Pictures from N'Awlins!




Took this picture of a store window display in New Orleans

Hi Everyone!

It seems to ME like a loooonnnnggg time ago that we were in New Orleans, but of course it was just last week. We arrived in Charleston, SC on Sunday, after stops at Fort Pickens (see prior post - so BEAUTIFUL!!), Lake City, Florida (just a no-place stopover) and Savannah, GA (worth more investigation).

But back to New Orleans, or "N'Awlins" as they say it there ...

 We stayed at the Bayou Segnette State Park on Westwego Island, which is just south of the city of New Orleans. The campground is GREAT - one of the best we've stayed at, including the ones that are privately owned and command a high price. The state park price is typically $20 per night and for that price, Bayou Segnette is a GREAT deal.

One of the best things is that you can take a FREE (we like FREE!) ferry to N'Awlins from the Algiers Pier (another historic section with delightful cottages and homes beautifully preserved) on Westwego. It's 15 minutes and goes all day and into the night.

And, it drops you off RIGHT THERE in the heart of where you want to be - the French Quarter.

 

We walked down Bourbon Street, which is kind of the "den of iniquity" section. This is obvious because housed in the beautiful old homes with lacy wrought-iron balconies are mostly bars and girlie shows. During the day, when we were there, nothing was doing, which was fine with us because we just wanted to see and enjoy!

 

On Decatur Street, there are more shops, restaurants and parks, and not so much sin :-D.

We had cafe au lait and beignets at Cafe du Monde - an absolute MUST if you go. That's all they sell - cafe au lait and beignets. And they are fabulous, but you must eat them downwind or risk being covered with powdered sugar :D.

We walked all through the French Quarter and the French Market.

There is a lovely park in front of the cathedral - also spectacular - I'd have to say it may even be lovlier inside than the one in Santa Fe (though Santa Fe wins for its architecture).

So, we had essentially one full day to walk around and enjoy N'Awlins, which we did. We relaxed back at the campground late in the day and headed off the next morning.

Since then, we've stopped over at Fort Pickens State Park (see previous post) - definitely going back there - for MUCH longer!!; Lake City, Florida (just passin' through); and Savannah. We made the most of our one night in Savannah by driving through the downtown (very pretty) to Tybee Island, which we'd seen on House Hunters. It had less charm than we expected, but is still a fun, young beach town.

Now we are in Charleston, SC for a week and we love it! Also glad to be staying put for a bit. The downtown is simply lovely! Pretty and old and charming and gracious and safe and easy to navigate - all things I like :-D

We also drove out to Kaiwah Island, which I didn't even know was here. Kaiwah is actually gated - you have to live there or be visiting someone who does. Apparently movie stars and other famous folk have places out there. Just before the gate, there is a beautiful county park beach, so that's where we peasants go! (I actually know someone who lives on Keiwah, but he's not someone I really want to call!)

Yesterday was  RVPainter's birthday so we went downtown, had a lovely lunch at a place called Magnolias, and sat on the pier, enjoyed the cooling breezes, and watched the people and boats go by.

 

Enjoy the N'Awlins pictures and I'll be back at the end of the week with Charleston pictures. I took the plunge and invested in turning my iphone into a wifi hotspot - which seems to be working spectacularly well at the moment.

Later, y'all!