NOLA!

Where Y'at?

Good, thanks for asking.  It's pretty great to be back in the Crescent City, after 13 years, one colossal disaster, and 4 seasons of Treme.

In case there was any doubt we were in the South - the minute we stepped out of MSK, we had sticky grey skies and an Uber driver who filled us in on: why he didn't have his sticker, how unreasonable the parking lot security was about it, the highway was too crowded and no way he was taking it, his daughter, his car, local breweries, that the cigarettes in the glove box were his little brother's, he had stolen them because his brother wanted helpt to quit smoking, so his brother had asked for it, and some restaurant recommendations.

Which we took him up on, and enjoyed the hot dog stylings of Dat Dog on Magazine Street.  Brennan had alligator.

Most of our party was interested in seeing the WWII Museum...

Lucie, however, was pretty adamant that she did NOT want to go.  After some panicky breakfast internet research (she's too old for the glorified play spaces dubbed "children's museums", we couldn't go to the Zoo without Brennan, and the weather delivered on it's promise to rain torrentially in fits and starts all afternoon, so outdoor activities were iffy), I discovered that Mardi Gras World had moved across the river from Algiers to a big warehouse RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET from my aunt & uncle's place.

The rain stopped just in time for the big event - my cousin Maya's wedding.  Brennan and Lucie have never been to a wedding, so they were excited to attend.  Luckily there were 2 other kids around their ages also attending, so when the novelty wore off and they realized they were in a huge room full of chatty grown-ups, they had buddies to play with.  Also my Aunt Nancy, despite having all manner of mother-of-the-bride stuff to do, gave them lots of attention.

Since the kids were on Spring Break, we had time to stay and enjoy some of the sights, like riding the St. Charles streetcar to the French Quarter -

Walking along the Moonwalk and down to touch the Mississippi-

Wondering at the above-ground graves in Lafayette Cemetery #1 -

Waiting, and waiting, for beignets from Cafe du Monde - and eating them in Jackson Square -

And, well, how could we not?  Breakfast (technically, brunch) at Brennan's -

There was a fun morning at the Audubon Zoo - we let the frogs turn us into witches -

Decided we weren't too big to ride the carousel, especially when there are so many cool animals to ride-

Climbed up a live oak -

Rocked by the bayou for a spell-

And met the Swamp Monster!

But when I asked them what they liked the most about our trip, they both agreed that spending time at Nancy & Neil's house was their favorite.*  Brennan liked learning all about Hurricane Katrina from Neil, feeling the breeze off the river and watching Tchoupitoulas St. traffic from their balcony, Lucie was in heaven with all of Nancy's art supplies.  And I was so happy to see them back in their city after 10 years away.

* although clarified a few minutes later as favorite after beignets