An eventful couple of days visiting Mardi Gras in the Big Easy!  We stayed at the Wyndham Hotel which was gorgeous.

 

Breakfast at Cafe Du Monde — beignets of course!

Jackson Square

 

 

View of the Mississippi.

 

 

 

We had Muffuletta and local beer for lunch at Central Grocery.  We had a fun conversation with a local man who has been to 4 Superbowls and who has a jersey for all 32 teams.  He had looked forward to attending this year’s Superbowl in Minneapolis but the Saints weren’t playing.  We did not pretend to be sad…

Admiring the lighting while enjoying a hurricane at O’Brien’s.  I knew my two daughters would enjoy the light fixtures.

Waiting for my first Mardi Gras parade to start.

We had to “buy” this hat as punishment for “not having enough fun”!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the parade, we went to Pier 424 for my first crawfish dinner.  It was tasty but I was not very hungry so Dave ate most of it.  Besides, I was having a difficult time opening them.

After we finished eating, Dave took my breath away.  He proposed to me!!!!!!  OF COURSE I SAID YES!!!!

After the proposal.  Do we look happy?

Dave is from St. Peter, Minnesota and we got engaged on Bourbon street.  The street signs tell our story.  You can see some of my beads collection from the parade.  I need to reassure my kids, these were all  collected innocently.

Evening entertainment at Fritzel’s European Jazz Pub.  Even though the night was busy, we were able to find a place to sit right away.  The band was awesome!  The piano player was the lead singer on one of the songs which he prefaced by letting people know he was going to be singing about a record, a vinyl disk, and kept urging us to keep that in mind.  It was perplexing until he started singing about “his 10 inch” while staring us all down.  Hilarious!

Brunch the next morning was a sampler of gumbo, jambalaya and red beans with rice.  I like it all but have fallen in love with red beans and rice.

The last stop in New Orleans was a visit to the Chalmette Battlefield, where the Battle of New Orleans took place in 1815, finally putting an end to the British trying to take back the US.  Above is a Live Oak with Spanish Moss.  I think they are so beautiful.