NOLA Day Three

Required experiences: jambalaya, oysters, street theater, shrimp and grits, second line again, coffee, seamy side of bourbon street, voodoo

We slept in because, I forgot to mention, we stayed up and watched Austenland on the hotel pay per view. We didn't make it to Stanley for breakfast until noon. Eggs Benedict with oysters this time. Annnnd .... Then we went back to the hotel. I'm keeping track of hotel visits to justify the hotel price. The hotel is dead center in the French quarter. We pop in as often as possible.

It's also right across the street from a voodoo shop. I did not realize voodoo freaks me out. It started when I was hesitant to cross the chalk zig zag at the store's threshold. It exacerbated when I heard the store's employees talking very seriously about energy and altars and rechalking the altar because someone had stepped over the sacred line or some such bullshit. Seriously, I crossed myself when I left. Catholic voodoo can kick Louisiana's voodoo's ass.

Then a massive second line jazz funeral for a jazz celebration passed by, and we joined in and twirled Gary's hanky. Turns out it was for Nelson Mandela. Does anyone else remember the 80s when the ONLY thing NPR reported on was apartheid?

I won't detail the rest of the day except to say: gymnasts, buskers, coffee, street magician, and the fact that Bourbon street takes on a sexual tone the further you get from our hotel. Our hotel block has Bourbon on one end and the catholic church on the other, with an outdoor graven image in a spot light to cast a big Jesus shadow on the block.

We had dinner at the Old Coffee Pot. Gary had jambalaya, chicken, and crab. I had shrimp and grits, and even just the grits were heaven. My only other grits have been at Cracker Barrel and at work. Crap grits. Now I know. Perhaps they're instant grits ala My Cousin Vinnie. Anyway, these grits were buttery and creamy and gelatinous. God. Such good grits.

Okay, Gary has just said "we need to go eat breakfast (at the Coffee Pot again) so we can come back here (to the hotel)." Later.

Comments

[Hattie]

That's a lot of two fisted eating!
Sorry about that bad fall.

[~~Silk]

Hmmm. Did you fall before or after the Voodoo shop?

A lot of fancy restaurants make polenta and list it as grits. I suspect you had polenta. Grits SHOULD BE gritty!

[Thequeen]

Hattie - and the two fists haven't stopped. We're walking constantly. I have had a veggie for days. Wait - two sticks of asparagus on Sunday.
Silk - fell before. And no, those were grits. This was NOT a fancy place.