NEW ORLEANS SUMMARY

Day 1 - We caught an evening flight, arriving in New Orleans after 10 pm. A pickup service brought us to the Wyndham Hotel on Royal St., smack in the middle of the French Quarter. Our view from the 15th floor overlooking the Mississippi River would be a delight during our entire stay!

Day 2 - We spent several hours wandering the historic area, including the Cathedral of St. Louis, Jackson Square with its mule-drawn carriages, the river with its steamboats, and Armstrong Park (with Congo Square). We took a guided walking tour of St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 with its spectacular above-ground tombs.

Day 3 - We grabbed some beignets (a type of doughnut covered with powdered sugar) for breakfast then went to the Jean Lafitte and New Orleans Jazz National Parks for a talk which covered the early history of the area, including mysterious earthen mounds. We strolled around town a bit more until it was time for our airboat ride into the bayou. This was an in-depth nature tour of the swamp. We saw plenty of birds, plants and baby alligators who swam up to the boat for marshmallows.

Day 4 - After some more beignets (of course we had to try them at another place to compare), we hopped aboard the Steamboat Natchez for a 2.5 hour paddleboat cruise on the Mississippi. Rollin' on the river! A steam pipe organ on the roof announced our upcoming departure and a live Dixieland band provided our entertainment. We learned all about life on the river and even got to visit the engine room. We then hopped on one of the historic street cars and rode up to some more cemeteries. Unfortunately they were just closing as we arrived. A lovely evening stroll along the river completed the day.

Day 5 - In the morning, we took a bus tour of the city, including a cemetery stop and more beignets. The rest of the afternoon was spent in museums (partially to get out of the extreme humidity!) ... the Voodoo museum, a history museum, and a Hurricane Katrina and Mardi Gras museum.

Day 6 - Today was a full day tour. This time at the bayou we saw much larger alligators, but they still loved marshmallows! We visited the Oak Alley plantation where we got a tour of the house and could also see examples of former slave quarters. We enjoyed a final evening stroll.

Day 7 & 8 - We got in a last morning walk before a shuttle brought us to the airport. Through an unbelievable series of events due to a broken flight attendant seat on the airplane, our 3:55 pm flight was bumped to 10pm... then 12:30 am... then 8 am the next morning! Eventually we were given meal vouchers and a hotel, but that was no easy task since we now stood with at least 40 people all trying to get onto a 7-seat shuttle bus. We finally got to bed around 11:15 pm only to have to get up at 4:15 am to get back to the airport on time. Having watched the sun set over planes last night, we also got to see it rise on them. Fortunately all went ok this time.