Day 1 - Getting there and settling in

St. Louis Cathedral
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So I'm off to New Orleans for a few days of solo touring before my work training starts on Saturday.

Awake at 4am and out the door by 4:30, I headed to the Ottawa Airport.  After standing in the wrong line for half an hour, I got in the right line and made it to the Gate with 20 minutes to spare.  Good thing I went early!  But it didn't matter, because they started boarding 25 minutes late!  The plane was small and I got stuck sitting in the far back behind the washrooms!  And the seat couldn't even recline.  Ah well.  A short flight (2 hrs) to Chicago for my connexion.  With a bit if confusion, (I'm new at this travelling thing!) I found the shuttle to my gate.  Walking would have taken me an hour, with the size of the airport!  The plane this time, was a bit bigger but much more comfy.  I settled in and read my book.  2 hrs later I landed in New Orleans (nola for short.  it's just easier to type).  Grabbed a taxi to the downtown area.  We had barely even made it out the airport when the van in front of us rear-ended the van in front of him!  They pulled over and we took in some new passengers.  The drive was about 25 minutes.  New Orleans is a lot like Miami, lots of palm trees.  And it was muggy.  Sunny but humid.  Yuck.  Ah well shouldn't complain!  We drove on the highway and passed lots of cemetaries filled with large white crypt style tombs.  Because nola is below sea level, they can't bury underground, because with too much rain, or flooding the bodies would float up.  I don't have any pics.  Driving too fast!  You could see damage to buildings and trees from Katrina.  There's still lots of work to be done here.  Got to my hotel and it's fab!  Nice ritzy place.  Thank you Hotwire for the sweet deal!

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I still had a whole afternoon to do things, so I took a walk into the French Quarter.  The streets were quiet, like a Sunday in downtown Ottawa.  Even though the FQ is touristy, there were only a few tourists walking around and some locals.  One step to a ghost town.  But I guess it's to be expected this time of year.  I hadn't had lunch so I walked into a little cafe.  All the shops and restaurants have open doors, so you can peek in before going in.  It's very welcoming.  Saves the embarassment of walking in and then walking right back out cause the place is shady!  I had myself a Fleur de Lys pannini.  I skipped the baked potato salad.  Grabbed it to go and went to Jackson Square and snapped some photos while eating lunch.  A little jazz band played live in the square.  Actually, everywhere you go in the French Quarter you hear jazz music.  Trumpets, banjos and base players.  It's pretty neat.  I got some shots of St. Louis Cathedral, which is really beautiful.  I also checked out the harbour front and did some shopping.  Lots of great art and photography shops, along with the souvenir shops.  You can get all the beads and Mardi Gras masks you want!  I didn't buy anything but made a mental note of what I might get as souvenirs.  After 5pm, I called it a day and headed back to the hotel.  Though the FQ and downtown is safe during the day, I wasn't prepared to be walking alone at night, to get back to the hotel!  I grabbed some greek for supper and called it a day.