New Orleans

After the year we all endured it felt like rebirth to be able to travel again. We were not ready for international, but could certainly do a road trip. A long awaited family reunion in Texas was a golden opportunity to stop in New Orleans, aka Nawlins, aka NOLA,

aka The Big Easy.

New Orleans is one of the most unique cities in the country and we plan to see as much as we can but, our main mission on this trip is to eat a wide path across this amazing city.

Riding the streetcar is charming and inexpensive but having a car makes it easy to get to some of the out of the way places we always try to find. Long time favorites Acme Oyster House, Cafe Du Monde, and Parkway Bakery & Tavern are always a good choice, searching for neighborhood family places where blue collar workers and locals eat is always worth the effort, well almost always.

Some people like them small but when it comes to oysters I like mine big and juicy. At Acme Oyster House the off season oysters were small but no less tasty, we kept the char grilled oyster chef and the bartender busy while we waited for our meals to arrive.

The Sculpture Garden at City Park offers a large selection of art in a beautiful park setting with huge oak trees and many benches to sit and people watch or just relax while the clouds float by overhead.

I don't remember how we found Clesi's located in the Italian neighborhood, but what a lucky find. No dought one of the best meals on this trip. Take your breath away heat on the Crawfish Boil, all the shrimp we can eat, and many char broiled oysters outside on a perfect spring afternoon.

Chipped and crumbling the tombs in Saint Louis Cemetery #1 have a haunting beauty in a spooky way. Known as "City of the Dead" the tombs are above ground due to the high water table in the city.