? There are nice areas along this side for family outings, etc. We passed through lovely and expensive homes/mansions in the Garden District – noted to be New Orleans first American neighborhood with many antebellum homes still remaining. I love the architecture with such beautiful restoration. In this area, even the businesses have to “look like a church or home” so they have a McDonalds that looks like a church (we didn’t see it, Anthony our driver told us this).  Our last stop was at the City Park, a lovely, rambling park, which is really lovely with the Live Oaks and Spanish Moss. I finally had my first Beignets at this stop in the park called Morning Call. The menu pictured shows what they serve. By the time I remembered to take a photo only one Beignets was left! So delicious! We had a short walk into the Sculpture Garden then it was time to get back on the bus and the tour was over. This is a lovely City Park with a Story Land, Amusement Park, canoes, paddle boats, and much much more for the people of New Orleans. We got back just in time for the ferry, which was slightly delayed as the Carnival Triumph was leaving port and heading out to sea. Nevertheless, we were able to pick Tony up before 5p. 

I think if we stop here on the way back home I would like to try the Hop On-Hop Off option to compare tours. HOHO would have had upper deck seating and perhaps a better view? Maybe we would have gotten more info on the typically recorded spiel they have on the bigger buses with earphone recordings? I definitely would have gotten better photographs not shooting though a window. After this “brief” visit to NOLA I can see that one would need more than a week if you move at a slower pace like we do. There are many things I would like to see and do here – and I haven’t even touched on the genealogy research I was interested in doing!

Abandoned House Check - 9th Ward

St. Louis Cemetery #3

Beignets

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