New Orleans - 11 Dec

Jambalaya, Gumbo, Po’boy and Beignets….Within an hour of arriving at our hotel in New Orleans we had been guided to a local restaurant called Mothers that served authentic local favourites. We ordered Wednesday’s special which was split pea soup made using Black Ham.  Black ham is another specialty where the curing process creates a black skin on the ham.  Following the delicious split pea soup we sampled the Gumbo and Jambalaya, both of which were delicious.  All the dishes had an underlying hot kick to them which I am sure is cayenne pepper. Ron expressed a keen interest to return to Mothers for its Friday specialty Turtle soup.  I don’t think that I will be joining him in eating that treat. A little later in the day we sampled Beignets at one of the New Orlean’s most famous cafes called Café Du Monde. Beignets are French donuts covered in powdered sugar (I ate 5!).

Beignet

Jumbalaya & Gumbo

As we drove in to New Orleans from the airport we passed the Super Stadium made famous during Hurricane Katrina.  It is a dominant building in the city landscape.  

Snow covered country side on our flight to New Orleans

New Orleans Highway built over the American Canal

The Super dome New Orleans, featured prominently for all the wrong reasons post Hurricane Katrina

The evening we spent sitting in a rickshaw bike being ridden around the streets of the French quarter.  I have to share that it was so cold that my hand remained frozen in one position around my camera.  It took some energy to warm up enough to move my fingers.

Unique architecture of the French Quarter, New Orleans