And On We Roll... Until We Stop!

We did go for a run through the French Quarter and over into the Warehouse District on Wednesday morning. It involved some stopping and starting to cross some of the larger streets but it was pretty fun. Jumping from sidewalk to street and back again to go around trashcans and people and leaping bad places in the concrete or potholes in the street.

Watching GA Tech lose!

We had lunch at the French Market at this great place called Meals From the Heart. They had plenty of healthy and/or vegan options and Rob said the crab cakes were the best he had had the whole trip.

Then we walked over to the other side of Jackson Square from the Market to the Louisiana State Museum. Our entrance included an exhibit on Hurricane Katrina and its after affects – it was very well done. Lots of first person accounts of the events and plenty of artifacts. We skipped the Mardi Gras exhibit upstairs in that building so we could go over to the Cabildo and go through the exhibit on the history of Louisiana. The Louisiana Purchase was signed on the second floor of this building. We had to rush through the second half of the museum because we spent too much time reading all the details and it got to be closing time. That's the problem with being History Nerds.

After several days of lots of walking and standing around in museums, we decided to take it easy for the evening and went back to the apartment. The Corner Market across the street had a little deli counter in the back, so we got beans and rice from there for dinner. It made a great dinner along with a bottle of wine we had brought from Lafayette!

A frock for purchase

We got up early on Thursday morning to get to the City Park by 8:45 to meet the Kayak tour company to take us on a tour of Bayou St John. We rode the streetcar to get there and because of its schedule we arrived about 8:15. It was much colder closer to Lake Pontchartrain and much windier! After a phone call from Sonny with the tour company we decided to postpone the tour until Friday due to the wind and cold.

It was too early for the art museum to be open and too soon for a return streetcar, so we walked back to the French Quarter. It was a 4 to 5 mile walk, but the alternative was to stand around in the cold for an hour waiting for the streetcar. Besides, it meant we could eat more!

Island Rookery

We got back to the apartment, I put on warmer clothes and we headed to the St Charles Avenue streetcar to ride it over to the Garden District. We just wanted to see a little something different. We walked around Audubon Park, which has a bird rookery on an island in the middle of one of its waterways. The island was full of water birds we did not recognize and some of them made lots of noise.

At this point we were getting really hungry so we tried to take the streetcar back toward the French Quarter but alas, we did not have the right change! The kiosk that takes the money only gives change in the form of a credit you can use for future rides and our change would have been far more than we could use up in two days. So once again we walked.

What Am I? Coopers Hawk?

We were on a very residential section of St Charles Avenue with few to no businesses. When I was close to chewing on Spanish Moss we finally found a restaurant and it even had a veggie sandwich! Once we had been fed, we dropped down a few blocks to walk along some very quiet streets with lovely big houses. We even saw some kind of bird of prey patiently waiting for a squirrel to saunter out of a crepe myrtle so the bird could have some lunch!

View of French Quarter

Once we made it back through the Warehouse District and to the edge of the French Quarter, we jumped on the free (for pedestrians) ferry and rode over to Algiers Point across the Mississippi River from New Orleans. Algiers Point is about as old as the French Quarter and has lots of historic houses as well. The top level of the ferry had great views up and down the river as well as of both river banks.

We planned to eat dinner (yes we ate a big, late lunch, but so?) at a place called Carmo in the Warehouse District, but it didn't open until 5:00 pm, so we dropped into The District to sit down and have a beer. After all that walking I had a Guinness for strength!

Dinner was delicious! May have been my favorite meal on the trip, though I thought that several times along the way. They even had a vegan tiramasu.

We headed back to the Home Away From Home for another early night since we planned to get up early to try for the kayak tour again.

Friday morning was much nicer than Thursday. I had dropped into a place called Uptown Anglers to buy some pants since I didn't bring any and found a great pair, on sale no less! So I was toasty warm and the sun was shining.

Make way for ducklings!

So we did the streetcar drill, arriving about half an hour early again due to the streetcar schedule. We got some coffee and a coke and sat on the bank of the bayou in the sunshine watching the world go by. It was very pleasant.

