We made our way down Canal Street to the French Market district. We had no set plans so we just kind of wondered about taking in the sights. We came across a city tour booth and decided on taking a bus tour of the city. We had some time before the bus took off, so we went to Café Du Monde for Iced Coffee and Beignets. They were to die for!!!
The bus tour turned out to be a great idea. They took us all over the city showing us famous homes and telling us the history of New Orleans. The old homes were gorgeous and the gardens were breathtaking. It felt like we had gone back in time. If we won the lotto we would definitely buy an old mansion there, after breakfast at Whataburger of course!
We stopped at a cemetery and got out to walk around. The tombs were very interesting. Did you know that the term “Saved by the bell” comes from New Orleans because some people that had fallen into a coma would get buried alive? Once they discovered this they started tying a string to a bell and then to the person’s finger when they were buried. They would have someone patrol the cemetery to listen for the bells. Creepy!!!
We also went to the area that Katrina hit the hardest. We drove right in front of the area of the levy that broke. We saw the water line on the houses that had been under water for weeks and we saw the marked houses that had been searched. It was very heartbreaking to see such devastation and to see what hardships the people living there had to endure. It is amazing that the city has come back after such a horrific event.
After our tour we went and ate dinner at a local place that had wonderful jambalaya, gumbo and shrimp creole. I would know because I had all of them on the sampler plate. Hey, I was on vacation I indulged myself!!
Then we went on a walking tour of the haunted buildings in the French Quarter. The tour guide walked us around to many beautiful buildings and told us the stories that have made them famous. One of the houses belonged to Nicolas Cage. The tour was not really spooky, but seeing all of the beautiful buildings made it worth it.
After that we walked down Bourbon Street and had a drink before making our way back to our hotel. We were exhausted.
The next day we went to Herras the casino. We had the lunch buffet, which was wonderful. I had more gumbo and tried the fried chicken. The food is all perfectly seasoned and nothing is just tossed out on the buffet without care. Everything we tasted we loved.
Then we went over to the Aquarium and watched the Imax movie about Katrina and learned a little more about the storm. We enjoyed the aquarium tour very much. Scott made friends with the sea otters and I fell in love with the penguins. I even touched a stingray and a shark. I was scared but I figured if the toddlers were doing it, I could too!
We ended our day back at Herras and had a great deal of luck throwing our money away. At least we made it last longer by playing the nickel slots. We ate the dinner buffet there too. It was steak night and they also had crab legs. Again it was all very delicious.
Our last day there we spent buying souvenirs and walking around. We visited Café Du Monde one more time too. We really enjoyed the wonderful city of New Orleans.
