Brisbane, QLD


Tuesday, January 13, 2015

NAWLINS



Saturday 29/11/14

We were up early and finished the last few items to pack. We had a nice buffet breakfast and left the The American Queen Steamboat for the last time. We had planned to explore New Orleans for a few days before flying home. We got a taxi to the Sweet Olive B&B and we were lucky that Nancy, the host, was happy to have us book in early. She was having a tree trimming party that night so I guess she was glad not to have us come late. Nancy gave us a map and a list of places to see and places to eat. We were a bit surprised when we asked if we could have a cup of tea/coffee because she said, "I don't do tea and coffee except for breakfast but there is a coffee shop two blocks away." This was the first B&B we had ever stayed in, that didn't provide tea and coffee at any time.
 So our travel friends, Kathy and Rob, and Bill and I set off with map in hand to find the coffee shop and then the town. It was a cute little coffee shop and we were intrigued with the New Orleans accent. 'Nawlins' and 'y'all' were heard often. Sometimes it was hard to understand the locals. They too had a few problems understanding us.

 We walked and walked for about 30 minutes until we reached the French Quarter and Markets. We weren't too impressed with how far away the B&B was from the action, when it had said in the description, "a short walk from the French Quarter". 

The French Quarter is packed with interesting people and shops. Kathy and Rob were interested in this amazing sauce shop. We immediately thought of our sons in law as they both love cooking with hot and spicy sauces.























We continued walking and found Jackson's square, with the beautiful cathedral in the centre of the French Quarter. There was a street performance of acrobats, which we watched for a while before moving on for a walk along the river side.

We decided to take a ferry ride over to Algiers, where we saw the statue of Louis Armstrong. There wasn't a lot to do in Algiers except walk. Kathy and Rob were keen to continue exploring by foot but I could see Bill wilting. So we agreed to go our own ways. Bill and I took the ferry back and found a restaurant for lunch.

We could see the "Nawlins" skyline while we waited for the ferry.
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 We knew New Orleans was famous for its music and food, We found out about the food with our first meal. We thought we would just have a light sandwich for lunch but this is what arrived. Bill had a shrimp Poboy and 
 I had a crab cake Poboy, (pronounced 'poorboy') which is the name given to this traditional  New Orleans sandwich. It originated during the depression when a generous family who owned a cafe used to make sandwiches for the poor boys who had lost their jobs.

 With full tummies we started to make our way back to the B&B when we came across a young group of musicians having a jam session in the street, just like we had hoped to see in this town famous for jazz and blues music.

Another experience we were looking forward to was a ride on a New Orleans street car so we caught one heading in our direction.  You have to have the exact right money to pay the fare. It drops into a sealed box. The last stop nearest to the B&B was at the markets so we had another wander through the markets, they were huge. Then we walked home. We nearly got lost but finally made it. People had started arriving for the party. Kathy and Rob arrived home not long after us. Rob was a bit upset because there were  no TVs in the rooms. Lucky for us we had good Wifi. 


We were invited to the tree trimming party so we joined in as best we could. It also meant that we didn't have to walk the walk into town to have dinner.

23 comments:

  1. Good job there is so much to see and do in the town 'cos that B and B doesn't sound like a barrel of laughs.

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  2. There seems to be a good atmosphere. NO is really a night city though, from what a friend told me. I've never stayed in a B&B and I am afraid your experience hasn't steered me to doing so.

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  3. Glad you got to hear some street music and have a po' boy. It makes my mouth water, just thinking about one!

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  4. Yep, the accents of the Nuoleans are a bit hard to fathom out - even other Yanks seemed to be baffled.

    Jam sessions or schooling - I wonder?? Maybe a weekend or a holiday period, so that can be reason??
    Thank God for those Street Cars - Nuoleans is bloody sprawled for exploring.
    Cheers
    Colin

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  5. poboys! yum! yes, the accents get quite thick in louisiana! :)

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  6. A B&B without tea and coffee .... I wouldn't have liked that but looks like you enjoyed your long-stroll to the French Quarter with it's lively music.

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  7. Those Poboys look delicious! Betsy has been promising to take me to 'Nawleans' since she used to live there, but so far I haven't made it. The Christmas tree you helped decorate looks huge.

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  8. You certainly got your exercise! I haven't been in New Orleans for 30 years. I remember Chicory Coffee and Beignets in the Cafe du Monde which was fantastic. We saw quite a bit of the nightlife and as it was around Halloween I found it all a bit freaky, but I would love to go back again and see it anew. Maybe one of these days.

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  9. When I see the skyline of New Orleans I think it must have changed a lot after the terrible Hurricane Katrina in 2005 ! If you don't understand their English, their French is not better, lol ! B&B's only serve breakfast nothing else in Europe too. At least thats my experience.

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  10. I would have loved to have seen New Orleans before it was so damaged by those devastating floods.

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  11. Diane, sounds like you got your exercise with all the walking.. The food looks good, was it spicy? I think the Maryland Crabcakes are the best! Too bad the B&B was not more welcoming.. Thanks for sharing your New Orleans visit.. Have a happy day!

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  12. Shame regarding the B & B. Would have been lost if I wanted a cuppa. Seems you enjoyed New Orleans.

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  13. your comment about accents made me think about two movies we tried to watch last night. they were both British made and we could not understand half of what they said, so we deleted them. I have seen movies that i had no problem with, but these were like watching a foreign language. those are some whopper sized sandwiches. i have never seen fried shrimp on a sandwich.. now i have, but then it is New Orleans

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  14. NOLA seemed like a foreign country to us the first time we were there! Truly a unique spot and yeah, they and we had the same problems with the accent ... I didn't think we had one, but they did... We've been there four times now

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  15. The first time was the summer just before Katrina, so we've seen some big changes! We used to do b&bs before we started RVing, and there was always coffee ... Maybe things have changed everywhere now though....

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  16. The food looks too yummy Diane ;D) It's nice to try local though isn't it.
    What... no tea or coffee makings?
    Beaut to have a look around with you... great pics as always. Love the hot sauce place too.

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  17. I have never stayed in a B&B have no idea if I would like it, I also get annoyed when a place says it is a short stroll from somewhere only to find it is a bloody long walk

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  18. Your poboy looks delicious! I guess I am hungry - LOL.

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  19. Wow! Those sandwiches look amazing!! Sounds like you needed to keep your strength up with all that walking :D

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  20. I remember the sights and sounds of this city ... the accent is so compelling I found myself drawling too.

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  21. After reading this post and your others, Diane,myounare indeed seeing a lot of the U.S. That even many of us whomlive here have not explored including myself, but hole to. Our pkans also include a riverboat cruise and your posts are showing us what we will need to see and eat!

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  22. What a great day in Nawleans! I do see how prohibitive this steamboat trip has been though, walking-wise. We just don't walk any distance at all, especially my hubby. The only way I think I could make this trip is if they offered motorized wheelchairs! Glad you didn't have to walk back into town to get dinner!

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  23. I enjoyed seeing your visit to New Orleans, Diane! The B&B looks charming. I know the food in NOLA is very unique and delicious, so I'm glad I'll be doing a lot of walking when I visit it, so I'll hopefully burn some calories--lol!

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