NOLA

I love New Orleans.

We hadn't been there a long time - since before Hurricane Katrina. It's the halfway point between Austin and Gainesville, so I have visited many times in years past. It was nice to be back.

We had a quick, fun-filled visit and pretty much just stayed in the French Quarter. We stayed in a fancy room at the W in the Quarter, courtesy of Niall's cousin!

We went to Preservation Hall - I love that it hasn't changed since I was a little girl, sitting on my dad's shoulders in the back. Such wonderful jazz musicians perform there. There are several shows a night, there's no bathroom, there's no bar, just music.

Cafe Du Monde was a necessary stop. I thought I would break my veganism here - they have delicious beignets - fried doughnuts absolutely covered in powdered sugar - and no milk alternative for their coffee. However, I couldn't bring myself to "cheat." I stuck with the vegan options, which aren't many. I snuck in coconut creamer to put in the excellent chicory coffee and had an awesome fresh squeezed orange juice. It's great to people watch here - everyone leaves with powdered suger all over themselves.  

Jackson Square was sunny and lovely.

Lots of artists were out.

We took a ferry across the Mississippi to Algiers. It was short, but sweet. 

There were so many cats there. There seems to be a good deal of Trap-Neuter-Return work happening in New Orleans - hopefully it's going strong in Algiers, though I didn't see any evidence of it happening.

So many sweet souls to pet on porches.

It was quiet and slow in Algiers. There were many old houses and churches to admire while strolling along, with no place in particular to go. 

I must also mention Seed, a vegan restaurant we checked out. I had a po' boy and beignets! What a great treat. 

We were ready to have a home. We spent some nice moments in beautiful New Orleans and then headed down to Florida, to start our new lives.