Dinner and Jazz - Cruise the Mississippi River on the Natchez

This is a nice evening dinner, a little pricey, but a nice evening out with friends aboard the old paddle boat (the only game in town.)  The tickets are $67 per person, but look through the local magazines such as "Where" for coupons for $3-$5 off.  The price includes salad bar, buffet, and coffee/tea/soda.  Wine and drinks are extra.  We reserved the tickets through the hotel with an $11 deposit per person (which I think is the commisssion). We met at the dock and purchased the tickets. One member of our group could not attend (she had tripped on a pot hole on the street, scraped her knees, hit her head on a pole and now has a black eye, but that is another story) so we had all of the high finance with the refund for the deposit. The refund needs to be worked through the hotel person who took the reservation but this was not an issue and went quite smoothly.  I don't know if that happens with every hotel, but the staff at Place D'Armes has been super.

We were at the dock early enough to enjoy the Calliope show. Here is a little sample.

The meal was all buffet style, and you could have as much as you wanted although one trip through the line satisfied all of us.  After the meal, we could tour the steamer or just sit out on the deck and watch the river go by.  The Engine room was open and it was very interesting to visit and watch how it all works.  We went outside to enjoy the river view and, although it was a little chilly, we wrapped the scarves and pulled the coats closed and enjoyed the jazz band music.  The bank performed in the dining hall but the music was played throughout the steamer.

Canvas Print of the Natchez by Artist Alicia Morales

Beignets and Cafe au Lait - Cafe du Monde

Great way to start the day!!

Courtyard at Place D'Armes - New Orleans

View of the courtyards from the balcony

Our room is on the second floor of one of the three brick buildings surrounding the courtyard.  We have two large windows with a view of the large trees and the fountain and bricked patio below. The narrow porch has two chairs and a table, perfect for morning coffee or late night wine.  This is the view to the right of the porch, looking at the pool area.  There are a lot of plants in raised planters and pots, with two huge magnolia trees shading the pool. 

The hotel is located in a great spot, near the shopping street rue Royal, a half block from St. Louis Cathedral with beautiful Jackson Squar, and about two blocks from Cafe du Monde. 

Inner courtyard

Gas lights

Entrance to hotel from inside the courtyard

Pool area

View of the other end of the balcony

View of the large courtyard below the balcony

Another large fountain in the back courtyard

A wall fountain in the back courtyard area

http://www.placedarmes.com/ is the link to the hotel.

Life in the French Quarter (Affiliate Link) This is a book about life in the French Quarter.  I put the link here so that I could remember to get this book after I return home from the New Orleans weekend. 
http://www.cafedumonde.com/ is the link to Cafe Du Monde.

New Orleans - Ghost Tour of the French Quarter

Tonight we have a scary adventure planned. We are meeting outside of Rev. Zombie's Voodoo Shop to take the "French Quarter Ghosts and Legends" tour. Who knows what ghosts we will see...

We have a reference book for New Orleans, and have visited the table that is set at Muriel's for the resident ghost. Whooooo. Scary.  I watched for the ghost in Antoine's, but did not see him.  Maybe that was him that I felt as I roamed through the back rooms, looking at all of the Mardi Gras memorabilia. (or maybe it was the three pear martini's...just sayin')


This is the Amazon link to the book that we are using for information in addition to what is provided by the tour guides.    It's a good book, with two sections on the French Quarter, so there is plenty of info and places to keep all good ghost hunters busy.
Ghost Hunter's Guide to New Orleans (Affiliate Link)

Results of the Tour
We enjoyed the hour and a half walk through the French Quarter.  The guide told tales of the hauntings and sightings in several of the businesses.  We stopped midway through the tour for a drink at Turtle Bay while the guide told more stories about sightings in the courtyard.  The walk was vigorous and the agenda was totally in the hands of the guide, so the information and experience will vary according to who is assigned to lead your group.  I know that he walked past several places with "notable ghosts" without a comment, but he had started by saying that he was going to show us the most interesting, as most of the ghost stories can be read. (He was right, most are in the Ghost Hunter's Guide).  He was charming, asked for tips at the end, had a book for sale, and worked the crowd. The cost of the tour was $20, which is a good price.  I recommend it for any first timer, or if you haven't taken a walking tour on a previous visit.

New Orleans -25 cent Pear Martini's at Antoine's

New Orleans is filled with music, all the time.  This is our favorite corner, as the performers here are unique and colorful.  (Watch for the unique and colorful character at the end of the video and notice the toe tapping foot action.)  If you like the music, you can purchase a CD for $10.

Choice of Pear or Lemon Drop Martinis today

What a way to start: 25 cent martinis!!! We had a choice of Pear or Lemon Zinger.  I will add more food photos later. I'm going to have the $20.11 fixed price luncheon special: cup of gumbo, [another martini], Antoine's Louisianna Gulf Shrimp Creole [plus another martini] and Pecan Bread Pudding for dessert.  Note that this price does not include the 9.75% tax, a well deserved gratuity for Austin, and 25 cents for each martini.