Our guide arrived, unloaded the kayaks and we were off! Sonny told us some of the history of that area of New Orleans – we were in Mid City. According to him, the area around the bayou, which is the access from the Gulf through Lake Pontchartrain to New Orleans that does not require going up the Mississippi River, was actually settled before the French Quarter. Due to all the twists and turns of the river, New Orleans is actually 100 miles upriver from the Gulf. The Bayou St John provided a back door into the area.

Beautiful day on the bayou!

We saw several important historic houses from the bayou. We also saw some gar breaking the surface, lots of ducks, a hawk, turtles and at least one parrot. We were on the lookout for an alligator, but never saw any sign of one. Sonny is 6^th generations New Orleanean, so we waved to lots of people on the riverbank. We got out at the top of the bayou and crossed the dam to look at the lake. They are building new, better levees following Katrina. These levees are much higher and more robust.

After our exertions on the bayou we walked down to Cafe Degas on Esplanade Avenue. The co-owner of the kayak tour company also works there and recommended it. Another delicious meal! The chef made a scrumptious veggie medley for me that included half an artichoke, asparagus and super yummy mushrooms, among other things. Rob had a cheese plate and bisque and soft shell crab and dessert! After lunch we walked back up to City Park and went through the sculpture garden. Then it was back to the streetcar.

Egret

When we got off the streetcar on Canal St, we saw a Second Line wedding procession turning off a street and onto Canal! It was so much fun to watch!

We went back to the apartment and got packed up for the very early morning trek to the airport. We had planned to go down to Frenchman Street to hear some music, but all the fun and activity of the week caught up to us. We decided to make it an early night instead. We did have a bottle of wine left, so we opened that, had some spicy picked okra and red beans and rice from across the street at the Corner Market and went to bed.

We are on the final homestretch to Salt Lake now and can see snow on the ground from the airplane window. The forecast in SLC today calls for an inch of snow on the valley floor. Our systems may go into complete shock after yesterday's NOLA weather.

Though we did a lot and saw a lot, we didn't do and see many other things. We would very much like to go back. I think next time we would stay in Mid City near City Park. Things are a little slower there and we can get to the French Quarter quite easily. Mid City reminds us of Savannah and some of the neighborhoods farther from the river there.

Unpacking!

There is a half marathon in New Orleans in March!

Les Bon Temps Keep On Rolling!

French Quarter Tour

I am sitting outside in our shared courtyard, enjoying the gentle rain falling on the old bricks. I can tell you lots about the typical New Orleans French Quarter courtyard after our walking tour of the Vieux Carre yesterday.

The courtyards were much more than pleasant places to enjoy some quiet and sip morning coffee. They were private spaces away from the hustle and bustle of the city, but they were work spaces as well - places where laundry was washed and cooking that wasn't done in the kitchen was undertaken. Children played here. 

Typical Creole Cottage

We learned about the history of the area and about important characters who played pivotal roles in the development of early New Orleans. We also learned that most of the houses did not waste space with interior staircases - those were outside in the courtyard. As you can imagine, the streets were a little yucky, so people drove their carriages into the courtyard and got out on the brick and used the doors located there to enter the house.

It is a wonder that the French Quarter is here at all because most of it burned down twice in the late 1700s!

Rob's Second Breakfast

We have been continuing to eat our way through the trip. We had First Breakfast before we left the apartment yesterday morning, then stopped for Second Breakfast in the French Market. 

 After our Walking Tour of the French Quarter we went back to the apartment to put our feet up for a bit. Then we walked a block north to Louis Armstrong Park. It is under renovation so other than the construction not too much was happening there. So on across the street to Basin Street Station Visitors Center we went. It had some interesting exhibits and information about the French Quarter, as well as the other neighborhoods of New Orleans. We then walked over to St Louis Cemetery #1, but it was closed.

Back to the apartment to change and then we were off to meet the bride's sister Leslie for a drink. We ended up going to The Columns Hotel in the Garden District. It is immense! What is amazing is that it was originally built as a single family home in 1883.

We ate dinner late and I finally got lots of vegetables! I had a huge salad with lots of spinach and some hummus. It is actually quite hard to find veggies to eat here!

The forecast today called for lots of rain, but the slice of sky I can see from our courtyard looks to be clearing. I will go awaken sleeping beauty and see if he wants to go for a run. I think we will plan on touring museums today just in case the monsoon does decide to come!

