New Orleans - Part 2

The day after the wedding we had an entire day to spend in the city of New Orleans. We met up with almost everyone who was at the wedding for a beignet at Cafe du Monde and then we all set off on our own for a little exploring.

We first made the short trek over the levee to the mighty Mississippi. We had such perfect weather for this! In the photo above, I'm talking to my dad in Germany. He's been to New Orleans a few times an knew exactly where I was sitting - Daniel snapped that photo of me to send to him while we were talking - technology is so much fun for moments like that!

This was followed by a blurry selfie with Jackson Square and St. Louie Cathedral in the background.

We walked through the park toward the cathedral. While outside the park it was teeming with street art and tourists, in the park it was relatively quiet. I was surprised.

I love banana trees and always have to snap a photo or two - they still seem so exotic to me!

I checked for bananas but none of them were ripe yet.

Many of the buildings in New Orleans are quite old and have a very distinct style.

 One thing I noticed this time around were some of the very heavily planted second story balconies.

I think they would provide excellent privacy, but I wonder if there is still space to sit on those balconies. Maybe they just enjoy the lush greenery from inside.

And of course being there so close to Halloween everything seemed a little extra spooky.

This house seemed especially creepy to me.

And very nicely done!

While New Orleans isn't my absolute favorite city (I'm just not into the bar and party scene very much - or not at all to be precise), we both love the street musicians. We stayed and watched this band for a long time.

They looked somewhat bedraggled, but they were really very good. Look at that base!

At some point they had to clear the way for a short parade/rally that came through.

The tap dancer of the band kept tapping right along with the music of the rally. It was fun!

We ate some excellent food, which we didn't photograph. I know! How could we forget that?! I had shrimp and grits with a definite french influence and Daniel had Jambalaya. Delicious!!

The next day we left bright and early for our 10-hour drive back. When the sun came up over Lake Pontchartrain, it was so beautiful I snapped a photo out the (not very clean) car window.

I leave you with this shot of a gorgeous grackle above my lucky number at a gas station on the way home...

I wish you a beautiful weekend. Our day started out cold and windy. We went from summer temperatures last week to me contemplating turning on the heater this morning...

❧ Silke

New Orleans Trip - Part 1

Last Thursday, we drove to New Orleans to a wedding. The son of dear friends was getting married and we decided it would be a great opportunity for a road trip. You all know how much we love that. It's about 10 hours from Savannah to New Orleans via Jacksonville and Mobile. That seems like a long time, but car travel here in the south is quite relaxed. 

Ramses kept trying to help me pack. And Winslow was getting worried - he doesn't like the suitcase coming out... 

 On the first day, we decided to break up the trip and stop in Pensacola, Florida. We stopped there to get together with one of Daniel's cousins he grew up with and hadn't seen in a long time. We had such a great visit!

The next day, we went to the historic part of Pensacola and I didn't take nearly enough photos. It was really pretty. We had fantastic breakfast at the Bodacious Brew - probably the best coffee I've ever had! I'm not kidding.

Afterwards we walked around for a little bit and then got on our way to New Orleans. We took the scenic road along the gulf into Mobile. And guess what? I forgot to take photos again even though we saw many beautiful views and some gorgeous homes on the waterfront.

For the wedding we all stayed in Metairie. We arrived at the hotel, walked to the nearby Whole Foods for a late lunch and then got ready for the ceremony, which took place in this beautiful church.

This is a little bit out of focus, but it's the only photo we have of us from this trip all dressed up. And it's the only photo we took at the wedding.

Aside from these! At the reception, they set up a photo booth along with hats, glasses, wigs and other stuff to choose from. Everyone got to keep one set of the photos and the other set went into a scrapbook for the bride and groom. Very fun!

The guest book was a big cookbook and everyone signed it and wrote a few lines on different pages. That is such a great idea. A "real" guest book they will probably never look at again, but this cookbook they might use for many years to come and always see everyone's well wishes for a happy marriage.

In my next post I'll show you some photos we took in New Orleans the next day. I thought it might be too much for one blog post. I don't want to overwhelm you!

How are you all doing? I hope all is going well!! Can't wait to visit some of your blogs during the next few days!

With much love,

❧ Silke
P.S. It's now Wednesday night. We got back on Sunday. I am just now feeling like I am back into my routine. Why does it take me so long?

P.P.S. I haven't even been back in my studio again. I'm hoping I'll get there tomorrow. I have a lizard to paint...