Spring Break 2014: New Orleans

Yesterday was just absolutely perfect. We went to New Orleans for a day trip for Spring Break. We got there around 11:00, and so we walked around. And we walked, and we walked, and we walked. There was a little French Market in the French Quarter, where nearly everybody was selling the same things. We did a loop around that, and then continued through the streets.

I wish I could've gone and taken better pictures, but alas, I was equipped only with the phone on my camera.

Not bad, actually, as it has more megapixels in that little camera than my own personal digital camera. Then again, my digital camera's like six years old, so it's getting on up there in technology years. 

It was an overcast day, which made taking pictures a little better, because I didn't have to fight with the sun to get pictures, and nothing was washed out. At the same time, we got to enjoy the city without being murdered by the hot temperatures. That's a great thing, because the last time I came to New Orleans (for a little four-hour or so trip with my youth group, about three years ago), we all sweltered from the heat and just about gave up on seeing most of the city because we wanted to stay in the air conditioning all day.

Last time, I went down Bourbon Street after dark. This time, it was fully-light when my family wandered down the Street of Debauchery. I even came across Jester's, which is where my boyfriend got his favorite drink the last time he was in New Orleans. (Note: I do not condone drinking, but if you spend enough time with HIS family, you're gonna want to start!)

As we were walking to the restaurant where we were going to have lunch (Deanie's Seafood, where my sister and I went to last time we were in the city and wanted to go to again, because their shrimp was delicious and it was relatively affordable, unlike some other sit-down, inside restaurants), we came across a building that had an angel behind a steel fence.

Of course, being a Doctor Who fan, I had to snap a picture. I then freaked my sister out by whispering, "Don't Blink" at her. (She's never fully recovered from the Blink episode that I showed her...last January.)

It does make you wonder, though: why put the angel behind a fence? I suppose it's to stop the tourists from destroying it, but why not just remove the angel entirely, or put it on the inside of the building? Just something for the architects of the city to think about.

Speaking of architects, I've fallen in love with the buildings in this city. None are the same, and they're all gorgeous and detailed and seem to tower above you, no matter which way you turn. Although the streets are a little too narrow for my liking, and some of the people are really rude, I think I'd love to look at all of the buildings in the French Quarter. They're stunning.

After lunch, we hit a couple of shops in order to claim our souvenirs for the day. My sister managed to find a mug exactly like the one I broke three years ago (the day after she got it). It wasn't my fault - my mom had placed the thing on top of a box, wrapped in brown paper, and I accidentally knocked it off. I thought my sister was going to kill me, but everything was made right today.

After a quick stop at Café du Monde (and some serious wondering at how the staff keeps their heads, when they're non-stop busy all day long), we walked back to the market. My sister wanted to get a bag that she'd seen earlier, but I think my mom talked her out of it (it wasn't really of much use as a purse, because it was nothing but one big compartment, which means that anything put inside of it would be sucked into the Black Hole of Nothingness that I'm sure all females are familiar with).

As we were heading back towards the Café and, ultimately, our car, I came across this little sticky note stuck on the back of a street light control box. It says "The Stars Are Up #Alive." I thought it was a really cool little note. And it has to be fairly fresh, too - the flowers that are attached to it are still newly-picked, and haven't begun to wilt at all.

Just something to make you stop and think on a street corner.

So what did I end up getting from the French Market, on this overcast and gloomy day in New Orleans?

I bought myself a ring as my last purchase of the day (let's start at the bottom and work our way up, shall we?). I was agonizing over three different choices: a Celtic double-knot, a Celtic trinity, and this little carved band. I wanted a band that looked a bit like a choker necklace, but it was a little too small for my fingers.

I spent probably five minutes trying on the three different rings before deciding that the trinity was too big for my finger. It then took another further two to decide whether I'd get the Celtic ring or the band. My mom finally pushed my decision (because she was getting tired and irritated), and I bought the cheaper of the two rings. I'm really happy with my new ring, though - it's gorgeous!

Before I got the ring, I stopped at a little stall that had carved animals. I guess I lingered a bit too long, looking at them, because the owner came up to me. 

"What your favorite animal?"

When I replied, "A cat," he picked up a small cat and shoved it in my hands. 

We went back and forth about price before he lowered it from $22 (which I never would've paid for a little thing like this!) to $10, because it was closing time and he wanted to make one last sale of the day.

I like the little cat. It's hand-carved from, supposedly, tiger's eye jade, and took about five hours to make. I probably shouldn't have bought it, but he guilted me into it. Sorta.

Before buying either of those two things, though, I bought a mug for my boyfriend, Matt. I had wanted to get him a little string voodoo doll, but my mother vetoed that (even though he would've found it awesome), and since I couldn't get away from her long enough to purchase one, I just got him a mug.

It's a plain black mug with "New Orleans" on the outside, but the inside has paintings of masks and street names and landmarks from New Orleans. I think it looks really cool.

But back before Café du Monde, we went into a little shop that had posters and t-shirts and other various little souvenir-y things in it so that I could get a souvenir that my mother would pay for. I ended up getting two prints from the same series. Essentially, I guess they depict the same black-and-white tabby cat in famous New Orleans scenes. I thought they were adorable, and my mom said two would be better than one. 

So who am I to argue with her? I picked up my two favorite cat scenes: the "Cat du Monde" and the "Streetcat named Desire" and let my mom pay for them. 

So while two of my technically four souvenirs don't have anything specifically related to New Orleans on them, I'll still think of the city whenever I look at them. I'll be wearing the ring often (because it's pretty and I really like it), and the cat's going on my shelf of cat figurines. I really need to start collecting those again. As for the cat prints? I'll probably find a way to frame them and place them with my cat collection as well. (Have I mentioned that I have a cat figurine collection? I really need to dust them and organize them again. I need to start collecting frequently as well.)

All in all, it was a wonderful day trip to the city. Come back tomorrow to see what I did on Day 2 of Spring Break 2014!