Sunday 29 May 2011

Our Holiday - New Orleans.

My desk is a mess of all the 'bits' from the cruise, postcards, leaflets and itineraries... which should in the next few days actually turn into a mini book of sorts so I will just do a quick run through of the trip!
We arrived in New Orleans on the Saturday afternoon which was warm and noisy... gosh yes, noisy!  People are permanently in party mode in this town!  We were told to eat at Deanies for the best sea food menu and turned up to find the huge restaurant filled to overflowing... undaunted we went to the front desk and waited for a free receptionist who promptly handed us this handheld device that flashed and vibrated when your table was ready... which meant we could go outside and snoop in the shop windows for a half block in any direction. We found lots of shops with the colourful Mardi Gras costumes in the windows and luckily for Chris they were closed at this time of night or I might now have a heap of those gorgeous masks that are all sparkly and pretty!!

We had a fabulous meal, the food was yummy and came in humungous portions which in normal circumstances would have fed a family of four!! In the following days I was going to understand that in the US portion size was akin to 'value for money' - whilst in my view, quality not quantity is probably the way to go... this is not to say that the quality was not there, as it was, just heaps of the stuff sitting on my plate tends to have me beat before I start eating, as I know I will be unable to do it justice.... and I did see lots of people taking their left overs home in bags.

The next morning we headed off into the French Quarter so that I could see all the beautiful iron railings on the buildings - the architecture is so French, it was fun to go along reading all the street signs.
The street performers were totally amazing...
This is me with a mime.... oh to be able to stay that still!!
Not sure what the other guy was.... but he scary!!
Chris insisted that he had to have his photo taken at this landmark.... we didn't go in for coffee because the queue was about 3 blocks long!!



9 comments:

  1. OMGness! What an amazing trip! I'm so jealous... Ever since reading Anne Rice books, I've been hankerin g to visit - but I know I'll never go (too much of a homebody and scared of flying *lol*). The photographs are out of this world... and I can't wait to see how you scrap all your memorabilia from this trip!

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  2. Wow, sounds like you have had an amazing time - the photos are fabulous.

    Can't wait to see what kind of mini book you come up with for recording this trip - it is sure to be something stunning.

    Welcome back
    Toni xx

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  3. I'm TOTALLY impressed with these photos I'm seeing. I had never heard of Deanies, but from the view of your food, I can see why people would take food home. I'm really hungry right now, so I suspect I could eat most of what is on your plate. It all looks so good. And I'm glad you got to see the French Quarter. It is loud, raucous, and FUN IF you are a drinker. You can tell I wasn't all that fond of it, except during the day, when all the shops were open, not just the drinking establishments.

    I look forward to seeing what you do with your photos and memorabilia. I often use things in my art that I pick up on my trips.

    I can tell you are British because in my story it would be a long LINE, not a queue (I actually learned that word when I was going to college and writing computer code).

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  4. This trip just gets better glad your having a lovely time Dxx

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  5. I have enjoyed reading the posts about your trip! Didn't you love Belize? Such a poor country but such nice people. We took a trip in land and saw the howler monkeys rather then stay on the water. If you get a chance to go back try the Baboon Sanctuary. Don't know why they call it Baboon cause it is howler monkeys! New Orleans is awesome too but done once or twice is enough. Too many people at this time of year. I take my visits off season and it is a lot of fun.
    If you would like some paper with the tropical/cruise theme email me. I have a lot of 6x6 pages that I will send you.

    Vickie

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  6. Have just found out this evening we are spending 4 days in and around the New Orleans area next month - am very excited - and hopefully I can find some craft shops too.

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  7. Oh WOW! what a fantastic trip, the photos are great and I too look forward to seeing what you create x

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  8. Great photos, looks like you had a great time, can't wait to see the mini book you make :D
    C
    xx

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  9. Easier to respond on your blog than trying to sign in to send you an e-mail. If you don't want to post this, you don't have to, but I wanted to let you know a few things about your response from today. If you look at last year's blog post:

    http://alteredbooklover.blogspot.com/2010/05/memorial-day-in-us-and-spring-bank.html

    you can see a bit more about this day some people still call "decoration" day. This holiday is for remembering the DEAD, while the one in November, which we call Armistice or Veterans Day, is to honor ALL veterans, whether they are dead or alive. You can read about it here:
    http://alteredbooklover.blogspot.com/2010/11/veterans-day-in-us.html

    My grandfather always wore a poppy on that day, too. I hope you enjoy this bit of history and such.

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Thank you for taking the time to leave your comment, it is truly appreciated - sort of confirms that it is more than my Mum and husband that read this thing! :)