What is with this place.

Hello, and welcome to Day ... Whatever. I don't know. I've lost track of not just dates, but also days of the week. I think this is two weeks on the road. Yes, it must be because I left on a Saturday and someone told me today is also Saturday and it's been at least more than one week. 

So the bed and breakfast we stayed at had literally the world's nicest person (I'm sure I've never met anyone nicer, though there are probably people on par with her) as a hostess. Her name is Wendy, and she made the best praline french toast ever. Apparently she's won awards and has been on the top ten best things to try in Mobile, AL a few times. And let me tell you, this toast is insanely good. I lament not having the foresight to take a picture before I finished eating. It is also insanely rich and insanely sweet, so I wasn't able to finish my second piece of toast. She said, "That's okay, you just have to stay at my table forever for not finishing your breakfast." 

But I did not stay at her table forever. And as is my (or rather, Lindsey Vaughan's that I have merely adapted) rule for having visited a state, I needed to have a meal in said state and not in the airport. I stopped for gas ($2.17 a gallon!!! So crazy cheap in MS!) and though we weren't really hungry after that huge breakfast, I suggested we get some Dominoes, which was attached to the gas station, and eat it at a rest stop. That would allow me to cross Mississippi off my list of visited states without cheating.

Unfortunately, we were getting closer and closer to the state line and there were no rest areas to be found. So I pulled off at the next exit, which happened to be this weird little place called Diamondhead. It was weird. It was like a gated community, but the town was the gated community. We couldn't really figure out what was going on. 

But we found this little pond and this little picnic table and we were going to eat at it, but not only was it raining, it was heavily guarded by Canada geese, who were, shall we say, not just a little aggressive. So we stayed in the car to have our meal. 

Which is rather sad, as it consisted of cheese bread and boiled peanuts. Rachelle said, "It's a typical Mississippi lunch," and I said, "I think it honestly is." 

We had to try them because they're everywhere. I don't really get the appeal, but that's mostly because I'm an adult and a normal human worm baby, but I can see how if you grew up on these they might appeal to you. I can see them being a sort of comfort food. 

We got the cajun kind, so they were spicy. I liked the spice. The rest of it ... meh. I could take it or leave it. I didn't hate them. I would say 3 out of 5 stars. 

So we made it New Orleans!! Yay!! This is our hotel, which is the Best Western (where we will get a continental breakfast and stock up on a ton of food for the next leg of our journey) in the French Quarter. Our room is on the 3rd floor overlooking the courtyard and I was telling Rachelle, what amazes me is the fact that if you give kids a pool, they will be the happiest people in the world. That's it. That's all they need to spend hours occupied and thrilled. Just a hole in the ground with water. 

We decided to take a walk. 

These are some of the pretty houses along the way. 

This is Lafitte's, named after Jean Lafitte, a pirate in the Gulf of Mexico during the late 1700's and early 1800's. There are lots of things named after him here. 

Buildings that look like these are on every street corner. 

I'm digging those statues. 

And now it's name is Royal Street, which turned into my favorite street of the night. You will see why later. 

But I like this font! Part of a graffitied wall. 

This was a statue I wanted in a shop. Rachelle said, "Do you think we can fit that one in the car?" And the guy was like, "If you buy it, I'll ship it to you." I looked at the $16,000 tag and said, "No thanks." 

I am fascinated by this fountain. 

I actually think it would be really cool with water in it. 

Now it is a hotel. 

Outside of the hotel to the right. 

Outside of the hotel to the left. 

St Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square. It was really love and huge and old. There were all kinds of psychics lined up along the way to read your tarot cards. And there was a guy juggling knives (which seems ill-advised) and a guy playing his violin, which was so lovely, it made me cry.

Jackson Square Park. 

And the spiel about it. 

I made Rachelle walk to the bayou, though she is not in love with the ocean as I am, mostly because it is a few minutes walk from her house.

Here is Cafe Du Monde, which is famous for it's beignets. The line was insane. I didn't really want to get a beignet right then, and I thought we would come back tomorrow for maybe an afternoon snack.  But we did got into the store and look around. 

Good one. 

I liked that they gave the history. I don't think this was for sale. It's just a cool piece.

St Louis through the Jackson Square Park. 

See? Every street corner. 

I love this dress. I spent about 20 minute exclaiming how much I loved it and a red polka dot one that was hanging on the door across from it. 

