New Orleans

This past weekend, we went to New Orleans! I have a brother who lives in Houston with his wife and they drove over and met us there. It was really fun to see them since we haven't seen them since July of last year. And, they are just always really fun.

David acted as our tour guide for walking tours of the French Quarter and the Garden District. We saw a lot of cool architecture and learned some interesting facts. We saw some properties that are/were owned by Nicholas Cage, Archie Manning (father of Peyton and Eli), and Sandra Bullock. Some of the houses also had related ghost rumors which made for good stories. 

There were some really fun shops in the French Quarter. I think our favorites were a lighting store, an antique gun and coin store, a pepper store (where you can taste all the salsas), and a paper store that let us try out some glass pens. 

Carson spent a lot of time in his stroller. 

Here he is eating a peanut butter cracker making a face for Aunt Jessica.

 This is Preservation Hall. We were a little surprised when we saw it, I guess we just expected something a little better preserved...

With the famous nightly jazz shows, they're mostly focused on preserving the music.

This is us in front of the St. Louis cathedral which some say is the most photographed cathedral in the US. In the spirit of that rumor, I will post more pictures of the church than anything else...

Carson was taking a nap in his stroller at the time which is why he missed the picture.

 David and Jessica :)

 We also had some beignets (French donuts) at the Cafe du monde. They were good.

 It was interesting to tour the Lafayette Cemetary which (similar to others in New Orleans) mostly has graves that are above ground vaults. 

We also heard some great jazz. Once at a show in the old US mint (now also a jazz museum with Louis Armstrong's cornet!), and the other time with dinner at Palm Court. Both were awesome shows with great musicians, especially the clarinetists, who knew? We tried some new foods as well, muffuletta sandwiches, gator on a stick, jambalaya, and of course the beignets.

It was such a fun weekend, short but sweet. I'd like to thank David and Jessica for researching and planning the outings and providing us with these pictures. They are great travel buddies!