For those of you who have been following our trip across the pond on QM2 and our Texas adventure with Rachel and J Doubleyuh (JW), you will know that Mrs. C and I have been having a holiday of a lifetime. Thanks must really go to the two girls, Mrs. C for organizing the Cunard adventure and to Rachel for all things U.S. based.
Following a re-group from the attack by killer ducks (see recent blog “The Devil’s Backbone”) and a rest-stop back at home in Houston, we set-off early one morning for the next stage in our U.S. extravaganza, a drive in to Louisiana and a couple of days in New Orleans.
Now everybody has to cross the great Mississippi River for the first time and I wanted to capture it my way. So I managed this image through the windscreen.
First time crossing the Mississippi.
First time in Louisiana.
As always Rachel had a surprise up her proverbial sleeve and as we crossed in to Louisiana we pulled off the highway in to a rest-stop situated next to a Bayou.
Wonder what those folk are looking at?
You guessed it - We are in gator country.
Yes it looks cute but mama gator definitely doesn’t.
I was chatting with one of the locals and he said we could catch one of the baby gators and keep it in an aquarium if we liked?! Bearing in mind that mama gator was about eight feet long and had teeth like a chain saw and was swimming in the centre of the bayou, i decided to avoid climbing over the safety barrier, defer my death wish and stick with goldfish in my aquarium.
Giving Rachel the bayou look.
After my first brush with the bayou, we carried on towards New Orleans.
Upon arrival in New Orleans we checked in to our hotel, the Four Points By Sheraton which was located directly on the famous Bourbon Street in New Orlean’s famous French Quarter.
Not a bad little pub on Bourbon Street.
The interior courtyard - tranquility - I see a cocktail with my name on it.
As we exited our hotel on to Bourbon Street, I experienced what can only be described as a sensory overload. The noise was incredible, people were dancing and singing and at 2.30pm in the afternoon it would appear that the sun was definitely over this particular yardarm.
Now I had been quite worried about taking my Leica gear around New Orleans and so I had decided to brave it, but had bought an accessory to fit on to the tripod mount on the bottom of the Leica Type 246 that allowed me to insert an Apple Tag. Quite ingenious and gave me some comfort at least.
Let the good times role creole.
Anyone for an afternoon cocktail?
Even colonel Sanders was there to greet us.
Do you think they are about to celebrate halloween?
That evening we hit the road and ended up in Lafitte’s Blacksmiths Shop Bar where we participated in a few pre-dinner sharpeners.
A team with a thirst!
Lafitte’s - A great place for a pre-dinner sharpener.
Once the sun went down it seemed like everybody else came out to play and the whole place went nuts.
Voodoo Hoodoo.
The St. Louis Cathedral
Now the pre-dinner drinks were flowing a little too rapidly so we decided to search out some sustenance. As we were determined to sample some of the local cuisine we headed directly to The Gumbo Shop for some genuine creole cuisine.
You know exactly what you will get at the Gumbo shop on St. Peter Street.
This place was old school New Orleans and gumbo was definitely the order of the day. I had the chicken gumbo and Kate had the fish gumbo. Simply delicious, especially when accompanied by a couple of sazerak cocktails.
Our waiter was a cool dude and had everything under control.
Old school, no frills, just great food and a mean cocktail.
What a start to our New Orleans adventure. We returned to our hotel around midnight and it seemed that the party along Bourbon Street was only just getting started.
Rachel was ahead of the game and had arranged for our rooms to be facing the internal courtyard so there was no noise and we slept like babies.
The next morning we were up early and out searching for breakfast. Last night’s party had finally ended and the streets were eerily quiet.
The morning after the night before.
Even Bourbon Street has to sleep.
Just loving the look of the French Quarter in the morning light.
So for our first morning in New Orleans we needed a proper breakfast and this meant hot Beignets. There is no better place than the Café Du Monde on Decatur Street. No fuss here, just hot coffee and warm beignets smothered in sugar.
Café Du Monde on Decatur Street.
Do you think they add enough sugar on the Beignets?
Whilst we were noshing through our high energy breakfast a group of musicians were blasting out their rendition of Minnie The Moocher. After finishing the tune they went round with a bucket asking for donations. The guy with the trombone said with a wry smile, “Your generous donation keeps us from the poorhouse and stops us visiting your house!”. They were extremely good value and entertaining. I gave them a couple of bucks and they were happy to pose for a portrait.
