The Road to New Orleans

[rebness]

This post is one I have savoured even uploading. It is a post with the pictures as we entered Louisiana and New Orleans, and the first day there. I am so grateful to annemariewrites for such an amazing journey and for sharing in and totes understanding the obsession and the excitement I have for this city. 

Hokay, so it was back on the road the next day, through Mississippi. Now, it looked pretty damned interesting and Jackson was cool and we stopped off at Cracker Barrel (I LOVE YOU, CRACKER BARREL) ...



... but really, Louisiana and New Orleans was always going to be the highlight. Were we excited? Well...



I may have squealed embarrassingly at seeing this sign. Unfortunately, after zooming through the states, the windscreen was covered in a thousand splattered little bugs, so it's Bienvenue en Louisiane in bug-o-vision. :D 



Oh man oh man oh man!



Finalement! After all these years of waiting for this! What's that, annemariewrites , you need help navigating the next part? Too bad I've dropped the map in my excitement and you now have to pull over and work things out yourself. >:D 



So after all that, and parking! fun! we were at the hotel right in the heart of the French Quarter. It was humid and we were a bit tired and stuff, but we were in New Orleans! First things first:



Beignets! Where have you been all my life? They fix everything, huh, Ava? >:) 



Even stupid graffiti can't spoil the beauty.



It's so much like France, and then not. So much like Spain and America, and then not. It's just gorgeous. D: 



St. Louis cathedral! I've read about you so much, bb!



And the pungent, evocative Mississippi.



So night was beginning to fall. We wandered through the streets, up Royal (though we saved the full street for one memorable morning) and back towards Jackson Square.



We sat at one of the benches in the shadow of St. Louis and talked. And talked. And talked. We watched people going by and just soaked in the atmosphere. We were pretty tired (I don't know how annemariewrites has such superhuman driving stamina, I swear) but looking forward to exploring more over the coming days. And we totes did! Photos in the next post. >:D