My very wise, very loving husband had the great idea back in September to schedule a mid-winter cruise. It was a great motivator to get through a difficult semester of school and the unpleasantries that cold, dark winter months bring me.
Excited on our flight out! We got there pretty late, so didn't do any sight seeing that first night.
We started the first morning with a brisk walk in the much MUCH colder than anticipated French Quarter and Riverwalk of the Crescent City. We encountered this delightful shark bush outside the aquarium.
Before too long, the cold and the wind got to us, so the man offering bus tours on a warm bus made a very compelling offer.
First stop was one of the above ground cemeteries. The Big Easy is at sea level, so if you dig a hole in the ground, it just fills up with water. Thus, everyone gets buried in these cool tombs.
Some of them have been kept up by the Catholic church and are super pretty.
Others look a lot older and are pretty cool.
And one was this fun castle.
Everywhere were these giant live oak trees. They also grow moss and that weird brown stuff hanging all over all of the branches. Apparently, it turns really green after the rain. But nothing cool happens when it's just really cold and windy.
And then we went to a statue garden. This one was one of our favorites. Sadly, the picture doesn't quite do it justice.
See the creepy spider?!
Giant safety pin in the background, group of naked men in the (still far back to provide privacy) foreground.
Blake made some new friends.
We just liked this safety pin.
It's probably not what the sculptor had in mind, but I thought this sculpture was a pretty good portrayal of anxiety. The position of the person sitting, hunched with arms around knees, and then all of the letters all over the place. I don't know. I can't quite explain it, but it just fit for me.
A pretty church!
And of course, the iconic Bourbon Street.
We didn't know when we scheduled, but we were there right before Mardi Gras. Which is celebrated for at least a good 3 weeks. We stayed away from the parade that night which our server at breakfast had described as "XXX" (pronounced "Eehx, eehx, eehx" in her sweet southern accent). But, I did get a little festive with this pretty mask.
The lighting wasn't the best, so it's difficult to see, but this tree is a sculpture. Look super closely and see if you can find it! Hint: It has to do with Mardi Gras!
This is a house. Those steps are solid marble. It doesn't even look good with the house and I can only imagine what it cost. So crazy!
I could not get enough of the architecture and fun colors of the homes down there.
See the festivities on the balcony in preparation for the parades?
Cafe du Monde!!!!
These beignets did not disappoint. Pure deliciousness.
We should have taken a photo of the crazy amounts of powdered sugar on top before we ate them, but this is what was leftover by the end.
This guy stayed like this for several minutes. What?! Yes. He didn't even blink. It was seriously nuts. And actually, he may have stayed like that even longer. We didn't stick around to see him move.
Fun old street signs!
We didn't get any pics of our lunch (although it was my very favorite meal in New Orleans--I discovered how much I LOVE red beans and rice), but this was our dinner. I had an amazing po'boy and Blake had a mix of crawfish etouffee, jambalaya, and something else. I can't remember what the third was. I liked mine best.
Even though it was a freezing cold day (we actually hid out in our hotel for a couple hours in the middle of the day watching a Property Brothers marathon to escape the cold for a bit), we had a great day and really loved this city and the fantastic people that live there!
