In the French Quarter

We were staying in the French quarter, over near Esplanade where it's more residential and quiet. Instead of bars and strip joints, there are laundromats and little corner stores. But we enjoyed strolling into the more tourist-oriented parts of the neighborhood.

Our first morning we stopped by Cafe du Monde for some beignets and cafe au lait, but on subsequent mornings, we stayed at our hotel, where buttermilk biscuits and coffee were served in the tropical courtyard.

We only ventured towards Bourbon Street one night, because we wanted to eat at the venerable Creole restaurant, Galatoire's.
It was pretty obvious when we neared the partying end of Bourbon Street! This photo was early in the evening, when there were still not too many people in the street.

Here is a Lucky Dog cart doing business at the corner of Toulouse and Bourbon Streets. The vendor didn't resemble Ignatius Reilly, but he was certainly surrounded by revellers. The young man in the blue shirt is holding his "hurricane" go-cup from Pat O'Brien's bar. We saw a lot of those on Bourbon Street.

Galatoire's was all it was supposed to be. A noisy, old-fashioned dining room populated with a mixture of old-timers and tourists. I am flattered to think that we fit in properly, since we were asked if we preferred a particular waiter. This must have been due to the seersucker jacket Our Son was wearing - he'd bought it on sale for $19.99 back in Texas. We sat near a group of obvious regulars, exchanging pleasantries with their waiter. The food was exactly as expected - classic Creole, perfectly served, nothing to write home about.


The French Quarter was virtually untouched by Hurricane Katrina three years ago. Which means this place's decrepitude is well-earned.

Later we had friends take us round the parts of town that suffered. I'll show you those next.