For thanksgiving this year, Paul's mom flew down and we drove to Louisiana to spend the holiday with David's sister's family. Paul's mom had never been to New Orleans, and had just one request - to visit a cemetery. New Orleans cemeteries are indeed unique, since the high water table means all of the graves are built above ground. So on the day before thanksgiving we drove into the city and visited Lafayette Cemetery Number 2. There's nothing particularly special about this cemetery, we chose it because it looked typical and was near the garden district. We wandered around for a bit, checking out the spooky (and dilapidated) vaults and graves. From there we drove a short distance away and parked on first street and walked around the garden district, seeing the elaborate mansions. We walked by the Rosegate House, where author Anne Rice used to live, and the 1869 Italianate Carroll-Crawford mansion. We then had lunch at Atchafalaya, a popular spot in a converted house, with a local menu.
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| Overview of the cemetery. |
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| A burial vault in the cemetery. |
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| A mansion in the garden district. |
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| Lots of amazing iron work. |
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| Some neat trees in the garden district. |
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| A cool little restaurant! |
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| Lunch time! |
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| David with his brunch waffle. |
We then drove over to the famous French Quarter, parking by Washington Square park in the nearby Marigny neighborhood and walking to the heart of the French Quarter. While incredibly touristy, this part of New Orleans is perhaps one of the best examples of urban design in the country. The architecture, walkability, and lively shops and restaurants all add up to an amazing neighborhood. Yes, Bourbon street is a mess at night. But during the day it's nice to wander around Royal street and Jackson Square.
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| First stop - the French Market. It's touristy but fun. |
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| Walking through the French Market. |
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| Jackson Square and the cathedral. |
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| A band playing in Jackson Square. |
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| A neat little alley. |
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| There are signs throughout the district labeling former names - here, the Spanish name for Royal Street. |
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| Colorful buildings! |
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Lots of great architecture to look at throughout the French Quarter.
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| Balconies and narrow streets. They should just ban cars completely here. |
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| Of course we got some stuffed snowballs on the way home. |
The next day was Thanksgiving, and we had a deep fried turkey! It was a relaxing day, hanging out with family, watching TV together, and going back for delicious leftovers.
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| Ricky starting the turkey. |
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| Classic thanksgiving plate. |
The day after thanksgiving we started with some coffee from
Haven in downtown Covington. It's a delightful cafe and a good place to start the day. Ricky brought us some bikes and we went for a bike ride down the
Tammany Trace to Mandeville. The Trace is a bike/ped trail along a former railroad, and cuts through forest and swamps. The rest of the family drove down and met us at the playground/beach in Mandeville. After hanging out for a bit, we stopped by
The Candy Bank, a candy store located in a 1907 bank building.
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| The cute interior at Haven. |
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| David and Natasha biking on the trace. |
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| Mandeville Beach. |
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| Always have to be careful in Louisiana! |
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| Beautiful old tree in Mandeville. |
That wrapped up our thanksgiving trip to Louisiana, and the next morning we drove to Atlanta, of course with an obligatory stop at Buc-ees on the way home. Lousiana, we'll be back!
