Vacationing Alone is Different from Traveling Alone.

I'm exhausted.  And today was a good day. Not the best.  But good.

Today, I vacationed with myself.  (That sounded less weird in my head.)  Nevertheless, today I walked around the New Orleans French Quarter by my lonesome and did the touristy things in the company of me. I have since learned a thing or two about being alone.  But I'll come back to that.

The only thing on the agenda today was to explore the French Quarter.  I'm in Louisiana by myself just for these 2 nights, just passing through on my way to Florida.  Rather than just spending the night, I decided to stay 2 nights so that I could actually say that I've been to New Orleans.  And after today, I must admit that one day was probably enough New Orleans for me.

For the 2 nights I selected a quaint little Bed & Breakfast.  It's pink (or purple, you decide), within walking distance of the French Quarter, and a bit off the beaten path.  One of the main reasons I chose it was because it, according to Expedia, had glowing customer reviews and onsite parking.  They did not mention that this parking was not in any way secure.  So I've been praying for the safety of my car for these two nights as it hangs out, alone, in a deserted little parking lot.  Please God, keep my car safe!

pink? purple? sketchy?

This morning I was lazy.  Got out of bed late, talked on the phone a bit, lounged around, took a lovely hot shower, and finally made it down to breakfast around 10am.  The breakfast they offered wasn't anything fancy: just a croissant, a bit of fruit, a cup of juice, and cup of coffee.  The bed is comfy, the room is clean, and the air conditioner keeps the room nice and cool.  This is the best thing ever, because outside is anything but cool.  Walking around today I nearly died of suffocation in the mugginess.  This desert girl is used to her heat being bearable and dry.  Not thick.  I found myself ducking into shops just to feel cool air.  I suppose that's how they lure most people in, isn't it?

that's the Mississippi River.

So anyway, I packed my little shoulder bag w/ the essentials and headed out around 11:30 am.  I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do today.  The French Quarter is simply a section of New Orleans about 10 blocks by 15 blocks (give or take).  It boasts Bourbon Street, Royal Street, the Cafe du Monde, river boat ferries on the Mississippi River, the French Market, and a smattering of other shops, restaurants, bars and other attractions.  The main attraction being Bourbon Street: a massive line of bars.

So without any sort of plan, I just started walking.  That was when I noticed something weird.  There were tons of people out and about in little red dresses.  And when I say people, I mean women AND men.  At first I thought it was some fluke.  A bunch of guys at a bachelor party or something.  Freshmen hazing for LSU.  Some mean drama department's initiation.  But no. There were more.  And more. And more!  And they're all hammered.

So I keep on walking and make it all the way down to the river to look at the boats and try to get   my bearings.  I sit down by the river and pull out my map.  Now I had had several people tell me that there were things that I HAD to do while I was in New Orleans.  The 3 that I took to heart were: 1. Go to Cafe du Monde and get some beignets and Cafe au Lait, 2. Walk down Bourbon Street, and 3. Eat lunch at Cafe Amile.  So I figured, why not?  I'll do 'em all!  I started with Cafe du Monde.  But by now it was 12:45 and the place was jam PACKED.  Eh, I'll come back.

So I walk down to Bourbon Street.  Bourbon Street is one massive party.  It's noon and there are drunks everywhere, all in red dresses.  Bourbon Street smells like two things: booze & vomit.  The intense humidity only accentuates this pleasant aroma.  Here the red dresses were out in swarms.  Everywhere.  Balconies, bars, clubs, the street, the side walk.  You name it, there's a dude and his frat buddies in red dresses.  I make a mental note to find out the story behind the thousands of people out in red dresses.

On Bourbon Street all I did was walk.  I had already promised myself that I wouldn't drink while I was in New Orleans, so the bars weren't much of an attraction.  I hooked around and got on Royal Street which is only one street south of Bourbon Street.  The contrast couldn't be more stark.  Where Bourbon Street is all bars, Royal Street is all galleries & other fineries.  Both streets held little of any appeal to me so I got through them quickly, popping in to a shop here and there to look at souvenirs and generally escape the heat.

