We recently spent a week at the French Quarter RV Resort within walking distance of the French Quarter. While this resort was a little pricy, the convenience of walking to the French Quarter and not having to drive The Beast in New Orleans more than made up for the cost.

There were a few downsides, however. The pool was not operational when we were there, which was minor for us. We were right under I-10 so it was quite loud, but our sound machine and earplugs helped. And we had views of the old cemeteries across the street, but those neighbors were relatively quiet.

Bourbon Street

After quickly setting up on Saturday afternoon, we put on our walking shoes and headed down to Bourbon Street. Even though it was relatively early in the afternoon, the place was already busy.

While Bourbon Street can be a fun place if you enjoy crowds, loud music, and lots of alcohol, it really wasn’t my thing. However, I do think you need to experience it at least once.

Cafe Du Monde

We’d heard all about Café Du Monde and their world-famous beignets, so we thought we’d better try them. However, after walking up to the café on Saturday afternoon and seeing the long lines, we decided on another course of action.

Since we are early risers anyway, why not have them for breakfast? Since they opened for breakfast at 7:30, we left to begin our walk a little before seven.

After a long night of partying …

Okay, here is where I sidetrack a bit and say that if you’ve never walked the French Quarter in the morning, especially Sunday morning, you really should. It’s quite an eye-opener. After a long night of partying, Bourbon Street was covered, and I mean covered, with trash and other things I’d rather not mention.

The Department of Public Works brought out the big guns to clean that place up. Industrial power washers cleaned the sidewalks and streets, and large street sweepers took care of the rest. It’s really sad, in a way, to think that people treat their surroundings that way.

Back to the Beignets

Going on Sunday morning was definitely the way to go. As the sun was coming up over New Orleans, people were already lining up for their powdered sugar-coated french doughnuts and a cup of their coffee & chicory. I guess the morning after called for strong coffee as well.

We had heard from someone in line that the wait on Saturday was four hours! We only had to wait a few minutes.

Our thoughts on Cafe Du Monde? I’m not a fan of strong coffee with milk, which is how they suggest you drink it, so I’d pass the next time. It was even a bit too strong for Mike. As for the beignets, they were an experience, but we’re from Ohio where that french doughnut would have been filled with some type of cream! However, they were good, especially because they were still warm.

Tornado Warning, Not Again!

I think I forgot to mention, but when we were in Tallahassee, we had to evacuate because of a tornado. Fortunately, it didn’t come too close.

This time, however, the tornado was a little too close for comfort. If you’ve heard about the March tornado that hit the 9th ward in New Orleans, this is the one I’m referring to. It was just two miles south of us!

Since this had been our second tornado in three weeks, people asked us where we were headed next in case they needed to change their plans!

Fortunately, all we got was wind and rain. However, we heard a lot of sirens on I-10 headed toward the ninth ward and saw footage on the news of large amounts of damage.

We did so much in our week in New Orleans that it will take two more posts to cover it all!

Next week: Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World – where the floats are made!