New Orleans Trip

“Way down yonder in New Orleans, In the land of dreamy scenes, There's a garden of Eden...You know what I mean.” -Louis Armstrong

Since we were going to be in Mississippi for Christmas Day this year, we went a few days early and David's parents took us to New Orleans for the day! New Orleans is a little less than 3 hours from Jackson, and so David got to go there quite a bit growing up. But I had never been! So, our first full day in Mississippi, we piled in his parents van and headed down to the Big Easy.

We got there around lunchtime, and our first stop was the famous Galatoire's (http://www.galatoires.com/) restaurant for lunch! It is a beautiful, old restaurant on Bourbon Street. I (being the great lover of old buildings) loved the black and white tile flooring! It was a beautiful place. We had a fantastic waiter and the food was so good! I had a chicken dish and it was delicious, while David and his parents got seafood. This is a picture of David and I right outside before we went in to eat.



After lunch, we walked down Bourbon Street (and all over the French Quarter) to see the sights...



Including the Royal Sonesta (http://www.sonesta.com/RoyalNewOrleans/), the hotel that David's parents spent their honeymoon at years ago...







A few streets over, we saw a street band, a common sight in New Orleans...



We headed down towards Jackson Square, to see the St. Louis Cathedral (http://www.stlouiscathedral.org/). We got to go in and see the amazing architecture and detail (especially the beautiful ceilings)...









Then, I got to see the Mississippi River for the first time ever! Got to see a steamboat that was actually using its steam pipes to play Christmas music. Cool!



Then we went to Pat O'Brien's (http://www.patobriens.com/patobriens/), the famous Irish pub...



And to Cafe du Monde (http://www.cafedumonde.com/), for coffee with chicory and beignets (sadly, my camera battery was getting low and I don't have pictures from here).

We walked down to the French Market to do a little shopping, and got a fun picture on the way...


We wrapped up the day with dinner at Antoine's (http://www.antoines.com/), which was gorgeous!!! Our waiter even gave us a personal tour of the whole place after we ate!

We had so much fun! Thanks to David's parents for such a wonderful day trip!!! :-)