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

We have just completed our first full day here in New Orleans and we are tuckered out! But, though it is our first day as tourists in New Orleans, we have been in Louisiana since last Wednesday night. (Probably part of why we are tired - this is a stay-up-late-and-eat-and-drink-lots kind of place!)

At the airport!

We flew into New Orleans on the one non-stop flight from Salt Lake City per day and spent our first night at the airport Days Inn. We had our first-ever meal at a Denny's - our choices were strictly limited. Then Thursday morning we picked up our rental car and headed to Lafayette for our friends' wedding.

We traveled along I-10 across the Atchafalaya Basin, stopping for an excellent lunch of Cajun seafood along the way.

Rob in Loft #5

We had excellent accommodations in Lafayette at The Buchanan Lofts in loft #5. It is an old building that has been renovated into short and long term stay condos. Most of the out-of-town wedding guests stayed here, as well as the bride and groom, so we all had a good time hanging out. We spent our first afternoon walking around Lafayette's downtown area.

In the evening we were included in a Toasting for the bride and groom and had the chance to meet Caleb's and Juliana's families. It was great fun talking about who looked like whom!

The Ceremony

The wedding took place on Friday at Acadian Village. The ceremony was sort of modern hippie and beautiful. The music was not at all traditional - the bride walked down the aisle to The Beatles' "All You Need is Love". The ceremony included a Choctaw sealing to celebrate their Native American heritage and connections. And, of course, the food and dancing that followed were exactly what you would expect in the middle of Cajun country!

Plant at Vermilionville

On Saturday we visited Vermilionville, which is a created village of houses and shops moved from elsewhere and recreations of "typical" buildings to demonstrate early life in the area. Vermilionville was Lafayette's original name. We then drove out into the countryside (lots of sugarcane out there!), stopping for a few minutes in St. Martinville. This town is connected to Longfellow's Evangeline: An Epic Poem.

On Sunday we took Highway 90 back to New Orleans, stopping to tour Rip Van Winkle Gardens and House. It is beautiful with long vistas made possible by its position atop one of the handful of salt columns found in that area, creating an "island".

We also, of course, stopped at Avery Island, home of the world famous Tabasco Sauce. We toured the factory and shopped 'til we dropped at the Country Store. It really was interesting to see how the sauce is made and a key component is the salt that is mined right there on the island.

Then it was time to head for New Orleans and our digs for the week, ditch the rental car and grab some dinner.  Our Home-Away-From-Home is in the north end of the French Quarter just south of Louis Armstrong Park in an old house that has since been divided up into apartments. It is on a fairly quiet street conveniently located across the street from a little corner grocery store, i.e. a booze store that sells a few other things.

St. Louis Cathedral

Today we walked around Jackson Square and walked through St. Louis Cathedral. Then we walked over to the Warehouse District reading about buildings of historic import along the way. We also stopped for beignets as we went.

Our destination was the National World War II Museum. The museum is excellent. The only problem was that we ran out of time. We arrived about 12:15 and also purchased tickets for the 4:00 showing of "Beyond All Boundaries: The War that Changed the World." We only saw the exhibits on the European and African theaters of war and never even made it to the exhibits on the war with Japan! The museum closes at 5:00 so we were done for the day. So we went to dinner to console ourselves. Consoling oneself with food is easy to do here in New Orleans!

In fact, we are so well consoled that we are spending the evening in our Home-Away-From-Home rubbing our fat bellies and planning the rest of the week!

Estes Park, Co and the Demise of Rosie

Saturday, April 16

We are off on another adventure, this time to Estes Park, CO. It is nestled in the Rocky Mountains on the east side of Rocky Mountain National Park. We came over to meet our friends from Georgia: Marguerite, Preston and Ginnie, who are here for a family wedding.

Rocky Mountain National Park

It was a long 8 hour drive over here from Salt Lake City, most of it on I-80 through Wyoming along a high plain. Actually, no more interesting than Kansas after the first 30 minutes. We stopped for lunch in Laramie. Not much else to say on that. 

Ft Collins was a surprise; very prosperous with a pretty hip, though somewhat touristy, downtown. I would be interested in spending a little time there. I did notice a surplus of coffeehouses and liquor stores, due, no doubt, to the presence of the university.

