New Orleans

This sure is an interesting town.  Yesterday was so hot, you sweat just standing around, and we were doing more than that.  I don't ever remember sweating so much!  We kept going in and out of stores and malls with air conditioning, just to stay sane.  Sarah assures me that you can become acclimatized, but I don't know if I'll have enough time here (we head out Thursday, Austin-bound).

Sarah and Britt took me to a lovely little cafe called Tout de Suite down the street, where there was a variety of tasty veggie menu options (a rare find in the US, it seems).  They have free WiFi access, most importantly!  We had a filling brunch with leafy and quinoa salads, veggie burgers, and my first chicory coffee (a specialty here -- I love it!).  I took many pictures of the art that lines the walls, all done by local artists.  My favourite pieces were the "fleur-debris" which remind me of Barb Howarth's Junk Ladies that I used to help create.

We saw some lovely sights:  Jackson Square, the outside of the St. Louis Cathedral, with the fountain and statue of Andrew Jackson out front.  His statue was apparently erected by Baroness Pontalba, who had it commissioned and set up facing her apartment because he'd never tipped his had to her while he was alive.  The apartment buildings, which match each other on opposite sides of the square, were designed by the Baroness, and are the oldest continuously rented apartment buildings in America.  There was a lovely bistro that had some good cheap food, and $1 strawberry daiquiris... they were mighty tasty.

Then we went out on the town, to meet up with Britt's friend Jorge from Nicaragua, and met some random british guy on the way.  We ended the night at a bar with a live blues band, including a woman playing the washboard (with attached cymbal and cowbell) very well!