New Orleans and Dad's Bloody Gumbo

We left Memphis on New Year's Day and headed for New Orleans. The traffic was pretty quiet. On the way through we stopped at Jackson, Mississippi and had a look at the state capital. The town was really quiet so we had lunch and then we were our way. We stopped at a rest stop and all thought it was far more exciting then any rest stop back home- there was a big park, with benches, vending machines, flushing toilets and even a security guard!

We all found it amazing driving in, all the roads were high up on stilts as it was all surrounded by water. We arrived in New Orleans late in the afternoon and the hotel was pretty busy as the Sugar Bowl was on that night. We were exhausted and glad to watch it on TV as it was very cold.

The next morning we drove into town. We parked near the water and then went for a long walk around The French Quarter.  First stop was coffee and a sports shop where we did not walk away empty handed! We then walked around the area and down Bourbon Street. The whole place had a lot of atmosphere. There were many people and street performers. All the buildings were really cool to look at, it also seemed like it was totally okay to just walk around with an alcoholic drink in hand!

We then went for a drive around and had a look at the Hurricane Katrina Memorial where they had 108 graves for those who were unidentified or unclaimed. We then drove down Saint Charles Street which was lined with  old wooden mansions which were really pretty. We went to a park opposite Tulane University and had a bit of a look at the university too. It was big and old and actually reminded me a bit of Guilford Grammar School back home.

Then today we drove about an hour and a half to Oak Alley Plantation, a sugar cane plantation. The main house was surrounded by oak trees which were over 300 years old. The house itself was originally owned my a Frenchman called Jaques Roman and it was built in 1837 by slaves. It was interesting to learn about the home and sugar cane production of that time. The plantation is still used today.

On our drive back it was incredible to see these huge boats that seemed to just drive beside the road. There was a big levee that separates the road from the Mississippi River.

We then drove with the intention of going to the Louis Armstrong park but dad wasn't wearing his glasses when he put it in the GPS and we ended up in this really sketchy part of town! We eventually found it and just had a look from the car. We also had to wait for the bridge to be lowered as a boat went by, and we all found that pretty exciting-we don't have them back home! We then went to Saint Charles Street for dinner and dad finally got some gumbo that he had been going on and on about.