New Orleans, Louisiana

We entered into a friendly competition.  I planned New Orleans and it was going to be great!  I planned our trip to coincide with the first weekend of Jazz Fest and bought tickets for Sunday evening because John Mayer was playing.  And then...he had nodules on his vocal chords and cancelled.  Boo.  Now, I needed to make the rest of the trip even better now that my 'sure thing' was out the window.

We did the usual...

• St. Charles Trolley to the Garden District and strolled the sidewalks looking at lovely homes
• Picked up a muffeletta at Central Grocery, which btw, I think is gross, but Chuck liked it.
• Walk and drank our way down Bourbon Street
• Took a cooking class and learned how to make gumbo, red beans and rice, pecan pie and pralines
• Strolled the botanical gardens and sculpture garden
• Gambled a bit at Harrah's...gambled poorly, I might add
• Watched the performers on Bourbon Street (and yes, the chick in the background is a staple here)

Make sure you choose your hotel wisely.  Here is a hotel on Bourbon Street (at night)....

and at 7am...after the street cleaners/washers (with soap) went through

The activity on Bourbon Street is starting to pick up

Jackson Square

The French Quarter