Chapter 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jcr9_dCOusk (yes chapter 3's theme is a youtube video)
Thursday February 9 What a better way to start the morning by walking to the French Market and have the classic N'awlins breakfast at
Cafe Du Monde 
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I wish I could say the Cafe Au Lait has flavor but it doesn't remind me of anything more than warm steamed milk. The beignets from recall are a vast improvement over the ones I had at Cafe Beignet 7 years ago. Certainly larger, warm and fresh, however they taste like RI style doughboys to me although I'll admit I had to dump a good load of sugar off those bad boys.
After breakfast I tried to find real coffee at Community Coffee- a Louisiana only Chain. Certainly a vast improvement over Royal Blend but it still didn't wow me.
Thursday Morning I decided to do something that I was going to do on my last visit to New Orleans but I ended up touring the Cabildo instead.
A walking tour of St Louis Cemetery No 1.
The guide was very knowledgable.
As you know they bury their dead above ground in New Orleans. Due to being below sea level, it would be somewhat disturbing to find Uncle Harry floating around the river after he died of course.
The tour guide explained how they would bury people one on top of the other and that they would need to remove the caskets, re-arrange the bones and then rebury the dead.
As you can see, some of the tombs are in good condition and some not so much.
This is New Orleans oldest cemetery.
This is the tomb of Marie Laveau the famous voodoo priestess. She lived to be 98 years old-
Speaking of voodoo (hence the theme of this chapter)
Our tour guide dropped us off- yes she literally dropped us off and left us at the Voodoo Temple.
Normally I would say the inside of the temple is indescribable but since it was permissible to take photos- here you go
That's the voodoo priestess on the far right.
and there she is on the far left.
I think that tapestry on the right has been visiting me in my dreams every night since.
Interestingly enough, the voodoo priestess noticed I was not married- of course I was alone and don't have a wedding ring- I told her I was waiting for Sandra Bullock (or at least a look alike) she replied "done"
I guess I have to wait and see now.
Afterwards, I walked all the way to the uptown street car that goes up St Charles to make my lunch stop.
Casamento's Restaurant 
The first place I actually hit with a line- There were only two parties ahead of me but it was a good 20-25 minute wait for a table.
Meanwhile I got some good photos of the oyster plate after they were freshly shucked
Finally my table was available
I started out with what is possibly the best gumbo on the entire trip.
and then continue to thoroughly enjoy this fantastic half an oyster loaf
Dresses with lettuce and tomato, adding just a touch of hot sauce put this sandwich right over the top- probably one of my favorite stops in New Orleans.
There's a reason why I ordered "just half a loaf"
Buffetbuster suggested my next stop as a must.
Walking distance (well for me it was) from
Casamentos I arrive and guess what
Travelin Manned
seasonal only
Ok, I'll just walk over to my next intended stop- it too really isn't too far away...
oh no! Two in a row- and today
IS Thursday!
Now I need to console myself- a return to the french quarter and
Mothers?
As I'm walking back to St Charles Avenue to catch the street car- look what grabbed my attention.
The Creole Creamery I literally did a double take- I walked in and the young lady said that the ice cream is made right on the premises.
They had some really cool flavors, a mexican chocolate made with real cajun spices, a peanut ice cream made with sam adams beer and spicy peanuts- I tried a bite and those peanuts were quite spicy- however this is what I went with
A Chocwork Orange- the best of both worlds-
Ben and Jerrys used to have a very similar flavor over 20 years ago, however the
Creole Creamery puts Ben and Jerry's to shame.
This was probably the best ice cream I've had this year, last year and possibly even the year before. Dare I say better than Ted and Wally's, The Daily Scoop, The Java Cow? If not better then just as good.
For those who are heading to New Orleans you would be doing yourself a great disservice by not checking the
Creole Creamery out
Here is their website.
http://www.creolecreamery.com/ After my coma induced ice cream, I took the slow creaky street car back to downtown but not before I took a photo of one of these find mansions lining St Charles Avenue
Oh, and yes, I still decided to console myself from being Travelin Manned twice with a return to
Mother's and a late afternoon snack-
A small bowl of Jambalaya-the best on the trip! (for those who are keeping tabs, this is now my third visit to
Mothers on this trip)
After resting up for a few hours back at my hotel after strolling around all day, I decided one can not leave New Orleans without one of two drinks. I've never been a fan of the overly sweet hurricane. So I headed over to the French Market Cafe for a hand made (not machine made) Banana Daiquiri
And down to the maraschino-what a fine Daiquiri it was.
Afterwards, I decided on a late dinner at
Tujagues. This is a multi course meal. And when I entered, I looked around, and thought wow, I thought the Bon Ton was dark- it was even darker here- for the first time the remaining photos are all flash photos. I paired my meal with the local brew-Abita
I began with the shrimp remoulade
Al the Mayor couldn't have described it better- like a shrimp cocktail that was accidentally dumped onto the salad. Actually it was pretty good.
I moved on to an interesting but solid gumbo
but they forgot to take the crab legs out!
And then had the interesting brisket in creole sauce
fork tender - but it should really be called brisket in horseradish drippings.
The killer (and I mean this in a good way) was the main course- the Chicken Bon Femme
What seemed like half a bird nestled with thin sliced fried potatoes and loaded (and I mean loaded) with garlic, parsley and lord knows what else. This was complete sensory overload
Dessert was inconsequential
a very ordinary bread pudding (compared to the other two I had) in Caramel Sauce.
This was certainly a fine meal even with the ordinary dessert.
Afterwards, I walked Bourbon Street one last time and returned to my hotel as tomorrow will be my last morning in New Orleans before venturing to other points around the south.
More to come later in the week.
