New Orleans - Day 2

With no riding planned for today and my Super Tenere nicely tucked away in the small parking lot of the Hotel St. Pierre, I had the whole day to explore New Orleans on foot.  Just two blocks away from the hotel is the Louis Armstrong Park and it would be the first place on the route.  In the park you can see the New Orleans Municipal Auditorium, the Mahalia Jackson Theater of the Performing Arts, Congo Square and the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park.

Next I walked south towards the Mississippi River passing charming old homes, the colors fading as time passes by, the wood drying with age, too many pictures to post but here's two that caught my eye.  These Creole cottages are scattered throughout the city.

The balconies of the French Quarter are well known and the flowers hanging from them make the city very colorful and picturesque.

As you walk around the French Quarter you see a lot of these street signs, most referring to the time when New Orleans was the capital of the Spanish Province of Louisiana.

Most of these buildings are from the late 1700's, early 1800's and you can see the age, balconies and floors out of alignment or dropping, the only thing supporting them is the wrought iron columns.

My first taste of Beignets was in Biloxi, they are similar but I was told the New Orleans are the originals and better.  Beignets are pastry made from deep-fried choux paste served with powdered sugar on top.  I stopped for beignets at two different places, they are super delicious.

My next destination was the Jackson Square and the St. Louis Cathedral, one of the oldest cathedrals in the United States.  In the center of the park stands a statue of Andrew Jackson erected in 1856 after the victorious United States general.

These streetcars run along the river and through the city and are an easy way to get to different places and see the city at the same time.

Once you cross Canal Street you can see various tall office buildings and the city is just like any other big city in the USA.

 

Two places I didn't have the chance to visit were the Civil War and the National World War II museums.   I would have loved to have an extra day in the city to visit them.  Next time, I will return.

I arrived a little after 4 and the WWII museum closed at 5.  I had a long chat with the security guys about the planes hanging above our heads in the main lobby of the museum, one of the guys was from New York but now lives in New Orleans.  He knew quite a bit about the history of the Supermarine Spitfire and the Douglas C-47 Dakota, two very iconic warplanes of WWII.

I must have walked over ten miles since I left the Hotel St. Pierre early in the morning.   I was tired but the day was not over yet, I find a mall facing the Mississippi River with tables outside on the balcony, I get a drink and sit down to get my energy back.

More to follow.