New Orleans – Days 4 and 5

Day 4 – More French Quarter, More Food, and Lots of Rain

On Friday, Jonathan and I ventured to the Ursuline Convent. It's the oldest building in the city and Jonathan had read about the sisters and the convent in one of his classes last semester. Cafe du Monde was on the way so we grabbed beignets and hot chocolate for breakfast…again.

When we arrived, we were met by the woman who ran the gift shop and her nine month old baby, Abigail. I could relate to bringing your kids with you to work at a church!

It was just a short, self-guided tour kind of place and while interesting, it didn’t take very long for us to go through.

Outside the convent, which also housed an orphanage and church offices at various times.

The painted ceiling in the adjoining church, St. Mary’s. This had been covered by a drop ceiling at one point and then forgotten about. It was only when they need to do some work on the roof that they found the painting and removed the other ceiling.

The altar of St. Mary’s

After the convent, we headed up to Rampart Street in hopes of seeing Louis Armstrong Park and Congo Square, the supposed birthplace of jazz. When we got there though, we found the park closed to visitors since work crews were there. It was a rougher part of town so we decided to head back towards the river to grab a bite to eat before Jonathan needed to get back to the day’s sessions.

We had Lucky Dogs for lunch that we bought from one of the vendors by Jackson Square then headed to one of the park benches to eat them. Lucky Dogs are okay…basically large chili dogs.

After lunch, Jonathan needed to get back for more sessions and I decided to stay at Jackson Square and go through the Mardi Gras museum and St. Louis Cathedral on my own before heading back to the hotel.

The Mardi Gras museum was interesting. I had no idea the amount of tradition that went into those weeks. While I still think that attending the more well-known Mardi Gras events would be terrifying, the history behind the holiday, particularly as celebrated in New Orleans, was fascinating.

It was starting to sprinkle by the time I finished at the museum so I was only in St. Louis Cathedral for a few minutes. I snapped a few photos then headed back the hotel.

The back of St. Louis Cathedral.

The rain picked up as I walked back to the room and even though I had an umbrella, I managed to get pretty drenched. I went to the room, got changed, and read a bit while I waited for Jonathan.

When Jonathan got back, we headed to Cafe Pontalba for dinner with Michael. Cafe Pontalba is on Jackson Square and was recommended by one of Jonathan’s co-workers and the Lucky Dog vendor. Jonathan finally got to have red beans and rice, jambalaya, and gumbo. I played it a little safer with a shrimp po’boy. We had a fun enjoying the food and getting to know Michael a bit more.

It was still pretty early so the three of us decided to walk over to Pat O’Brien’s again. We also wanted to check out Preservation Hall. Jonathan really wanted to hear some New Orleans Jazz. When we got there, there was already a line an hour before the show started so we decided to stop in Pat O’Brien’s for a bit then see how things went.

It worked out that after about an hour we were able to get tickets to hear the Preservation Hall Jazz Masters. We waited in the hall while the first set finished up then moved inside the small, dim room once the band took a break.

Our seats were along the side. The room itself was pretty sparce…a few wooden benches in the middle and along one side with lots of standing room in the back. There were some large photographs and posters on the otherwise bare concrete grey walls, but that was it. No a/c, just a few fans with very yellow bulbs in the fixtures to give a bit of light to the room. It felt old…and it felt real. The ambience was pretty amazing. I couldn’t help but sit and think about all the various and sundry things that had happened inside the tiny room and those four old walls.

Waiting to head inside.

Admittedly, I’m not a jazz fan, but this was a pretty special part of the trip. It’s kind of what I pictured New Orleans being like, but I think now these kind of places are a little bit more removed from the more heavily trafficked tourist areas. Preservation Hall seemed the exception, rather than the rule.

 We stayed for a set (about 40 minutes) then Jonathan and I headed back to the hotel.

Day 5 – Wrapping Up and Heading Home

Jonathan headed over to the conference while I started packing up on Saturday morning. When he was done, we tried to catch a ferry over to Algiers, just to cross the Mississippi. The timing didn’t work out so we walked along the river and headed up to the French Market to look for souvenirs.

Beside the Mississippi

We stopped one final time to get a Flat Sally photo in front of the cathedral then headed back to the room to check out.

After checkout, we got some beignets for lunch (yes, again), bought a couple more souvenirs, and our traditional Christmas ornament, then headed out. Since we hadn’t gotten a chance cross the river on the ferry, we drove across (east) and back (west – I know, so confusing!) before heading out of town. Then we set off on our way back home.

We certainly enjoyed our time in New Orleans and probably gained about 10 pounds each while we were there, but it was worth it. I’d never really been anywhere quite like it. In fact, I was more reminded of Europe while in the French Quarter than any other US city I’ve visited. It was great to get away with Jonathan and have so much fun.