We made it safely to Biloxi, Mississippi and are settled in nicely at our resort. We are staying in a casino, which is interesting...but more on that later. Right now, I want to talk about New Orleans.
I was really excited to come on this business trip with dad. I was looking forward to a week of spending time with family, lying in the sun and traveling. I have never been to Mississippi, so I could mark another state off my list, and when I realized that we were only staying a mere hour and a half away from New Orleans, I knew we had to visit. I've honestly never had any real desire to go, mostly because I think Mardi Gras is just out right trash. But, I thought since we were here and since it's NOT Mardi Gras, it would be interesting to explore the historic French Quarter and walk the famed Bourbon street.
Our first full day in MS, Dad, Lydia and I headed to Louisiana (another state off my list!). We drove to New Orleans, parked the car and stepped out into the intense 95 degree, muggy heat. I was instantly surprised about how pretty and fascinating the architecture was in the area. I felt like we stepped back in time. Most of the buildings were fairly unkempt, which I think added to the affect. It didn't feel too touristy. I absolutely loved all the French influence. A vast majority of the signs were in French or had a french influence. It gave the area such a unique feeling.
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We walked a while, took a look over the Mississippi, and had lunch. I was determined to have a legit New Orleans dish. I didn't care how hot I was, I was getting something spicy. We shared some fried pickles, Dad had the largest shrimp Po Boy he'd ever seen, Lydia had crab cakes and I had a delectable Jambalaya. I was fully satisfied at the end of our meal. We meandered through town a little longer and found ourselves on Bourbon Street. Let me just say....it was my LEAST favorite street. It was full of garish shops, strip clubs and bars and smelled like pee. It was trashy. But, other than that small area, I did really like the rest of the French Quarter.
We really enjoyed ourselves. Dad was a good sport as he took photos of us girls posing in front of different buildings and trying to be artsy fartsy. After about 3 hours, we headed home. It was such a successful first day of our trip!
The Mississippi River!
It was obvious that Voodoo culture is still pretty prevalent in this area...and apparently hauntings are too. We passed several shops that sold items of the Occult and other weird things.
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The city is definitely not short of interesting characters. This old guy was dressed as a dead confederate soldier. Instead of a gun, he had a cane and he would try to be a statue, but if you walked right by, he would stick out his cane and get your attention.
He was quite a character. I kinda felt bad for the guy....
In this photo, he finally decided to take a smoke break.
We loved this cathedral!
Stay tuned, I will post about the rest of our trip later this week. I can't wait to see what the next couple of days have in store.
xo
Lauren Marie
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