We met up with Marguerite and Preston for a GIANT steak dinner after we finally made it to Estes Park. The folks at Nicky's Resort Cattleman's Restaurant and Lounge know how to grill a great steak! It is right on the creek (which probably qualifies as a river out here in the West) though it was already dusk when we arrived, so we couldn't see much of the water. Fabulous raspberry cheesecake was had by the piggy ones in the group – the MacGregors – for dessert.

Sunday, April 17

Our very cute little cabin has these great skylights that let in the morning light, so we were up at 6:00 this morning. We went for a run to help work out yesterday's long drive. It was a bit breezy. At one point we turned into the wind while running downhill and I felt like I was making no progress at all: Nature's treadmill. It was not a long run, but I think I got a really good workout none-the-less.

Knotty or Nice Cabin

Cabin

We are heading out for brunch with Marguerite, Preston and Ginnie in a few minutes and then plan to go to the visitors center at Rocky Mountain National Park. I think we will drive the loop and do a little strolling on some shorter trails. Then back here to the cabin to grill out and plan tomorrow's activities....

Later

So the temperature dropped and the clouds rolled in while we ate an obscene amount at brunch. By the time we were ready to head to the Park it was raining lightly but steadily. We pushed through and drove along the loop that is open this time of year. The views were still spectacular despite the rain and higher elevation snow. No hiking, just quick forays out of the van at pullouts for photo ops and to look at the view. We did see little bighorn sheep and a bajillon elk, both inside and the park and all over town. In fact, we have seen so many elk that we are now bored with them.

Little Bighorn Sheep

On our way out of the Park we stopped at the Visitors Center and shopped at the adjacent colossal gift shop full of completely needless items. Doing our part for the local economy! We managed to kill a pretty good amount of time for a car full of people who don't really shop!

Monday, April 18

We ran down to the restaurant to meet for breakfast before the Georgia contingent headed to Denver to the airport. Great place called The Eggs and I with eggs cooked anyway you could possibly imagine. We all ate a lot again. Needless to say, we walked back to the cabin.

Rob and I plan to hike/snowshoe up to Chasm Lake after he finishes sleeping off breakfast. Like yesterday, it started off sunny, warmish and calm this morning with the temperature dropping and the wind picking up as the sun has gotten higher in the sky. At least the sun is still shining today, for now anyway.

(The above was written, though not posted, in real time. The rest was written well after the fact once we got home and got resettled.)

Elizabeth on Chasm Lake Trail

The hike/snowshoe was definitely a snowshoe! The wind was blowing with some seriousness, but it wasn't too bad while we were in the trees. Once we got above the tree line, the snow was extremely deep, the trail disappeared and the wind howled. We only spent a few minutes out in the open before we headed back down. Made me realize how quickly you can get in trouble out there if conditions change. I was very cold, very quickly out in the wind.

Bridge on Chasm Lake Trail

After the snowshoe we went back to the cabin and read in front of our fireplace. Very cosy and comfortable! We watched the rain come and go through the skylights and were glad to be in where it was warm and dry.

We left Tuesday morning and headed due south from Estes Park on Highway 7. The road was slow, but took us through small towns and stunning scenery. Much more interesting than I-80 across Wyoming!

We dropped down to I-70 just below a little old mining town called Central City that has had a rebirth as a casino town. It was built in a very narrow canyon and is quite picturesque. Kind of like Park City, only more so.

We got on the interstate east of the Eisenhower Tunnel so we had the fun of going through the tunnel and passing the Continental Divide sign inside it. Snow and ice started to stick to the road as the elevation dropped on the west side of the tunnel.

We spent the night in Vail, rented a car on Wednesday morning and drove back to Salt Lake City. Vacation over.

Rosie the Mini has gone to the great car crusher in the sky, may she rest in peace.

But up until that last part we had a great time and would love to go back to Estes Park! We also had a great time visiting with our friends Marguerite, Preston and Ginnie and look forward to seeing them again soon.

Our Final Full Day, Days Later

On our last full day in France, we took the train out to Versailles; this was way back on Tuesday. So, so long ago.

France has several train lines. There is the metro system within Paris, the RER that originates in Paris and goes out to the edge of the suburbs, SNCF that goes further out and then another one that goes really far afield, including across country boundaries. At least as far as I could tell. Anyway, put me in the ranks of people who are mightily impressed by the train system.

