Our goal today was just to walk and see the sights and walk is what we did! We traveled over 19,000 steps and 6.5 miles, all on foot. Our morning started with a walk through the Louis Armstrong Park, which not only is a beautiful park but has a lot of historical value. It is home to Congo Square where slaves would meet on Sundays to sing and celebrate. On our last New Orleans trip a few years ago, we took a Voodoo walking tour that started in this park.
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| A Louis Armstrong statute on a street corner on our way to the park |
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| Canal Street |
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| These huge trees lined Congo Square. |
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| Charles "Buddy" Bolden |
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| A juvenile Night Heron (I believe a Yellow-crowned Night Heron) |
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| Yellow-crowned Night Heron |
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| Black-crowned Night Heron |
We then continued into the French Quarter towards Jackson Square.
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| Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis, oldest continuous running Catholic cathedral in the US |
On the square is a state museum called
The Presbytere with exhibits on the hurricanes that have affected New Orleans including Hurricane Katrina and an exhibit on Mardis Gras. Both exhibits were really well done. Here are just a couple photos from the Mardis Gras exhibit.
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| The bathrooms in the Mardis Gras exhibit |
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| A flower on a Mardis Gras float |
After we stepped out of this museum, a Comedian/Magician was just starting a performance on Jackson Square and he lured us in. Here are a couple photos of him getting into and then escaping from a straight jacket
Here are a few photos of Jackson Square.
We then headed over to the
New Orleans Jazz Museum (a partnership between the Louisiana State Museum and the National Park Service). It is housed in the old New Orleans mint and the first floor is an exhibit on the mint which later was turned into a prison after the mint was closed.
Upstairs housed the jazz museum that had a great exhibit of artist, James Michaelopoulus.
Another exhibit had the piano owned by Antonio "Fats" Domino that spent weeks immersed in over ten feet of water after Hurricane Katrina and cost $30,000 to restore.
After the Jazz Museum, we walked through the French Market and found lunch and then I grabbed a to-go drink. New Orleans is known for to-go alcoholic drinks which you are free to drink as you wander the city. We then walked along the riverfront back towards our hotel to rest a few hours before dinner.
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| A Creole Splash |
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| Jackson Square and Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis |
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| It was a hot and humid day! |
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| Canal Street |
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| St. Charles Streetcar |
After resting at the hotel, we ate at a Thai restaurant right near the hotel and then went to walk Bourbon Street, Royal Street and the French Quarter to get more of the evening vibe. Of course, I had to pick up another to-go drink.
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| A Hurricane which seems to be the drink to get in New Orleans |
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