The Big Easy Monday November 17, 2008

Monday morning we get on the road a bit later than planned after trying for breakfast at the exceedingly popular Gunther House a few blocks away amid the really huge houses in King William District. It is too crowded and we opt for our favorite coffee house only to find it closed and so we elect to eat one more time at the Hatters. Their food is great, the coffee is less but we endure.

500 miles later we are in New Orleans at the hotel we have booked a room in, the only hotel in the French Quarter that has free self parking. It is older and quaint. Our desk clerk gives us directions to Coops a few blocks away for some real creole food. It is marvelous. A fun casual hot spot. After filling up, we wander over to Bourbon Street and try to find Preservation Hall. We have a map but keep walking by where it should be. It is either give up, ask, or go back to our hotel and look up more details online. We opt for asking and soon discover our problem. Amid all the bustle of Bourbon Street it is exactly where the map states but is so subtle as to be easily overlooked. And it is not on Bourbon Street but just off on St Peter St.

We are in time for the last set tonight featuring Willie Smith on trumpet and Marie Watanabe on piano. There are enough folks to make it seem real but not so many to crowd us out. We have a few minutes before the start. The house cat makes friends with us and ends up siting on my lap until half way through the set. How homey is that. Perfect legendary New Orleans jazz with a purring cat on your lap.

We head home and gather the camera for a few shots of this charming town. And then it's back to our hotel with a real room door key that you turn in when you leave and pick up from the desk clerk when you return. I love every quaint little quirk of New Orleans!