More fun times in New Orleans

Here are more photos from my family's Christmas trip to New Orleans.

One thing we did was ride the streetcars, a lot.  It was a fun way to get around town and doesn't cost much ($3) for an all-day pass.

We even got to see them flip the seat backs for the ride back. 

Keep in mind, if you want to go through the Garden District, you need to catch one of the green streetcars.  Also, part of the Garden District route is undergoing repairs so there's a bus shuttle in that section.

One nice thing, the streetcars have a leisurely pace so it's comparatively easy to take photos.  Here's a darling cottage in the Garden District.

One problem with photographing in the Garden District - trees.  So very many have large lovely trees planted smack dab in front of the houses.

At one point, the four of us were in the area of Tulane/Loyola Universities.  We took a very pleasant walk through a portion of Audobon Park.  Lots of people strolling and others who were getting their jog in to help offset the Christmas calories.  I love the live oaks (I think they were live oaks) with their branches stretching out and resting on the ground.

Our hotel (The Saint on Canal St) had some lovely Xmas decorations, but didn't go ALL out.

The trees in the lobby were lovely, but I really didn't realize how understated things were until I went to the Roosevelt Hotel to get a late lunch.  (Their Grown Up Grilled Cheese sandwich had 3 cheeses and tomatoes.  Yummy.  (Sound effect:  my jaw hitting the floor as I walked in.)

Oh. My. Word.  They really do it BIG.

Papillon

Xmas in New Orleans

After my mom died in April of last year (2012), my sisters and I decided to do non-traditional Christmas celebrations for the next few years.  Last year we went to Colonial Williamsburg.  This year we decided to go to New Orleans.

My older sister did yeoman's work and found us a very nice hotel on the edge of the French Quarter at a really terrific rate.  We all (me, two sisters and BIL) flew in on Sunday, December 22nd and were greeted by a thunderstorm.  After landing, my plane got to sit on the tarmac for about 30 minutes because the ramp people at the airport gate didn't want to operate the ramp during repeated occurrences of lightning.  I can't say that I blame them at all.

We found a very nice man named Kevin who had a large van (not minivan) and a valid livery license and made the soggy ride to the hotel as pleasant as possible in the circumstances.  (Considering that NM has been in drought conditions for several years now, it may be heresy to admit that I was so over the rain in a short period of time.)

The hotel we stayed at was The Saint on Canal Street.  Here's a photo of the nighttime view from my hotel room.

And here's the daytime view.

 

The next day (Monday the 23rd) my older sister and her husband went to the WWII museum.  My younger sister and I decided to take the Hop On, Hop Off tour of the downtown area.  Here's one of the gorgeous houses in the Garden District.

 

We also went by Mardi Gras World where they've been making stuff for the floats in the assorted parades.

 

The item hanging up on the left-hand side is some sort of large fish.

Then we got to see the mighty Mississippi river.  A LOT more water than I've seen since I came back from Colonial Williamsburg.

For a long time in early U.S. history, Louisiana was the only place where women could own property.  One of those owners was Micaela Almonester Pontalba who built some of the oldest apartments near/on Jackson Square.  She helped to bring some design ideas from France such as ornate balconies and first-floor breezeways.

The ironwork contains the Baroness' monogram (A/P).

That's all for this blog entry.  There's more to come.

Papillon