Thanksgiving Week Trip: Day Four

New Orleans, Louisiana:  Happy Thanksgiving from the Crescent City.  It was kind of weird waking up on Thanksgiving and not be preparing a feast for family.  Instead we were over a thousand miles from home on our week long vacation to New Orleans.  Today was a lighter day of exploration because most of the attractions were closed due to the holiday.  Plus our plans had to be modified a bit since it was 44 degrees when we woke up.

We had planned to exploring the French Quarter by foot but that plan was delayed a bit due to the cold weather.   Instead we decided to take a trip on the streetcar and view the city in warmth.  Yesterday we rode the historic St Charles Line so today we rode the Canal Street.  We rode the entire line from beginning to end and when it was over, it had warmed up a bit to begin exploring by foot.

Before we began our exploration, we stopped at Cafe Du Monde for beignets and coffee.  Cafe Du Monde is know worldwide for both of these and they did not disappoint.   While I felt like I was going to go into a sugar coma afterwards, it was well worth it.  They were very good, may have to stop there again tomorrow before we fly home.  They were definitely worth the hour wait in line.

With a sugar high in hand, we hit the French Quarter for a walking tour.  During a visit to the Old Mint on Tuesday, the park ranger gave us a flyer for a self-guided walking tour.  The tour featured 38 sites of historical significance in in the French Quartet.  There is a ton of amazing architecture in the French Quarter and a lot of history on the streets of this historic district.  When we completed the tour, we still had some time left before our dinner reservations, so we did some shopping/browsing in the shops that were open.

Since we were not home for Thanksgiving dinner, we had reservations for dinner at Vacherie in the French Quarter.  They had a buffet that had both traditional Thanksgiving foods as well as New Orleans classics like gumbo, creole food and more.  Althought it wasn't homemade and we won't have leftovers to feed on for the next week, the dinner was really good.  My favorite was the seafood gumbo. 

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and my son and I hit the rooftop pool.  Temperatures in the 50's yet we are swimming in an outdoor pool in the dark.  But it was very relaxing after a long day walking all around the city.  But after the swim, we decided to head back out one for time for a night time stroll through the city before retiring to the hotel for the night.

Tomorrow will be our last day in New Orleans before flying home tomorrow night.  We have a lot planned for our final day. Because of the flight, I will probably post the recap sometime on Saturday.


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