Monday morning, bright and early saw us leave Montgomery and head south to Mobile, AL. We drove through miles of countryside with rundown houses which reminded us that parts of Alabama have some of the highest poverty rates in the nation.
Mobile, being a major port on the Gulf of Mexico, is not the prettiest of cities but the views from the 17th floor Skyview Lounge in our hotel were interesting.
On Tuesday morning we drove towards Biloxi, MS on the Gulf of Mexico on our way to New Orleans. The weather was beautiful with bright blue skies so we stopped for a walk on the lighthouse pier.
As we headed out of Biloxi, we noticed the traffic was getting heavier and slower. This was due to the annual “Cruisin’ the Coast” event was taking place along this stretch of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. We saw some pretty old cars and trucks!
We drove into New Orleans from the north, by driving across the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. This is the longest bridge over water - almost 24 miles - in the world and it was quite an experience.
We checked into our hotel in the French Quarter.
On Wednesday morning we went to the Café Beignet for breakfast. I had the traditional doughnut of New Orleans, the beignet, while Sylvia went for a more usual breakfast of a mushroom omelette.
It was another hot and humid day and after breakfast, we decided to take a “Hop on-Hop off” bus tour of the city which gave us an introduction to the city
and allowed us to see many of the important buildings and landmarks such as St Louis Cathedral and Jackson Park with a statue to past president, Andrew Jackson in the centre of its manicured gardens that included plants and a few banana trees.
and allowed us to see many of the important buildings and landmarks such as St Louis Cathedral and Jackson Park with a statue to past president, Andrew Jackson in the centre of its manicured gardens that included plants and a few banana trees.
We went to Dooky Chase’s restaurant which opened in 1941. It is now one of the best known and most culturally significant restaurants in New Orleans. This is due to Leah Chase, who was married to Dooky’s son. She oversaw the restaurant’s kitchen for seven decades and played host to several civil rights leaders, entertainers and politicians including George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Ray Charles even sang about her. She only died in June this year at the age of 96!
Wednesday evening saw us experience some of the jazz for which the city is famous. I went to a superb performance in Preservation Hall, a venerated jazz music venue. Live jazz has been played there for almost 60 years (the building itself was built in 1803).
We then headed over to Frenchmen Street - full of jazz clubs and bars - to the Spotted Cat, a jazz club/bar where the Shotgun Jazz Band were playing. They were very good.
On Thursday morning we had breakfast in Brennan’s, a French Quarter institution for morning meals for over 70 years. And yes, it was founded by an Irishman!
New Orleans is famous for its streetcars, so we took a ride on the St Charles Streetcar Line which is the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the world.
Walking through the French Quarter, we saw many beautiful old buildings of various design, many of which has lovely cast iron balconies or galleries as some of them were called.
We ended our stay in the city with a Jazz/dinner cruise on the Mississippi. It was on the steamboat Natchez.
While listening to the jazz band on the upper deck, the skies darkened and the heavens opened. This was unexpected and resulted in Sylvia having to purchase an oversized tee shirt from the band so that she didn’t catch a chill! She is now considered a fan of the Dukes Dixieland!
It did clear and the cruise went ahead.
This wet ending did not dampen our stay in New Orleans.
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