French Quarter and Cemeteries

*Backblips*

Yes - I am still backblipping and it is taking me a while to get through this.

By Thursday we were properly adjusted to the US timezone so it was getting harder and harder to get up in the morning (the drinks on Bourbon St the night before had nothing to do with it!).  We decided to get up and go explore the French Quarter.  On the way to Jackson Square we saw a tourism office so popped in to have a look and came out with some ideas for walking tours in the area.  

We got to Jackson Square with the intention of going to Cafe Du Monde for some famous Beignets however the queue was MASSIVE so instead we got a table at Stanley Restaurant on the corner of St Annes.  I had scrambled eggs with multigrain toast, pecan cured bacon and creole breakfast potatoes which were just scrumptious.  I think this place was possibly the best breakfast of the holiday.

We decided on the tours we wanted to take and went back to book them. The first tour was for that day which was the French Quarter and Cemetery tour with New Orleans Legendary Walking Tours.  Our guide was incredibly informative and really funny which made for a good tour.  We wandered around the french quarter where the guide described how the buildings were designed and built to keep people as cool as possible.  The houses that you see on the streets are actually the backs of the houses, with the front always having a courtyard with large trees etc maximising the shade for people.   New Orleans history is pretty impressive and interesting.

We saw St Louis Cemetery number 1 where Marie Laveau is buried (or at least her tomb resides.  The interesting thing about the cemeteries (or rather 1 of the many interesting things) is that the graves are built up.  Due to the rather swamp and wet base of the soil they realised pretty early on that the bodies wouldn't quite stay buried.  What I didn't realise is that with the heat in the area the bodies actually slowly cremate over the year so if your family member has died before you and you croak less than 365 days after them then you have to wait until the year is up before anyone will open the family tomb for you.  After a year (or later when the next family member is due to be laid to rest) then they open the tomb up sweep the previous remains to the back and then slide the new body in.  A bit gross but also quite efficient and I guess this means you can manage the real estate effectively.

To be honest I am struggling to recall exactly what we did later in the afternoon/ evening but I think the majority of the time was spent walking around, stopping for the occasional drink.  In the evening we found this amazing little bistro The Louisiana Bistro.  Most restaurants were pretty packed and a little challenging to get into but this place had one little table for 2 that had just opened up.  It is a small family run place where the owner is waiting the tables and is also the main cook. The food was just awesome and the service was great - LOVED it.

It is not surprising I have gained a little bit of weight on this holiday but we will get to that in a more recent post.

Extra photos are of Jackson Square and some of the houses in the French quarter