Great River Road 2011: Day 29 - New Orleans City Tour

By: Dick and Marsha Marshall - Adventure 12

We started out on a nice, bright, sunny day by bus. Roland was our tour guide and Glen was our bus driver. Roland told us the population of the New Orleans area was 1,200,000 and New Orleans proper was 320,000. The population of the outskirts is increasing faster that New Orleans itself. New Orleans is a melting pot. They have an “R” less accent like Boston. Lake Ponchetrain wanders around New Orleans and the Mississippi is on the other side and the two make New Orleans look like a crescent, thus the nickname the Crescent City. The port is the second largest in the U.S.

We went first to Mardi Gras World. A pleasant lady who gave us information and showed us a movie about the workings of Mardi Gras World met us. She also gave us each a piece of king cake, a N.O. tradition. One piece will have something in it. The male who gets that piece is the king. Another piece with something in it will go to a female and she will be the queen. Carol Adams was our queen. There was also a chance to try on costumes. The first float parade was in 1857. The figures for the floats are made of fiberglass and styrofoam and covered with papier maché before being painted. Orpheus Crewe has the largest float. Harry Connick, Jr. is a member of Orpheus. They save and repaint and redecorate a lot of the floats. The Company was started in 1947 by Brian Kern and is now run by his son. They make floats for many companies including Disney Parks around the world.

Entrance to Mardi Gras World

Antique Carriage

Tin Man with Friends by Trolley

King Rex

3-Headed Dragon Float

Roland and one of his compatriots split us into two groups and then led us on a walking tour of the French Quarter. We saw Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, Po Boy Shop (the Po Boy is a sandwich on long bread with many different fillings and is called that because the poor boys of long ago could only afford the long bread to eat), St. Louis Street with its beautiful wrought iron balconies, the New Orleans School of Cooking, and one of Emeril’s restaurants. We saw the word NOLA in many places and found it stood for New Orleans Louisiana. Royal Street is a promenade where there is no traffic allowed during the day. Antoiins and Brennans are on this street. Unusual was the fact that the Supreme Court of LA is in New Orleans instead of in the State Capital. As we were walking we stopped to listen to a street band and watch a couple dancing to the music. The Court of Two Sisters was also along this walk. We saw Oak Leaf designs on the ironwork and that stands for hospitality. Pat O’Brien’s is famous for inventing the Hurricane, the most famous beverage in the City.

Bourbon Street is named for the Bourbon kings of France and not the drink. It is closed to traffic at night. St. Anthony Cathedral is beautiful. The ground on the outside of the church was used as dueling grounds. The Priest came out one day to find more people watching the dueling than attending services so he banned dueling from the grounds. We also saw Jackson Square where there were many artists working and showing their work on the fence. St. Louis Cathedral is the oldest active Catholic Church in North America. At noon we heard wonderful church bells ringing from the Church. We saw the statue of Andrew Jackson which weighs 20,000 lbs.

Roland, our Guide

Trolley downtown

'Beautiful Balcony in French Quarter

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Sign

Mule Drawn Carriage

St. Louis Cathedral

Stonewall Jackson

Dixieland Street Band

We all dispersed for lunch and then met our second bus and bus driver and off to St. Louis #2 cemetery. Roland’s commentary was wonderful and kept us all interested in what he was saying. We went on a city tour after the cemetery. If I wrote down all the facts and interesting stories Roland told us this blog would go on forever. We were dropped off at the New Orleans Cooking School for a cooking lesson and dinner of what we saw being cooked. Harriet, the cook, was fantastic and very, very funny. She even made some special dishes for those who were unable to eat some of the delicious looking foods she made. We all had a wonderful time and it was a great way to end the day.