On Wednesday we took Keith’s advice and found the Algiers Ferry over to the French Quarter. We lucked out and got free street parking very close by, and also got on the ferry just before it was leaving the terminal. We sat up top and enjoyed the breezes and the views as we crossed the Mississppi.
There was some construction on the other side, so it was a challenge to get our bearings and find the tram stop. We found the riverfront tram and rode it to the French Market stop at the East end of the French Quarter. Walking a few blocks to officially be in the French Quarter we started marveling at the famous architechture right away!
After a few more blocks, we found a store-in-an-alley, with the cutest outdoor metal decorations. It wasn’t open yet, but we thought it was worth some pictures. I told Joe that it would sure look better if the recycling can wasn’t in the way, so the first picture is of Joe moving the can out of our shot!
We went into the French Market, which was just coming back to life after being shut down for Covid. There were not many vendors, but we did make a friend with Oscar, a gentleman who makes art with some kind of meltable plastic sheets, mostly metallics. He does earings, pins, and magnets. Since we had just started collecting magnets for the major places we visit (we try to keep it to one or two per state, lol), we decided that Oscar’s original artwork would be a great choice! We got a crawfish playing a saxaphone and a parrot. Not sure what the parrot has to do with New Orleans or Louisiana, but it was cute and he had a deal on two!
Continuing down Decatur Street, we took in some “enhanced” local art (someone had fun with beads!), the Joan of Arc, Maid of Orleans landmark, and more amazing architecture.
After that it was on to the highlight of the morning–Beignets at Cafe’ Du Monde! There was a line, but there was also a small band playing, which made it more pleasant….not to mention the smells! I think the anticipation (I had been talking up beignets since Florida!) made them all the more sweet.
Tipping the band, we moved on to explore the Jackson Square area. The way was full of buskers, including this gentleman, making poetry on-the-spot. Our boys seriously challenged him with the topics of “Nascar” and “trains!”
We waited for the poem and then made it through the rest of the gauntlet. One notable was a man betting people he could tell them where they got their shoes. (spoiler alert–the answer was always “you got them on your feet, in New Orleans!”). He was up by the cannons and we managed to get a picture while he made his money off of someone else. Across Jackson Square from the cannons is the beautiful Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis King of France, and in the center is a statue of its namesake, Andrew Jackson.
Interestingly the sculptor of Andrew Jackson on his horse, Clark Mills, had neither personally seen Jackson nor even an equestrian statue before designing his statue. A self-taught artist, his design balancing the statue perfectly on the horse’s hind legs was an unprecedented artistic feat at the time. The first version was errected in Washington DC in Lafayette Square in 1853, and in 1856 a second version was errected in New Orleans. The site chosen was the Place d’Armes, which was renamed Jackson Square at that time. Place d’Armes was where General Jackson reviewed his troops. Andrew Jackson was commemorated there because he was “The Hero of New Orleans.” In 1815 he defended the city of New Orleans against British forces: in about 30 minutes of battle the British had about 2,000 casualties, while Jackson lost less than 100 men, causing the Brits to withdraw and spare New Orleans.
The Saint Louis Cathedral is the oldest congregation in Louisiana, founded in 1718. The current building was built in 1793, with expansions and final renovations finished in 1851. It is the oldest active cathedral in the United States.
As we were leaving the church, Joe spotted a hotdog cart and couldn’t resist getting a foot-long dog to share! Next on our list was to see one of the old, above-ground cemeteries. On our way, we couldn’t help enjoying a laugh at some unique lamps in a lighting store. We took pictures from outside so as to not tempt fate with all of the breakables they had there!
Then we got detoured at Congo Square, and figured we should see the giant Louis Armstrong statue in the connected Louis Armstrong Park. The boys loved the full costume statue of “Big Chief Tootie” we discovered, as well!
We finally got to St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, only to find it closed except for tour groups. So we walked on to St. Louis Cemetery No. 2, which, although we were within the posted hours, was also closed. Several other small groups came by and were disappointed with us. We did take a few pictures over the walls or through the gates, getting some interesting contrasts with the modern office buildings of downtown.
Having walked a long way during the hottest time of day, we then found air conditioning, bathrooms, and a drinks break at a near-by convenience store. There was a bit of chaos and confusion at the drink machines, and I nicknamed our group the “Hot Mess Express” getting a laugh from the workers there. They weren’t busy and chatted with us for a few minutes as we all cooled off and got prepared to walk back through the French Quarter.
On the sidewalk along the parking lot, a local man cut directly infront of me and gave me “the eye.” I jumped back a step and apologized, thinking I had not seen him earlier and made him mad somehow. We kept walking and turned at the next corner and I sensed him following our group. Just when things were feeling REALLY uncomfortable, a police officer shouted, “Hey man, do you have a problem?” from across the street. I looked over to see two officers on foot coming over, and then we kept walking as they got between us and the man, detaining him. We were very relieved to get away from whatever that situation was going to turn into! Trouble behind us, we went back to enjoying the buildings and people of the French Quarter.
Back on Decatur Street, we found the mule-drawn carriages we had seen during our earlier walk, and all agreed it would be fun to sit and ride and have someone tell us about the area. The tour was very enjoyable (we even went past the hotdog vendor!). Afterwards, the boys got to feed Daisy a treat for her work.
As if we didn’t have enough treats for the day, we got some ice cream at Kilwins!
We had an all-day transportation pass, so we thought we’d take the streetcars again. We took the Canal Street line this time, to go up to Metairie Cemetery. A section of the line was closed so we had to do some walking to another stop, but we enjoyed the rides! After an interesting walk through a major intersection we found out that the cemetery was also closed. This time it was because it was after 4:00, not because we weren’t in a tour group. We resolved to come back again, and went back to reverse our route on the streetcars.
Ready to end the day, we headed back through the construction maze to the ferry terminal. After a false start we did get to the right entry point! We enjoyed the river views again on our way home, including one of the paddle-wheelers heading out. Joe was relieved to find out car the way we left it, having not been towed or ticketed (I was confident of the parking space). We wound back through the neighborhood and to our campsite.