Then we went in and I loved all the dresses. I wanted to buy them all. I could not afford them all (or even one, really), but the lovely saleswoman offered me a brochure and said everything was online. Well thank heavens. As soon as I'm a millionaire (thousandaire?) I'm going to buy all the dresses.

Oh my gosh, I'm going to die if I don't get that red polka dot dress!!!

As we turned around from that amazing shop, this amazing thing happened. Seriously, it was so exciting. We didn't know what was going on, we just thought it was a parade. No, it was a wedding!! They looked so, so happy! It was such a beautiful moment and I'm so glad I got to share in it. Rachelle and I walked down the street after this video finished feeling so overwhelmed and so happy because it was just so happy and joyful. The bride and I groom looked so in love and everyone was sharing in that love. We walked along side the rest of the procession, which had to have been at least 300 people. 

Then we came across this awesome thing. Is it a cake? Is it a large amount of cotton candy? Is it a cake wrapped in a large amount of cotton candy? No one knows. But happy birthday to this guy I guess.

Then we saw this and decided yes, this was the place to go, not Cafe Du Monde. 

Look at how lovely it is! And this guy on the right was playing the classical guitar, which made me so happy because it's one of my favorite instruments. I was nervous before coming here that the live music was going to be annoying as I don't really enjoy live music and I don't really enjoy jazz. I have been pleasantly surprised. There are lots of different kinds of music here. This guy was so soothing, and the violin in Jackson Square was beautiful, and even the people on street corners playing jazz on saxophones are lovely. 

Proof that Rachelle and I are actually together. I was teasing her that no one's going to believe me because I keep talking about her in my blog but there is no photographic proof that she exists yet.

The two coolest kids in town. 

Beignets and jambalaya. We're doing this thing right. The beignets are honestly just holeless donuts, and they're good, but they're just donuts. The jambalaya is good, but definitely needed hot sauce.

So we're walking back to the hotel and the next street over is like, bumping. I say to Rachelle, "That's going to be Bourbon street." And it is. Oh my gosh, it was so crazy and fun! I was really surprised at how much I laughed and smiled walking down the street. I'm not an extravert, and this clearly where the extraverts hang out. But it was just so loud and ridiculous and people are just walking and some of them are dressed up, but most of them are just there. 

And as I mentioned earlier, there was so much diversity with the music. There were places playing everything from I'm a Rebel Just for Kicks Now to Body Like a Backroad to The Temptations to 80s pop. It was pretty great to see all of that on the same street. 

I had some students who took lessons with me for a few years and they had first come in to the learn because they'd gone to New Orleans and everyone there had known how to dance. They were so funny, they said at the end of the song all the dancers would turn to the stage and "do a little kick." Haha, they were always so obsessed with that kick, for as long as they'd taken lessons. I, of course, had no idea what they were talking about, but it was always funny when they would finish their songs with a little kick towards me. Anyway, the place they went to had had the name Cat in it, so I took some pictures of the Cat places in honor of the little kick. 

I think it's a parrot. Like, see the little perch it's on? And the black pupils in the white eyes?

Another Cat bar. I believe it was at the other Cat bar that Rachelle received a gift from the Gods; her very own beads!! She was lamenting that one has to be inappropriate to get them; because there were a bunch of dude hanging out on a balcony at this one place and then BAM! Some fell right in front of her on the ground. Haha. No reason why. No one knows where they came from. Rachelle said, "They're a gift from the Gods!" and then, "...when actually it was probably just some guy named Dave from Detroit." 

Yep, we went in here. It was so crowded you couldn't move. We looked at some spell kits and some protection kits for the different signs. Speaking of which, when we checked into the hotel the guy was so thrilled the Rachelle was a "fellow Sag" and he insisted I was one of three signs because "they're the only ones we can be friends with." I think that my sign being one of them was mere coincidence. But he was very friendly and fun. 

What I learned today: Music in New Orleans isn't horribly loud and invasive, as has been my experience with live music up until this point. I hate it when I can't have a conversation with the person next to me because whomever is singing into a microphone has the volume turned up so loud they demand your attention. That is bothersome and quite frankly selfish. 

On the agenda for tomorrow: Palm readings, po' boys, Marie Laveau's tomb, perhaps drinks at revolving bar and whatever else suits our fancy.