The Big Easy...Crescent City...NOLA...N'Awlins

Julie, Tiffany, Me @ Lake Ponchartrain

The title of this post are all names for New Orleans, where I spent Memorial Day weekend. Two of my friends from West Africa days went to the seminary in New Orleans after Africa. They were there when Katrina hit and were of course forced to leave. Julie has been taking classes online and is finishing up on campus this summer so Tiffany and I decided to visit and hang out...Et voila, here are photos from the weekend:

Mmm...the famous Aunt Sally's Pralines
Thank goodness for free samples!
They have an open window where you can see them make the pralines from scratch...the smell is heavenly, and you can watch workers stir massive pots of gooey, sugary praline stuff. Then, just when you think any more glucose would do you in, they grab the sugar and pour in another bag...so tasty.


Peek Pete. Peek Peggy.
When I was in New Orleans at New Year's, Christine & I visited around 3,263 art galleries. While we saw a lot of the same art in different galleries, Pete the Cat art was only found at the Crab Bag Gallery. I love Pete the Cat. For the story and more info, visit www.petethecat.com. I think you'll like what you see. I bought 3 prints and this nifty book of all the sketches.


The Natchez on the Mississippi River

Jazz Entertainment
Part of the charm of New Orleans is the fabulous local music scene. Musicians can be found everywhere throughout the French Quarter. Local artists are also plentiful.

Frozen Guy

More charm in the form of this statuesque guy in the middle of a street in the French Quarter.

Pretty Pink Flowers

These lovely flowers were not in bloom back in December. Aren't they beautiful?

John Stamos' Limo

Yes, Uncle Jesse was roaming the French Quarter. Tiffany was the only one of us to recognize him as he walked right past us. He had his hat pulled low on his face like the didn't want us to recognize him. What's that about? His limo was parked in front of the Cafe du Monde.

Lamp Posts

This is how all of the streets are marked in the French Quarter. I love it.

St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square

Cafe du Monde

The world-famous Cafe du Monde has a very limited menu...coffee and beignets. And variations on coffee, like frozen coffee or iced coffee or cafe au lait. That's it. I've spent a total of 7 days in N.O. now and I believe I've been to Cafe du Monde 10 times. Yummy. If you go to New Orleans, this is a MUST.

Powdered Noses

An order of beignets yields 3 individual pieces of heaven, and they are COVERED in powdered sugar. It gets all over you, no matter how careful you are. Warning: if you go, do not wear jeans.

Beignets

A close-up of the French doughnut deliciousness. (And yes, there is in fact powdered sugar all over the table...I wasn't exaggerating.)

A Love Affair

Have I mentioned how much j'adore les beignets?

Acrobat Show

Can you see the guy flipping over the six people? He's in mid-flip, belly-up.

Apprentices (Apprenti?)
Shayne (above) and Cookie (below) are all set to be Home Group leaders. They start on Monday!

Cookie