Sigh…….our last night in New Orleans and we’re feeling a little blue…… Verna-Lee and I have both decided that we could stay another day or two but don’t worry readers…..we’re coming home.
Today was another interesting one and we’ve definitely moved into the pace of the Big Easy so we’re moving a little slower than we were when we first arrived.
Learned something new that you might find interesting…..an old beignet tradition that is still alive and well in New Orleans is that at engagement a bride and groom would share a beignet. The bride would blow the powdered sugar at the groom and the two of them would make a wish for their future together. A nice tradition!
After a leisurely morning of sleeping in and starting to pack up our cases, we tried to connect with some of the other girls but it seemed that everyone else had already gone out for the day….I guess we were a little late getting started…… It was definitely time for breakfast (or to tell the truth….lunch) so Verna-Lee and I took off to see what the French Quarter had in store for us today. Of course there was a little more shopping and the 2nd half of my reading with Catherina of New Orleans. There was also an abundance of “hellos” from workers relaxing on stoops along the sidewalks, and passers-by. People here are very friendly and the pace really is slow moving. I think it must be connected to the fact that it gets so hot and humid here. Today was a little taste of just how uncomfortable it might get here…..temperatures weren’t too high but the humidity was up there so we were sweating right from the moment we stepped out the door of the hotel.
We hadn’t seen Helena-Marie and Jenny-Ann for two days so were glad to have a message from them tonight when we got back to the hotel. The two of them spent today at the outlet mall about an hour northwest of here so had an adventure of their own. We’re not sure about Linda-Kay or Nancy A as we never did see them today but we do know where Val was as she spent some of the afternoon and the evening with Verna-Lee and I. The three of us ended up in a former brothel that is now a quaint little hide-away bar called May Bailey’s. It is in the Dauphine Orleans Hotel and that is somewhere that I would stay if/when I get back to this amazing city that has worked its way under my skin and into my soul. To give you a taste of just how friendly folks here are….the manager of the Dauphine Hotel (and keep in mind that we’re not staying there) went out onto the street to see if a couple of his favourite restaurants were open or had space for reservations after he had not been able to get through to them by phone. I really can’t explain just how busy it is here. Just as one convention leaves another one arrives and of course there is the constant stream of cruise ships, and New Orleans is a major shipping port, and then there are the tourists just passing through or staying to check out all the sights. Everywhere you go there are people, day and night there are people (definitely more on Bourbon St by night than by day!), seven days a week there are people…..it’s just a busy place and it’s hard to believe that it wasn’t that long ago that the city suffered such devastation when Katrina hit.
Tonight Val, Verna-Lee, and I had an amazing dinner across the street from the Dauphine Hotel at the Bayona Restaurant. It was definitely upscale with outstanding food and exemplary service. Service is something most places (especially the upscale ones) do very well here. Even at our hotel, the Sheraton, tonight…..our guest services clerk was happy to divide our room bill up however we wanted it even though it meant 4 times the work for her......nice!!!!
So…..we’re all checked out and ready for our early morning departure. Taxi will pick us up at 4:10 a.m. so it will be a loooonnnnngggg day before we arrive in Kelowna.
Would come back here in a heartbeat and tonight as we were walking past the top of Bourbon St for the final time we stopped for a few minutes to enjoy the brass band that was playing there and to watch the passers-by dancing in the middle of the street. It was a melancholy moment as we knew this was our last glimpse of this part of the city but at the same time it made me happy to think about them doing it all again tomorrow for someone else.
That’s it for this trip……….thanks for coming along all y’all,
Lorrie-Mae
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