It was a great, hot, day along the Gulf coast of Alabama, Mississippi and into Louisiana. We made stops to visit the Beau Rivage Casino in Biloxi (where they unfortunately allow smoking) and some property we used to own outside Pascagoula.

We arrived in the Big Easy to a typically humid, sweltering day. Our first order of business was to try to find the neighborhood where I used to live as a child.  I did find my elementary school (now a beautiful charter school) and the convent where I used to see the nuns on the way to school.  The apartments we lived in have apparently been razed and replaced with nice looking single family homes.  After some years in decline, it’s a nice family neighborhood once again. Now they need to repave the streets!

Late afternoon and evening were given over to simply walking around the French Quarter, eating and experiencing Bourbon Street where we were three times the age of most patrons.

I always remember the noise, dirt and smells of NO.  You have alternating wafting odors of beer, fried fish, vomit, manure, horses, cigars, good food, rotting garbage, sewage and magnolias  . . . . you get the idea.

And this was a quiet weeknight.

We had a little pre-dinner snack at The Red Fish Grill and tried their famous BBQ Oysters.   I would describe them more like Buffalo Oysters and they were, indeed delicious! The garlic soaked crab claws were equally addictive.

Dinner was at the iconic Brennan’s, which has re-opened recently after a one-year hiatus for renovation.  No escargot this time, and they have radically changed the way they prepare frog legs – what a shame.  It was still a lovely evening.

After the chaos and cacophony of Bourbon Street, we retreated to the Royal Sonesta for some smooth jazz at Irwin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse, to end a terrific day.

Daily Trivia Question (answer next post):

Which celebrity has a home in New Orleans?

__Sandra Bullock

__John Goodman

__Nicholas Cage

Last post’s trivia answers:

What 5 flags have flown over Pensacola? Spanish, French, British, Confederate, U.S.A.

What showcase flight squadron trains here? The Blue Angels