New Orleans.

 My first foray into the streets of New Orleans was to find the restaurant I'd booked for that evening! I always like to find where I'm going - see the 'lie of the land' - so that I don't get any nasty surprises!

I was only a few blocks from the restaurant - Cafe Amelia ( thanks Kitty) - it was in the French Quarter.

I then wandered through the different streets until I ended up at the Mississippi.

It was so hot, high 30s, that I headed back to the hotel and a siesta!

My meal, at Cafe Amelia was very good. I certainly enjoyed the gnocchi!

With it being so hot here I booked a couple of hours - thought I'd see and learn more!

My first was a city tour.

First stop was at a cemetery!  I know strange but some very interesting facts! The deceased is wrapped in a cloth and placed on a shelf in the tomb. The tomb is then sealed. A year and a day later the body has turned to ash!!!!

We went through lots of different areas, some fancy houses around,  finally arriving at distillery!

The main product was whiskey! We learnt that Canal street was original meant to be an actual canal to separate the French/Spanish from the Americans! 

Next day was a visit to a couple of plantations. The first one was Laura Plantation - an 1805 sugar plantation. It is a Creole Heritage site! The history was interesting.

We then headed to the second Plantation - Oak Alley  - another Historic sugar plantation. Oak Alley as a sugar plantation was built by and relied on enslaved men, women and children.

Yesterday was my last day in New Orleans so I went in search of the food they are 'famous' for - the beignet!

Deep fried dough covered with icing sugar - don't wear black clothes!

Well, I can say I tried it! I wander around the French Quarter for a while until, luckily,  I found the cathedral. It was a great excuse to get out of the heat!

New Orleans is in dire need of some tlc. The pavements are pretty dire in places. There are a lot of homeless people sleeping on the streets. Drugs are obviously a problem. I've seen a few deals going on out of car windows. I have never felt unsafe so that was good and you are not hassled by anyone.

I then caught a flight to Dallas where I'm now sitting waiting to go to the airport - it's  a long wait as the flight isn't until 10:30pm!

I hope you've enjoyed some of my travels. I've certainly had a great time! So until next time ciao!

Riding the rails to New Orleans!

 I hate saying goodbye but the time had  come! Justin drove me to Augusta and as we neared the airport I received a message to say that the flight was delayed by 40 minutes!

After dropping my bag I went through to find something to eat and that's when I started getting messages about the flight being delayed! 3 hours after the original take off time we finally left! The flight was fairly empty and only 30 minutes duration! 

As I was disembarking I caught my elbow on a part of the aircraft. By the time I reached the baggage claim I had an 'egg' on my arm! I thought I'd keep moving it and get some ice at the the hotel. My taxi driver must have been wearing concrete sandshoes the speeds we were travelling at - close eyes and hang on to the door handle are my motto!

We did arrive safely and I couldn't  find the ice machine so a G&T was the order of the day and I was able to rest my egg sized lump against the icy glass really helped - or was it the gin? I was seated at the bar - there were the two female bar staff and a youngish guy chatting. I detected an English accent from the guy when the trio mentioned £10 Poms. I then mentioned that I had been one of them and that led to interesting  conversations about travel!

Next day I was about leave the hotel for the railway station, for my rail trip to New Orleans, when I received a message to say that the train was delayed! Luckily I was still at the hotel so could be in relative comfort for the 5 hour delay - I  found out later that a tree had fallen on the track! The train was coming from New York so not sure where the delay happened!

I reached the station - a tiny outpost in Atlanta - and was glad that I hadn't had to sit there for 5 hours! When the train did arrive we were told to wait as 100 passengers were getting off! Finally I went in search of my roomette and it took a while for the staff to find my spot. It was actually very pleasant!

Initially I thought there was only a curtain between me and the corridor and I was wondering about using the loo.  Imagine hearing footsteps when you were in full flow - of your thoughts - and you heard someone walking by! Eventually I  found that I did have a proper door, which locked! It was quite an ingenious set up with the sink and loo - they even became the steps to get up to the upper bunk when it was in the bed position. So scenic having a loo with a view!

Lunch

The trip lasted 12 hours. I got chatting to an elderly couple as I walked to get a cuppa and when they knew I was from Australia they told me that they'd loved Steve Erwin! There was a discussion about 'my' new King and oh how they loved Dianna! It was fun talking to them.

We made about three stops - including Birmingham Alabama! The other stops were tiny places - rather strange!

Much of the trip was through woodlands but there were some interesting sights!

Around 9pm darkness had fallen so I asked for my bed to be made up - without the delay I would have arrived in NO at 9pm. My bed was comfy and I slept through until 2:30 am when the attendant woke me!

Coming into NO

There was a taxi waiting and so I headed to the hotel and another comfy bed!