Already Wondering
This year the christmas holiday found Devon and I taking the 10-11 hour drive to New Orleans. He had not been "home" in over 5 years. Devon's father's side of the family is HUGE. Devon has 5 uncles and 1 aunt, and at least 3 of his uncles has had children. This makes for very large, loud, and fun family gatherings.
We drove the 11 hours just about straight through on friday morning. We made much better time then we had expected and ended up here at 11:30 on friday morning. After a wonderful lunch of home made duck gumbo we took a nap, and had dinner at one of Devon's uncles houses. It amazes me how every single one of devon's family can cook! Sat found us heading up to Lockport to Devon's grandparents house. It was cramped as many grandparents houses tend to be. They are avid knitters, so I actually had something in common with them. Food was good, presents thoughtful, and over all much less intimidating then I had thought it was going to be.
Then came Sunday. Devon's uncle who lives in Ponchetula threw a big party, with us as the willing excuse. At this particular party I discovered oysters for the first time. Raw they are meh, but grilled they are out of this world! Devon retried them and spent the entire rest of the trip trying to eat oysters at as many places as he could. Sunday night found us down in the French Quarter, which is where we spent most of our time away from family, getting benigets at cafe du monde. This place is open 24/7 and all they serve is coffee, hot chocolate, and benigets. They were delicious and now I know why that was Devon's number one food goal for our trip.
Monday was down in the French quarter again wandering around and doing a bit of shopping. We had lunch mid town before and I had my first experience with a po boy. Monday night we decided to take it easy and stay in and watch the Saints win.
Tuesday was a day full of awesome, and our last full day in the city. We went up town and saw where the locals shopped. I am simply amazed at the fantastic small boutiques, local artisans, and consignment shops. More shopping and eating. We had po boys again at a different place, but they had oyster po boys which are AMAZING! We ate lunch at a park over looking the river, which seems to have recouped a bit from the disasters in the last few years. More walking, window shopping, and gelato later, we headed back to Devon's aunts' house to clean up a bit and went to dinner.
Our last night in the city is still a bit hazy, but we had a great time. We got to the first bar around 10:30. Before I knew it we had gone to 4 different bars, seen 3 different bands, and it was 4 am by the time we got home.
Today we are recouping a bit our selves, and head home to South Carolina later today. I love this city, and really and truly can't wait to come back.
We drove the 11 hours just about straight through on friday morning. We made much better time then we had expected and ended up here at 11:30 on friday morning. After a wonderful lunch of home made duck gumbo we took a nap, and had dinner at one of Devon's uncles houses. It amazes me how every single one of devon's family can cook! Sat found us heading up to Lockport to Devon's grandparents house. It was cramped as many grandparents houses tend to be. They are avid knitters, so I actually had something in common with them. Food was good, presents thoughtful, and over all much less intimidating then I had thought it was going to be.
Then came Sunday. Devon's uncle who lives in Ponchetula threw a big party, with us as the willing excuse. At this particular party I discovered oysters for the first time. Raw they are meh, but grilled they are out of this world! Devon retried them and spent the entire rest of the trip trying to eat oysters at as many places as he could. Sunday night found us down in the French Quarter, which is where we spent most of our time away from family, getting benigets at cafe du monde. This place is open 24/7 and all they serve is coffee, hot chocolate, and benigets. They were delicious and now I know why that was Devon's number one food goal for our trip.
Monday was down in the French quarter again wandering around and doing a bit of shopping. We had lunch mid town before and I had my first experience with a po boy. Monday night we decided to take it easy and stay in and watch the Saints win.
Tuesday was a day full of awesome, and our last full day in the city. We went up town and saw where the locals shopped. I am simply amazed at the fantastic small boutiques, local artisans, and consignment shops. More shopping and eating. We had po boys again at a different place, but they had oyster po boys which are AMAZING! We ate lunch at a park over looking the river, which seems to have recouped a bit from the disasters in the last few years. More walking, window shopping, and gelato later, we headed back to Devon's aunts' house to clean up a bit and went to dinner.
Our last night in the city is still a bit hazy, but we had a great time. We got to the first bar around 10:30. Before I knew it we had gone to 4 different bars, seen 3 different bands, and it was 4 am by the time we got home.
Today we are recouping a bit our selves, and head home to South Carolina later today. I love this city, and really and truly can't wait to come back.