Back from New Orleans

Hi Y'all! I'm back from our trip to New Orleans. I had a so much fun visiting family and friends. We ate like kings or should I say I ate like a queen. I've had my fill of shrimp. Seriously, I've had enough shrimp for the entire year. A lot of people are nervous about the seafood in New Orleans due to the oil spill in the Gulf. However, we get a lot of our shrimp and fish from Lake Pontchartrain. Lake Pontchartrain is clean from oil. And there's shrimp and catfish farms that are also oil free. It's the oyesters we have to worry about it and the restaurants are very careful about where they receive their seafood.

I think it's terrible what has happened in the Gulf. It makes me want to cry when I see the brown pelicans. Things were just starting to get back to normal after the hurricane. You don't see the blue tarps on the rooftops, old local shops have now open, and people are starting to return after nearly 5 years. For this to happen makes my heart really go out to those in Southern Louisiana. And poor New Orleans! The oil spill has scared the tourist. They think that the seafood is toxic. I'm telling ya from first hand experience it's been one of the best trips to NOLA I've taken in years. The food is great and the French Quarter wasn't crowded. If you want to go to New Orleans this is the time to book your trip.

They have the Louisiana Seafood Festival in the French Quarter during June. We happened to catch the tail end of it. They didn't serve oyesters but they did serve blacken catfish, red fish, and andouille and gator sausages. The gumbo was delish! I had so much food that I have to diet for the rest of the month. Again, this was one of the best memories I've had visiting the French Quarter and I use to live in there.


This was taking as we walked through the French Quarter. I love this area because it has a lot of my favorite shops located here. One of my favorite shops in the French Quarter is called Santa's Quarters. They have a ton of Christmas decorations all New Orleans. I have a alligator and street car ornament that I purchased a few years ago. I love them!!!









This is the St. Louis Cathedral. It's the heart of the French Quarter. On the back side they have a statue of Jesus raising his arms. At night there is a spot light shining on the statue that makes a giant shadow of Jesus that reflects off the church. It's pretty amazing when you see it. I tried to get a snap shot but it didn't turn out. Bummer!





















Here's a vintage Mardi Gras dress worn by one of the past Mardi Gras queens. I love all the cool customes.
















Below you'll see some pictures of the infamous Cafe Du Monde. Of course you can't come to New Orleans without ordering beignets. They are beyond delicious. Who knew that fried dough and powdered sugar could be so good.










As you walk through the streets you'll see musicians playing pretty much on every street corner. This was a great jazz band we watched while cooling off outside the French Market.














The FRENCH MARKET!!! I use to love shopping here on the weekends when we lived in NOLA. You can find the most unusual things here from jewelry, foods, linens, clothing, etc. I use to buy a lot of my Christmas gifts for my relatives back in California. I never had to worry about someone else buying the same thing.