New Orleans - Day 3

We fueled up for our last full day of sightseeing by enjoying brunch on the garden patio of Court of Two Sisters.

The last destination on our New Orleans "must do" list was Mardi Gras World. We had some trouble getting there as I thought, for some reason, that it was on the other side of the river. So, we took the ferry across the Mississippi River only to find out we had to go back to the side we started on. Once we had our bearings about us, we called for the free shuttle that picked us up and drove us to Mardi Gras World.

On the ferry ride across the Mississippi River

Mardi Gras World is located along the river in a huge warehouse. Every year over 500 floats are either built or decorated by the craftsmen at this location. The tour of Mardi Gras World starts with a video about the history of the Mardi Gras celebration, the sampling of the traditional king cake, and time for trying on some Mardi Gras costumes. But the best part of the tour is when you are turned loose in the warehouse to wander around and watch the artisans working on the floats. The warehouse also stores many floats from past Mardi Gras parades that were interesting to see.

Who are these jokers?

A float prop carved out of foam.

A past Mardi Gras parade float

The floats are packed into the warehouse

Once our Mardi Gras World tour concluded, we took the shuttle bus back to town where we had to take one last family picture at Jackson Square. 

Sadly our time in New Orleans has come to an end!

New Orleans - Day 2

We fueled up for our first full day of sightseeing with beignets from Cafe Beignet (just a few doors down from our hotel). Delicious!

Brooke enjoying her beignets!

Yum!

After breakfast, we made our way back towards Jackson Square and then meandered through the open air French Market. We decided a carriage ride through the French Quarter and out to St. Louis cemetery (where the voodoo priestess, Marie Laveau is believed to be buried) would be interesting. Our tour guide showed us all of the sights and even pointed out the pyramid shaped tomb that Nicholas Cage has selected as his final resting place.

The carriage ride

St. Louis Cemetery

Next, we took the St. Charles streetcar out to the Garden District. We decided to do a self-guided tour which was cut short when it started to rain. We finished up the day people watching back on Bourbon Street.

A streetcar selfie

New Orleans, Louisiana - Day 1

Three weeks prior to a family wedding in North Carolina, the wedding got called off. We found ourselves with 4 non-refundable airline tickets to North Carolina that we no longer needed. After a surprisingly painless call to the airline, we were able to change the destination of the tickets from N.C. to New Orleans (no one in the family had been there before so we thought it would make for a fun trip). We arrived in New Orleans by 5pm and checked into our hotel, the Hotel Monteleone. It’s location was perfect - in the French Quarter, within easy walking distance to many sights, but on a quieter street than Bourbon Street. After dropping our suitcases in the hotel room, we headed out to explore. 

 

Typical New Orleans architecture

Jim and I in Jackson Square

Our daughters, Brooke and Katie, in front of the St. Louis Cathedral

The Mississippi River

Bourbon Street