Beignets and Bayous

Wednesday, March 8…

Yesterday we had beignets (ben yays’) while we were on the city tour, but we haven’t yet eaten the exalted beignets of Café du Monde – open 24 hrs on the Riverwalk. We’d seen a long line on Monday, so we headed out early today. No line, and very efficient table service. And what they say is true – these puffy little squares of fried dough drenched in powdered sugar were way better than yesterday’s version. Café au lait is the go-with (and my Mr. One-Cup-of-No- Sugar-Decaf enjoyed his), but I stuck with milk. (Mormon expectations aside, coffee has never been my thing. Love the smell, hate the taste.)

and the piece de resistance.

The venue...

A little breakfast music.

This trombonist below isn’t likely to grow rich soon. His music (on the sidewalk) reminded me of the John Thompson’s Beginner Piano books of my childhood. There were also quite a few homeless down on the River. One old fellow asked us for a nickel, in exchange for which he’d tell us all he knew about the city. 

Downriver (note fishing pole to left)

We lingered a bit longer on the River (which we’ll see lots more of over the next few days), then walked back through the FQ, packed up and headed north to Baton Rouge. The highway ran along the western edge of Lake Pontchartrain, and it might as well have been the 24-mile causeway that actually crosses the lake. We drove over water for miles.

Lake Pontchartrain
(huge, not pretty)

Bayous galore...

and more bridges. 😃

BlogThoughts...  Just a couple parting thoughts about the urban campground. The amenities were great, and the convenience was well worth the significantly higher rate. The grounds took up a whole block, bordered on one side by an empty warehouse, on another by New Orleans' 2nd oldest cemetery (all bodies above ground - otherwise they'd end up floating), and by streets on the last two. Parallel to one of those streets was an elevated freeway. Two billboards (facing that freeway) were anchored within the campground. I tend to be blissfully oblivious of irrelevant noise, but it bothered some people. One thing we did notice, however, was the frequency of sirens - day and night. At first I thought maybe there was a hospital nearby, and maybe there is, but I suspect it's mostly police vehicles. The city does have a serious crime problem. (One camper actually had to leave b/c his dog howled every time he heard the sirens, and nobody liked that.)