New Orleans: Settling In

4:02 pm:

We checked into Hotel Provincial about an hour ago.  The room is spacious and right off one of the courtyards, but we're crammed behind a creaky old stairwell and don't have much of a view.  But that is hardly going to be a problem.  We're just glad to have a place to catch our breath.

The drive this morning only took about five hours, and we were parked next to the Old Mint by about 1 pm.  We wandered the French Market and stopped by the Riverwalk.  From here we could see the familiar (to me) business district and Natchez riverboat.  

Our first several attempts to find a place to eat were fruitless, so we eventually settled for Cafe Pontalba, which is right along Jackson Square near the Cabildo.  As we waited for our food, those seated nearest to the windows were serenaded by a street-performing tuba player.  Hans' jambalaya was passable, and my barbecued shrimp, while well-seasoned, were a little more work than they were worth.  I forgot that "unpeeled" means with the heads on, and not deveined.  I think they were a little overdone too, because the shells were practically welded to the meat.  Very sweet and tasty nonetheless.

Now we're in our room, trying to figure out the next move.  Do we wander the streets some more before dinner?  Do we check out the scene on Bourbon Street later?  I think I need a Hurricane!

9:06 pm:

We started with a turn about the gardens at the Beauregard-Keyes House, on the opposite corner from the hotel.  Next, we headed toward Esplanade Avenue, which Hans and I enjoyed a lot since the street is divided by a tree-lined median and the crowds are fairly absent.  Then, we walked from one end of Royal Street to the other, taking Canal down to Magazine.  I showed Hans where I stayed during the ACS conference two years ago, and suddenly thought we should get dinner at Mulates, an excellent cajun joint with live music.

But since we weren't quite hungry yet, we strolled the mall, sat on the food court balconies overlooking the river, and sipped on frozen lemonade (Hans) and a pina colada (me).  After we happened upon the Algiers-Canal Street ferry, I spontaneously suggested we hop along for the ride (it's free, after all).  During the 25-minute round-trip we took some photos of the city from the river and enjoyed the fresh air.  After we landed back in New Orleans, we went to dinner.

Hans had some ultra-rich shrimp that were packed with crab meat and then deep fried, dipped in some kind of sauce that was at least 80% bacon (yum!).  I had the fried oyster platter.  Wonderful!  They were very lightly breaded, so you could still clearly taste the fresh molluscs, and served with wonderful cocktail and tartar sauces.  Since I figured we probably weren't going to feel up to much partying later, I had a Hurricane while Hans downed large quantities of Sprite for his sore throat.  The meals came with a half baguette of bread, which we toted back to the French Quarter.

Surprisingly, Hans wanted to walk back to the hotel via Bourbon Street.  He seemed to like the look of Pat O'Briens, so I think we're going to pay a visit tomorrow.

Our feet were tired and sore, so we spent a few minutes with our feet dipped in the hotel pool while we sipped the complementary coffee.

Hans seems a little perkier since we've been here.  His cold has migrated to his chest but he's been coughing plenty and keeping the liquids going.  I just hope that he continues to feel better while we're here so that he can enjoy our vacation.