A very full day of touring New Orleans began with a lovely continental breakfast in the sun-filled courtyard of the Prytania. Despite
forecasts last night for rain all day today, the morning dawned bright and pleasant.
We asked about the best tours to take, but the hotel desk had incomplete information, and we found a hop on-hop off tour by ourselves. After another short Streetcar ride (We went the right way this time) we were on Canal Street again and quickly arranged for the tour on a double-decker bus.
Our pass allowed us unlimited use of the buses all day. The route is basically a big figure eight that goes all around the city's points of interests, and returns to the center of downtown regularly. So we got to see and hear about many places. We saw the new WWII Museum
with its Stage Door Canteen
the Robert E. Lee monument and traffic circle.
and lots of typical architecture of bothe French and British influences.
Then the bus headed towards the French Quarter and Riverfront where we got off and did some walking. Samuel had a drink with Loius Armstrong
We saw paddle-wheel steamboats,
the St. Louis Cathedral,
and lots of statues and fountains.
Soon it was lunchtime, so we picked a true New Orleans restaurant, the Market Cafe, right in the heart of the French Quarter. We had our second go round with Gumbo and Po Boys. I had a Muffaleta sandwich (ham, mortadella, provolone and a delicious olive tapenaude on a giant round bread loaf) and Amy had a Gator Burger. . We wrre serenaded by a great 4 piece jazz combo all through our meal,
and really felt like we had
been immersed in the New Orleans vibe.
After lunch we found a VooDoo shop, and Sam played a duet with this fellow,
but the music wasn't very lively.
Then we wandered through the French Market
Later we walked through more of the French Quarter and heard lots of Live music, including these guys
who were just tearing it up with their brass band on Bourbon Street (or "Burpin Street", as Sam calls it).
The kids were pretty worn out by that time, so we headed back to the Prytania for a little rest and dinner restaurant research. Having had our fill of Cajun and Creole food, we ended up at a little Italian place, Cafe Roma, not too far from the hotel. It's amazing to me that there are so many great restaurants here, that many have hardly any customers, even on a Friday night at 8pm. This one came highly recommended in online reviews, and we were not disappointed. Spaghetti and meatballs, manicotti, Greek and Caesar salads and hummus with homemade pitas were all delicious, and we all left stuffed and happy. We took a short car tour of some parts of the Garden District we hadn't seen, and got back to the hotel and our beds, weary but happy.
We'll miss New Orleans, but many adventures await us. Tomorrow it's on to the Gulf Coast and into Houston Texas as we continue our Western Tour. More from there later.
forecasts last night for rain all day today, the morning dawned bright and pleasant.
We asked about the best tours to take, but the hotel desk had incomplete information, and we found a hop on-hop off tour by ourselves. After another short Streetcar ride (We went the right way this time) we were on Canal Street again and quickly arranged for the tour on a double-decker bus.
Our pass allowed us unlimited use of the buses all day. The route is basically a big figure eight that goes all around the city's points of interests, and returns to the center of downtown regularly. So we got to see and hear about many places. We saw the new WWII Museum 
with its Stage Door Canteen 
the Robert E. Lee monument and traffic circle. 
and lots of typical architecture of bothe French and British influences.
Then the bus headed towards the French Quarter and Riverfront where we got off and did some walking. Samuel had a drink with Loius Armstrong 
We saw paddle-wheel steamboats,
the St. Louis Cathedral,
and lots of statues and fountains.
Soon it was lunchtime, so we picked a true New Orleans restaurant, the Market Cafe, right in the heart of the French Quarter. We had our second go round with Gumbo and Po Boys. I had a Muffaleta sandwich (ham, mortadella, provolone and a delicious olive tapenaude on a giant round bread loaf) and Amy had a Gator Burger. . We wrre serenaded by a great 4 piece jazz combo all through our meal,
and really felt like we had 
been immersed in the New Orleans vibe.
After lunch we found a VooDoo shop, and Sam played a duet with this fellow,
but the music wasn't very lively.
Then we wandered through the French Market 
Later we walked through more of the French Quarter and heard lots of Live music, including these guys
who were just tearing it up with their brass band on Bourbon Street (or "Burpin Street", as Sam calls it).
The kids were pretty worn out by that time, so we headed back to the Prytania for a little rest and dinner restaurant research. Having had our fill of Cajun and Creole food, we ended up at a little Italian place, Cafe Roma, not too far from the hotel. It's amazing to me that there are so many great restaurants here, that many have hardly any customers, even on a Friday night at 8pm. This one came highly recommended in online reviews, and we were not disappointed. Spaghetti and meatballs, manicotti, Greek and Caesar salads and hummus with homemade pitas were all delicious, and we all left stuffed and happy. We took a short car tour of some parts of the Garden District we hadn't seen, and got back to the hotel and our beds, weary but happy.
We'll miss New Orleans, but many adventures await us. Tomorrow it's on to the Gulf Coast and into Houston Texas as we continue our Western Tour. More from there later.
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