New Orleans

We had a little family vacation to New Orleans last weekend to celebrate Will and Bea's wedding. This is a picture of Jackson Square that I would like to take credit for, except I think Andre took it.

New Orleans is such a beautiful city, I really love it. After Katrina I remember hearing people say things like, "why rebuild the city if its just going to get hit again," and to me, it seems like these are people who have never been to New Orleans. It is a uniquely wonderful place.

The people are warm and friendly. People would stop us on the street to say how cute the girls are or ask if they're twins, we had a jazz musician play the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" for them on a trumpet. The weather was lovely, and everything was blooming. Walking down the french quarter, every house has wrought iron balconies with big green ferns draped out of canisters. I mean, its just so incredible. How could we not do everything in our power to support this lovely city? I walked around with Harry Connick Jr.'s voice singing, "Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans," in my head and thinking about how the city is like no other.

We brought my mom this time, and rented a little bed and breakfast suite--minus the breakfast called the 1822 Bougainvillea House. It was perfect. We had two large rooms, a kitchen, bath, and it opened out onto an enclosed garden. We could leave our back door open to let in the sunshine and the girls could run around the garden looking at flowers or for the cat that lived there. Plus, we were within walking distance of the French Quarter.

My mom was really helpful and we all enjoyed her company, especially the girls. It was nice to be able to do the trip as a family.




Friday began with coffee and beignets at Cafe Du Monde in the French Market. The girls ate all the powdered sugar off of them and then asked for more. Rowan ate one tiny part of beignet, but the rest was all sugar. Evelyn didn't even try--all she cared about was more sugar.


After Cafe Du Monde we all went to the New Orleans Zoo. Its one of the best zoos I've been to, second only to the Denver Zoo and Disney's Animal Kingdom (if that counts as a zoo). They have so many beautiful animals, and their habitats are large, natural looking places. You can see every animal has their favorite little toys and there are lots of interactive exhibits.

The girls got to feed the otters pieces of carrots and fish, which they of course went crazy over. Evelyn was especially thrilled. It was one of the few times I believe Evelyn was as crazy over the animals as Rowan was.



They also had a nice play area for the kids and a carousel. We took them on a carousel in Denver and they were both scared, but this time they didn't want to get off. Rowan insisted on riding the panda every time, but Evelyn kept wanting to change animals.

That night Andre and I went to the rehearsal dinner in a little bistro called bistro Maison de Ville that closed down for the party. We got to catch up with our friends Mike and Andee, and just laugh and have a good time. The meal was phenomenal--truly one of the best I've ever had.



Meanwhile, my mom took care of Rowan and Evelyn. They found a drawer full of Mardi Gras beads and party favors. The girls went crazy. Every toddlers dream come true. For the rest of the weekend they would walk around our room with layers of Mardi Gras beads.











The next day we started out with a walk through the French Market. Then we headed to the Aquarium, which is just beautiful. Its really nice for kids too. They have a whole section that is a huge play area for them.









Saturday night was the wedding. Andre left early since he was a groomsman, so my mom, the girls and I went for a light dinner, walk, and then let the girls play in Jackson Square. Then we all walked over to Artillery Park for the wedding. The park overlooks Jackson Square on one side, Cafe Du Monde on another and the Mississippi river on yet another. Down below the park are artists, street performers, and horse drawn carriages. For two people as in love with New Orleans as Will and Bea, I can't imagine a more perfect place to have a wedding.

This is a great picture of Will, Belen, Mike and Andee, at the wedding, but its missing Bea. The only picture I got of the happy couple is one of them dancing. I was having such a great time myself that I completely failed as a paparazzi. Bea looks gorgeous though and her dress was very pretty.


The reception was held at a hotel in the quarter. We sat with friends and talked about how much one should tip the server so that he would bring our drinks quickly. Apparently, someone (probably David) guessed the right amount because by the end of the wedding I was feeling like it had just begun. Before it was over everyone was given napkins and then Bea, holding a parasol, and Will led everyone around the room in a big procession--I believe is called a "second line dance." Everyone following behind were dancing and waiving their napkins. It was so much fun.

After the wedding, we headed out to some of the favorite bars of our friends. Andre soon discovered that he loves wearing a bow tie, especially untied and we sat around talking and laughing about a girl trying to flirt with a guy dressed as a pirate in front of the entrance to the bar and other such amusements. The bartender knew both Will and Bea and she handed them bottles of champagne. They walked back and forth from our bar and the one next door pouring champagne for people, being congratulated by everyone.

In New Orleans the bars stay open all night, and you can come and go with your drink. So I wasn't sure what time we finally left, its like Vegas that way--time is sort of irrelevant.

The next day we got up early, went for breakfast and headed home. On our way we stopped off at "the cajun village" in Sorrento. Its a replica of an Acadian Village, complete with their own, very fat, very large alligators.