City Park

City Park is a 1300 acre public park located north of Mid-City.

You can get there from the French Quarter by taking the Canal Street streetcar or rent a Blue Bike. 

https://bluebikesnola.com

The thunderstorm the day before left ponds all over the park.

The New Orleans Museum of Art is located in City Park.

Right next door is the Sculpture Garden, a free outdoor exhibit with 64 sculptures, some by pretty famous artists.

Henry Moore's "Reclining Mother & Child"

Renoir's "Venus Victorius"

Do-Ho Suh's "Karma." This was one of my favorites. It's a tower of sitting figures.

This was an untitled sculpture by Anish Kapoor. It's a metal basin with a central opening.

Claes Oldenburg & Coosje van Bruggen's "Corridor Pin, Blue."

Another of my favorites was "Overflow" by Jaume Plensa. His "Together" is a large hand that hangs in the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice. 

George Rodrigue's "We Stand Together." This takes his Blue Dog series and juxtaposes it with a red and a yellow dog.

"Spider" by Louise Bourgeois.

"Love" by Robert Indiana

2018 04 16

Battle of the Po' Boys

I read that Parkway Bakery and Tavern had the best po'boys.

Take the Canal Street streetcar and get off at the Jefferson Davis Parkway.

Walk 5 blocks to 538 Hagan Avenue.

They have clean restrooms.

Order at the counter and pick up your order at the pickup counter.

Ice Cream Float--expensive at $6.95 but you get 2 large scoops of ice cream with as much refill drink as you want. Plus, you get to keep the plastic cup. This is red creme soda by Barq. I haven't seen it here on the West Coast but it was quite good.

Bowl of Homemade Alligator Sausage and Roasted Turkey Gumbo--$5.45. This had an off taste that I couldn't pinpoint. I didn't like this.

Large Shrimp Po'Boy dressed--$12.55. This was loaded with shrimp and delicious.

Large Oyster Po'Boy dressed--$17.50. Again it was loaded with oysters.

The sandwiches have a thin layer of mayo and tend to be dry. You can add extra sauce from the self-service bar. Next time, I'll also ask for extra pickles as well.

My favorite place in the quarter is Johnny's Po'Boy. It's located at 511 St. Louis Street.

There's always at line. Their sandwiches are not as large but I love the roll.

2018 04 16

Brother's Chicken

We had planned on going to GW Fins for dinner but our reservations were not until 8:45 pm. Since we had taken the redeye, we were exhausted and couldn't wait until then.

We found Brother's Chicken near our hotel. They have locations all over town.

Crispy, spicy chicken with fries--3 piece mixed for $5.99. I wanted to try the Cajun Rice and meat pies but they ran out. We did come back--they were still out of the rice but they did have meat pies. Each pie is $2.29. The fillings are good but the dough is too thick.

2018 04 15

Samuel's Blind Pelican

Samuel's Blind Pelican is located at 1628 St. Charles Avenue. Take the St. Charles streetcar from the quarter.

Happy Hour is daily from 4-8pm.

Oysters are 25 cents each if you buy an adult beverage with each dozen.

2018 04 15

Sights of New Orleans

New Orleans is celebrating it's tricentennial birthday this year. 

St. Louis Cathedral--the oldest cathedral in the United States--dominates the center of the town.

French Market at the eastern edge of the French Quarter. The open air market has stalls selling local produce, specialty art and handmade crafts.

Artwork near the French Market.

Central Grocery is known for its muffaletta.

Beautiful wrought iron can be found on many of the buildings in the French Quarter.

Preservation Hall was established in 1961 to preserve, perpetuate and protect traditional New Orleans jazz. Music nightly at 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10pm. $20 for general admission. 

Cornstalk Fence Hotel in the center of the Quarter. Take a closer look at the wrought iron details.

This is reportedly Nicholas Cage's house.

The other area to tour is the riverfront.

The mighty Mississippi River. Looking upriver, you'll find the Riverwalk Marketplace, where you'll find outlets, restaurants and the cruise ship terminal.

At the base of Canal Street is the Aquarium of the Americas.

Heading towards the French Quarter,.

The Holocaust Memorial was dedicated June 2003 in Woldenberg Park on the riverfront.

There are 9 panels. Walk around the sculpture to see different views, each representing a different interpretation.

2018 04

French Quarter Festival

We happened to be in town for the French Quarter Festival, a 4-day event. There was a thunderstorm on Saturday and the event was shut down. We arrived on Sunday and it was a beautiful sunny day.

There are venues all over the French Quarter with free music.

The Abita Garden sold Abita beer on draft. I'm not usually a beer drinker but I do like the Abita Strawberry. It's seasonal and is released in late spring. This year, they also made a Strawgator--a strawberry lager with their Andygator.

The Popeye Stage featured brass bands.

It was a lot of fun to walk around and enjoy the music. There were food vendors everywhere as well.

2018 04 15

Cajun Seafood

I found Cajun Seafood on Yelp!

There are several locations but the one located near the French Quarter is at 1479 N. Clairborne Avenue. You can take bus 51/52/80 from Elk Place & Cleveland or walk.

Order your seafood and Chinese food at the hot bar then order your gumbo, boudin and drinks at the cashier. Your number will be called when your order is ready.

You can't beat the boiled crawfish for $4.99/lb.

The crawfish were the best I have had. Just the right amount of spiciness, not too salty and the meat was incredibly sweet. Yum!!!

They also had the best seafood gumbo--large for $8.99. There was a hint of smokiness. The gumbo was loaded with seafood, including half a blue crab.

We went back on our last day for another sampling. This time, we also ordered the turkey neck ($1.99--this was okay), pig foot ($1.79--delicious), boiled shrimp ($8.99/lb--the shell was hard to peel but the shrimp was good), boudin (pork $2.49, crawfish $2.99--the boudin were flavorful but the rice was a little mushy).

You know it's a good place when people come in with their suitcases on the way to the airport and drivers order loads to take back home.

2018 04