City Park and NOMA

On our last day in New Orleans we took the streetcar up to City Park and visited the New Orleans Museum of Art. We were not disappointed!

The large painting you see above is Masquerade Ball by Gaston La Touche. It shows the Paris Opera House hosting a masquerade ball sometime in the late 1800s and it is mesmerizing!

Here is le Mousquetaire du Cardinal by J. L. Gérôme.

Our museum back home has a few pieces by Gérôme (like this one the Saddle Bazaar), and he has always been one of my favorite artists.

Here is Whisperings of Love by William-Adolphe Bouguereau.

After gazing at His Eminence Returns many times as a very young child, I have come to appreciate Jehan-Georges Vibert's great sense of humor. Above is the Cardinal's Friendly Chat at the NOMA, and below is His Eminence Returns at the Haggin Museum.

This detail from Death Comes to the Banquet by Giovanni Martinelli just astounds me. If you zoom in, you can see the apparently random brushstrokes, but step back just a bit and the random brushstrokes become satin and velvet. Just wonderful, isn't it?

The NOMA also has lots of furniture and I started noticing it as we looked at Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun's painting of Marie Antoinette.

Then I started taking photos of chairs. I think I got to about twelve when I realized they would make good jigsaw puzzles, so I made a whole folder of them on my Jigsaw Planet account.

If you like puzzles, check it out at

https://www.jigsawplanet.com/Fortunesafloat

Acting Like Tourists

While we were in New Orleans we tried to do all the stuff you're supposed to do: we visited Jackson Park, St. Louis Cathedral, a cemetery, the Garden District, and the Benjamin Button house.

We walked down Bourbon Street with to-go cups,  listened to jazz on Frenchmen Street, had drinks at O'Briens, and ate beignets.

We toured a Dutch tallship, the Oosterschelde, and drove the 23 mile causeway across Lake Pontchartrain. 

We proudly learned how to pronounce Tchoupitoulas, étouffée, and beignet. (chop a TWO less, eh two FAY,  ben YEA)

Some days we just wandered around admiring the beautiful architecture and planning our next meal, but probably the best part of our excursion to New Orleans was enjoying it with these two people: Crystal and Don. We love you guys. Obviously.

Laura Plantation

There are many old plantations along the river just west of New Orleans including the famous Oak Alley. We drove by it, but elected to visit Laura Plantation, a Creole plantation.

I always thought Creole meant mixed blood, like some French, some Spanish, and some African blood, but here it means folks born in the New World, right here in Louisiana. The parents could be from anyplace, but if you were born here, you were Creole.

The land that became Laura Plantation was granted to the French Navy officer Guillaume Duparc in 1804. He died soon after, so the plantation was run thereafter by four generations of women: his wife, his daughter, his grand daughter, and his great grand daughter, Laura Locoul.

The bright colors of the house and fine furnishings inside reflect this family's culture and wealth.

Although Laura's family treated their slaves more kindly that most plantation owners, the slaves' homes were still a world away.

Haunting, isn't it?

The Obligatory Swamp Tour

April 23, 2018

No, the swamp isn't named "Obligatory", it's actually called Honey Island Swamp, and it's part of the Pearl River, but it seems you can't go to New Orleans without a swamp tour, so we did one and we found it quite interesting.

The Honey Island Swamp is a wide, multi-channeled river and swamp area that separates Mississippi from Louisiana. It is one of the least-altered and pristine swampland habitats in the United States. Over 35,000 acres are devoted to wildlife habitat, fishing, hunting, boating, and birdwatching.

Bald cypress trees, draped with Spanish Moss, are everywhere, along with Tupelo and Southern Pine. The Bald Cypress got its name from the fact that, although it is a true conifer, it drops its needles in the fall so it's "bald" during the winter.

The huge shallow area of a swamp creates a natural defense against flooding by allowing rainwater to slowly spread out between the trees and shrubs during the wet season. Numerous creatures find their perfect habitat here including alligators, turtles, raccoons, bears, feral boars, and many species of migratory birds.

Most tour companies use this type of boat with seats facing out - not only to guarantee a great view of the swamp, but to keep you away from the rail. For good reason.

Although he looks scary, this feral pig is almost tame because the tour operators have been present its entire life. The boat drivers remember when each pig was born, call them by name, and feed them daily. Some of the alligators have similar histories, and they are fed protein pellets regularly.

Eating and Drinking in New Orleans

I'm not gonna lie, we researched the food in New Orleans far more than the attractions. So the first night we walked to Bon Ton for dinner and it was delicious. Here's my shrimp etouffee.

During our week in New Orleans we tried Gumbo, Jambalaya, Red Beans and Rice, Shrimp, Crayfish, Beignets, Coffee with Chicory, and Andouille sausage.

We also had drinks at Compère Lapin, the Den, Pat O'Briens, the District, and Bamboula's. I particularly enjoyed meeting Abigail, the bartender at Compère Lapin. She fixed me this lovely Campari and grapefruit, and two delicious Sazaracs for the boys.

For those of you who've never been to New Orleans, I've got to say, they make drinking too easy there. To-Go cups are de rigueur and nearly everyone walks around with a drink in their hand. Bars can stay open past 2am so drinking is possible almost 24 hours a day.

One of our funniest memories was in the elevator early one morning when a bachelorette party attendee said, "I'm going to need a liver transplant when I get home." We were still laughing after she left the elevator.

One of our best meals was Sunday Brunch at The Court of Two Sisters. We had Champagne, Eggs Benedict, fresh fruit, crayfish, and pecan pie for dessert, but the lavish buffet had many other items as well.

One cannot go to New Orleans without trying a beignet, so one morning we got some to go and ate them as we drove out to the Swamp Tour. They are basically a square donut doused with powdered sugar. Locals know not to eat them in their car, or wear black pants when they eat them, but we did both and paid the price. There is still powdered sugar in the car, but it's a sweet memory from our time in the Big Easy.