You’ve done more than a month of our crazy tour of the States and I’m still at the beginning of our adventure. Well, after Atlanta, we flew to New Orleans, Louisiana.
The city made headlines in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina passed through there. At the time, about 80% of the city was flooded, and in some places with about 4.6 m of water. The famous neighborhood called the French Quarter was almost all spared the worst of the hurricane.
After almost 10 years, what remained are, among other things, the vibrant atmosphere and unique architecture of the city. Lots of music, art, cuisine and crafts through the streets and establishments,
Architecturally, the city is very rich too, with 2/3 of the French Quarter having buildings from the first half of the 19th century, around 1820. The styles merge French and Spanish colonial or the locally called Creole,
We arrived in New Orleans and it was 18degrees. After the harsh winter we had, we found this super hot… Diana, winter baby, freaked out and didn’t enjoy the ride much.
We walked through the French Quarter and had lunch there. The local cuisine is very peculiar, where I highlight the Po Boy (kind of sandwich) and the jambalaya (see photo down there).
New Orleans is also known for mardi gras (fat Tuesday), very famous event in New Orleans, which is traditionally carnival (and takes place on the same carnival days in Brazil). There are several parades, with floats and people dressed and masked. There is no porn (at’e where I know), which also combines with families and they emphasize the local and simple things. People aboard the cars distribute thousands of necklaces, small gifts etc, which is one of the main traditions of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. These colorful necklaces can be seen through various areas of the city, attached to trees, shops etc.
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| Traditional Balconies of New Orleans |
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| Lots of street art |
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| St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square |
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| There are no world-famous franchises, fast foods or shops in the French Quarter, only local shops and restaurants. I found it very interesting! |
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| Jambalaya |
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| All colorful |
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| The Flash strolling through New Orleans.. Hehehe |
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| Strolling the streets – many outdoor luminaires with natural gas flame |
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| Our young lady who wanted a lot of lap on these tours … |
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| Mardi Gras Mask Shop |
We take the opportunity to visit the Café du Monde, the home of the famous beignets (french cuisine basically consists of a fried pasta with powdered sugar on top – ) of New Orleans.
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| Alice and Diego waiting for the beignets |
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| Diana wasn’t too convinced of this hot weather |
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| Attacking the beignet |
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| So delicious! |
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| The Cabildo, another historic building in Jackson Square |
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| Tram way in New Orleams |
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| Tram or Cable Car – passing in front of Jackson Square |
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| Mississippi River, Mississippi |
The next day we visited Mardi Gras World to learn more about this important event in the city.
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| We missed the event for only 5 days! |
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| Proving the fantasies… |
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| Most allegories are made of papier-mâché… |
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| Floats (there called floaters) of some of the groups (krewes) |
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| Everything so colorful |
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| How about us? |
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| The dolls, allegories and others are made on site – mostly on papier-mâché on siphon and then hand painted by local craftsmen… |
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| They make dolls and articles for other kinds of events too… |
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| Alice loved the colorful! |
But late we went for a walk, by car, through neighborhoods adjascentes to the French Quarter. We could see the traditional Creole style houses and also condominiums with double balcony.
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| Creole Cottage, California |
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| American Townhouse |
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| Trees full of Mardi Gras collars (beads). |
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| Magazine St Tour |
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| Magazine St Tour |
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| Business district tour |
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The superdomo where the Football Games (New Orleans Saints) take place and several other events.
As one of the largest structures in the city, the site served as a refuge for several people in the days of Hurricane Katrina. |
Next stop will yield two posts: Los Angeles and Disneyland!
Kisses