Once we got to Versailles, we found, you guessed it, a really long line. We noticed people following signs to the left that led one to Le Jardin Aux Musicales and that line was really short and moving quickly! It turns out we bought tickets for the garden, which is really huge and amazing.

So while I still have not seen the inside of Versailles, I have spent 5 or 6 hours touring through the garden. Or gardens, I suppose. Fountains and statuary, orangerie and chestnut trees, cats and daffodils, lilacs and pools. And music! Each little garden area has a different baroque-ish soundtrack going. Rob kept looking for the band and we discovered that they were tiny little people inside those boxes!

There was also a water show with music at one particular pool/fountain that was really nice. It was in front of the Royal Garden, which was my favorite garden. It was full of flowers and rare trees and was really well laid out.

We had our last lunch in the garden and shared it with a very cute cat that was a champion beggar. We both ordered pizza because we had not yet had a French pizza with a soft boiled egg in the center. Sounds weird I know, but it really is good. And I finally had my crepe nutella; yummy!

After we had thoroughly examined the internal garden, we went outside to the part that is open without a ticket. The full grounds for the chateau are enormous and include the Grand Canal.

We did finally get a bike ride in around the Grand Canal. You can rent a bicycle right at the back gate of the ticketed area. So we rode all the way to the far back wall and discovered that we can arrive by a small, secondary road and slip in through the back gate on our big bike tour, whenever that happens.

We stayed at the gardens until almost closing time and then did some quick shopping at a tacky souvenir shop. Then our private car picked us up in front of Versailles - actually, it was Rob's friend Florent, whose business is in a small town about 10 miles away.

Florent took us back to his workplace and gave us a tour. It is quite impressive; there are cars in process of being transformed into custom race cars, big tools that mean nothing to me, but made Rob jealous, ovens for baking carbon fiber parts. Rob was like a kid in a candy store.

We rode back to Paris with Florent and went to his apartment for a drink. We got to meet his father-in-law, who has been staying with them during the week to do work on the apartment.

Once again we were fooled by how late it stays light in France and realized that it had somehow gotten to be 9:30pm. We skeedadled out of there and headed for the metro; we still needed to eat dinner and pack.

We ate at a little restaurant down the street from the apartment that had this great cat mural. We both got steak frite (steak and fries) since we had not had that yet. It is a small serving (actually a reasonable serving) of a not great cut of meat served with fat fries that is traditional bistro or cafe fare.

Then we headed back to pack and get ready for our departure.

Au Revoir with Sadness

We are off to the airport momentarily for our flight home. Some airports in Ireland and Scotland are closed due to the volcano, but so far France is unaffected.

We had a late final evening last night - dinner was at about 10:30pm - so I will update on yesterday's activities later. It involved a lot of wind.

The Louvre

Today dawned cloudy and cold, so it was the perfect day to spend at the Louvre. We actually slept in a little and didn't get there until 11:00am or so. Of course there was a line. But we stood in it and got our tickets.

We spent several hours looking at the excavated foundation of the Medieval era Louvre, Egyptian antiquities, and Greek, Etruscan and Roman antiquities. We dragged our poor starving selves to a cafe at about 2:30pm, had a wonderful respite from standing while we ate our lunch and then went back out to look at paintings for the duration of the visit.

We saw Jesus and others bleeding and suffering a lot, German, Flemish and Dutch painters, as well as some of the Italian masters. We saw the Mona Lisa from afar and other Da Vinci's close up. We also saw several Vermeers from behind a few people.

As far as action goes, it was rather a dull day. But for stuffing our brains, it was very busy! The Louvre itself is amazing. For those that don't know or have forgotten, it was originally a palace that has over time morphed into being exclusively a museum. It actually served the dual purpose of palace and museum once. Some of the rooms have amazing ceiling frescoes and I had a hard time figuring out whether to focus on those or the paintings.

Once they pulled out the cattle prods and forced us out at closing time, we took the metro home to Montmartre. We have shopped for dinner items again and Rob is creating another masterpiece in the kitchen. We will likely do a little laundry this evening, passing the washing time with a little dessert in a cafe. I saw someone eating a nutella crepe yesterday and have wanted one ever since.