This restaurant is huge and seats 1300 people. It is a museum with walls of photos of all of the past Mardi Gras queens. There are party rooms that have been reserved by the Mardi Gras "teams" for over 75 years, a huge wine "hall", and delightful memorabilia capturing moments in New Orleans history.  I added the photos of the other places in the restaurant at the end of this post.

Seafood Gumbo - A classic preparation of rich Louisiana gumbo with blue crabs, oysters, and gulf shrimp

Pear Martini #2

Choice 1: Antoine's Louisianna Gulf Shrimp Creole
Fresh Louisiana shrimp in the classical Creole tomato sauce, served with steamed white rice

Choice 2: Veal Burgundy
Lightly floured Veal with a burgundy mushroom sauce served with pecan rice.

Pear Martini #3 - they are so smooth!

Bread pudding - tasty sauce, dallop of whipped creme with a mint leaf
Pudding de Pain de Noix de Pecan
A cinnamon and raisin bread pudding topped with warm Rum sauce

Antoine's is a museum...a collection of goodies from yesterday, and today.  Be sure to walk throughout the restaurant to see all that they have to view.

Photos of some of the earlier Mardi Gras queens

Jewels and necklaces from past Mardi Gras festivities.

They have a HUGE collection of liquor.
This is only one of the cases.

This is only one of the large dining rooms.

One of the Pope's visited!!

Collection of ashtrays and plates

Click to view Antoine's website
Info about Absolut Pears Martini (must be 21 years to view)

Cafe du Monde and Jackson Square Musicians

How did this get so HUGE??

Wow. I remember when this was a quant little coffee shop. This place is HUGE. Who are all these people? Who told them about my quiet little place? It grew so fast. The last time I was here was, hmm, when was that? Before Kalen. 1983? Ahhh!! Almost 30 years ago!!!

Double order of Beignets (powdered donuts), Cafe au Lait,
Chicory coffee, and hot chocolate.

Cafe du Monde serves one edible item: Beignets.  The fried donuts are freshly made and covered with powered sugar (you will be covered too!)  They offer a variety of both hot and cold drinks, and the chicory coffee is well known. You can buy your coffee in a souvenir mug, which is a fun reminder.

TIPS: Make sure that you are in the correct line.  There are two lines - one is for the take-out window and the other is to be seated.  Most times the staff will try to get the take-out line to enter from the back of the shaded outside area. The seating line is to the front of the building, off of Decatur.  The outside patio may be closed in the morning until there are enough people lined up to warrant all of the extra seating and staff.  If you see an open table, take it. No one is going to seat you, but someone will be around to clean the table of the coffee cups and powdered sugar. Then you can  make your own mess.

We walked past Jackson Square.  The square is surrounded by a beautiful iron fence, and ornate gates on each side. The outer perimeter of the fence often holds artwork from local artists and the open plaza holds fortune tellers and tarot card readers.  And, as always, musicians selling CDs, entertaining, and adding to the overall ambiance of the French Quarter.

Europe Planning - Paris 2011

Time to start planning for my trip to Europe. I like to start with Rick Steves books, because I get a nice layout of what I can see in the limited time that I have. The next trip to Paris is with a woman who has been a friend of mine since we were 18 and living in Pittsburgh.  Tina has decided to get her passport and take her vacation time...and just go.  This will be a lot of fun for both of us, and I'm proud and excited to be able to show Paris to her. Rick Steves' Paris 2011 Amazon Affiliate link. (I get a small commission) is my starting place.  I've purchased a new one each year that I travel because I normally write in them throughout the trip (keeping the old ones as a memoir reference guide) and use the new ones to confirm open hours, new ideas, and to make out a new route.  I want to be sure to include the wonderful chocolate shops, bistros, and cafes that are on the way from our apartment to an attraction. 

I spend a lot of time thinking about how to introduce Paris to Tina.  Tourist spots make an easy starting place, but I really enjoy all of the other yummy places to stop.  Sometimes these are sensory overload, but I am leaning towards a plan that just attacks her senses on a daily bases.  Mades for a good blog!

Merry Christmas

Season greetings from our family to yours!  This is my favorite spokesmodel.

Sunny Christmas Day 2011

Merry Christmas to all. Phoenix is sunny and 70 degrees, without a cloud in the sky.  I'm glad that I had snow earlier this month in Paris! 

Scottsdale, Arizona - Il Pandoro - just like in Rome?

The short answer is "NO", not as tasty as it was in Rome. But it has traveled quite a distance, so I am not surprised that it is dried.

The funny note:  It took me about 1/2 hour to select and buy this. I went to DeFalco's Italian Deli and had to discuss the purchase and listen to all of the local Italian stories.  The consensus is that "my Mom used to toast/make french toast/butter and fry (select your favorite) this on Christmas Day".  Well, no wonder! It was dried.  So while I can't eat this with lush butter, as we did in Rome, it is good buttered and lightly fried.  I think that the Italian moms make these changes to overcome the dryness.