A donation keeps us from the poorhouse and stops us visiting your house!
After breakfast the light was great and I managed the following image of the St. Louis Cathedral.
St. Louis Cathedral.
As I framed the image and took the shot I saw a menacing looking chap out of the corner of my eye who seemed to be taking issue with me taking his picture (which I wasn’t and would never do without asking) and was liking me to a proverbial “posterior orifice”. Rather than engaging with the “gentleman” and questioning his lineage, I reckoned that like many New Orleans locals who had come across hard times, that he was looking for a confrontation in an attempt to take a few dollars off me. So I de-escalated the situation and moved on, especially as half the population are armed to the teeth.
We then wandered down to the banks of the Mississippi and grabbed a few images in the early morning light.
As we walked back into town we came across a Mecca for local jazz, The Toulouse Theatre and Preservation Hall. Definitely a night time destination and one for our next visit.
I grabbed a couple of images and went off down the road humming my favorite blues tune, “Fast Women Sloe Gin” by the late great Jimmy Witherspoon.
Let the good times roll creole.
New Orleans Selfie.
Protect & Serve.
loving the hats girls.
Embracing the shadows outside Mambo’s.
We were keen to spend some time away from Bourbon Street and decided to take one of the old trams in to the Garden District. This is one of the posh suburbs of New Orleans and showed another side to this wonderful city. Tickets were 80 cents each which in my book were a bargain.
As our tram gently made its way through the Garden District we finally came to our lunch destination, The Camellia Grill, which had been highly recommended by one of Rachel’s buddies.
We were welcomed inside by our host, Vincent, who had worked in the Camellia Grill for nearly 40 years. With his super smile and gentle voice he was in complete control and we had a most enjoyable lunch.
Vincent - what a great guy.
After lunch we decided to take advantage of the beautiful temperature, burn off some calories and walk to the end of the line.
The Garden district is everything it promises to be.
Beautiful Houses but at a considerable price.
Reflections of Canal Street.
I was not about to pull the pin and try a hand grenade.
All this walking and sightseeing had made the girls thirsty and they dragged JW and me in to a local bar for an afternoon livener.
This was a serious bar and very well-stocked….they even had Plymouth Gin!
JW and I ordered a couple of local beers but the girls went off-piste and ordered two gin fizzes. To my surprise Christian, our barman looked at Mrs. C and said “Really!”. Oh dear, oh dear oh dear. I could see Mrs. C’s lips tighten in the way they they do just before she puts her foot on my neck and she gave Christian one of her legendary shrivellers (basically a thousand yard stare which normally ends in violence) and she said, “Yes Really”! Christian shrugged, smiled and said it would take 10 minutes. The challenge was on. JW and I weren’t bothered as we were already quietly supping on our beers and keeping well out of it.
Christian then disappeared for five minutes and returned with two glassed of yellowish liquid that he then placed in the fridge. After taking them out of the fridge he made two holes in the liquid and then poured more liquid in to the holes, with the liquid rising like a perfectly cooked soufflé.
Its called style! - The master and his magic.
The girls assured us that their drinks were fantastic and everyone was left smiling as our barman worked his magic.
A work of art which left everyone smiling.
As the sun goes lower Bourbon Street starts to come to life again.
For our final evening JW had booked dinner at a super little restaurant called Palm & Pine on North Rampart Street. As we walked to the restaurant the atmospherics were sensational and the sunset something to behold. I have enclosed a colour picture taken with my iPhone and completely un-edited, other than a slight crop, to show the magnificent colours, bearing in mind that at the same time Florida and North Carolina were being devastated by a Hurricane.
A sensational sunset over New Orleans.
Pal & Pine - a fabulous end to our New Orleans experience.
The next morning we checked out and as we headed out of the garage I couldn’t resist this last image which is my New Orleans Bench of Contemplation.
The Bench of Contemplation.
Well there you have it. New Orleans is a must visit for anyone passing through Louisiana. We had such a wonderful time yet I feel we only scratched the surface. All the more reason to come back again!
As we hit the interstate why not join Mrs. C and me in our next blog, “Plantation Road” which will be coming soon.
See Y’all.