1 down. 2 to go.  Next on the agenda was Cafe Amile.  I had been told by one of my regulars at Mimi's that this was a must.  (Btw, Pam, if you're reading this, New Orleans was all you had cracked it up to be!)  I find Cafe Amile on my little map and head off.  I get there, and it's CLOSED!  What? This was the sign:

Curses!  I'd have to find another place to eat.  I stopped at a little shop and got some jambalaya.  It was good.  Nothing to write home about.  But now I've had cajun food in New Orleans.  Check!  With 2 out of my 3 to-dos done, I headed back to Cafe du Monde.  Now it was about 2pm, and the place was still busy, but not packed anymore.  I sat down, ordered some beignets and coffee and waited, wondering what I had gotten myself in to.  Here is my experience with beignets.  Mimi's Cafe, my former employer, introduced beignets to the menu a couple of years ago.  Theirs were little doughnut holes filled with custard, dusted in cinnamon and sugar, and served with a variety of dipping sauces.  They were delicious.  They were not, as a learned today, even close to a traditional beignet.  THIS is a traditional begniet:

mmm mmm good.

delicious.

outside

and inside

Cafe du Monde boasts of being the Original French Market Coffee Stand.  Beignets are basically, as my friend Katie put it, "sopapillas meets funnel cake!" & she's dead on.  They are served hot under a positive mountain of powdered sugar.  I got some iced coffee to go with it, and I was in heaven.  So very delicious!  Now I was experiencing the side of New Orleans that didn't involve booze.  This side, I liked!

After that, it was more walking around.  I wandered somewhat aimlessly.  Wandered around Jackson square, saw a cool statue, and listened to a street band play.  The band was awesome.  Some dude was playing a washboard with a smattering of other little percussive attachments, and he would hit them with his hands, but he had little plastic coverings on his fingers to make the sound louder, and he was GOOD.  Really really fun to  watch.

This is what it sounded like:

statue of Andrew Jackson

After that I wandered some more, found the French Market, which was just a flea market, a bit of produce, and some little food/smoothie shops.  After that, I decided that with my aching feet, and my shirt which I had nearly sweat through, it was time to head back to the hotel.  I kicked off my shoes, took a welcome shower, and got all clean.  It had been a lovely day.

the French Market

But, then I got hungry again!  I pulled up my trusty Urban Spoon app, found a sketchtastic little sandwich place, ordered a "Creole Chicken" Sandwich, and nearly died at the amount of mayo they had slathered it in! But it was filling, & I ate it as I watched a movie on my computer.  And that, my dear friends was today.

Let me just finish by saying that I learned 2 things today. Firstly, Mimi's Cafe makes a LOT more sense now that I've actually been to the French Quarter.  Their attempts at making the restaurant as New Orleans-y as possible could be considered welcome by some, and laughable by others.  Things like po-boys, beignets, and the like make a little more sense now.  The second thing is that there's a big difference between vacationing alone and traveling alone.  I've decided that the control freak in me really really likes traveling alone.  I like being in charge of when I leave in the morning.  I like having the bed (and room) to myself.  I like doing all the driving (for the most part).  I like all these things.  What I *don't* like, is vacationing alone.  Walking around the French Quarter today was really quite fun, but I couldn't help but think that it would be more fun with someone else.  And not in a sappy way, but rather in a the-more-the-merrier kind of way.  I don't know; just a thought.  On the upside, this is the only city of the trip in which I will be vacationing alone!  And I (by the grace of God) seem to have survived!

And THAT was New Orleans.  I can now say I've done it.  If I ever come back, it won't be in the summer, it won't be alone, and I WON'T try to find some other way here.  I've learned.  And it was totally worth it!

PS. I'm beginning to tan.

PPS.  The French Quarter had some very very pretty houses:

PPPS: OH! and the red dress thing was a charity event put on by some running club... thing.  I think. Basically  it involves getting trashed, and then... running? I might have my facts mixed up....