New Orleans - episode deux

Another of our chicken friends

Sadly we had to bid adieu to our temporary home at the Dragonfly Garden and move over to the CBD/CBA - (Central Business District/Area) for Fraser's conference and our stay at the Intercontinental - a lovely hotel, nonetheless. F realized afterwards he probably could have communted from Bywater..:)

Before we left the area we had breakfast at the New Orleans Cake Cafe  - see appetizing photos below!

 Breakfast at the New Orleans Cake Cafe....www.nolacakes.com

 One of the more unique houses in Bywater...

 You can't see it but this tree has numerous Mardi Gras necklaces hanging from it.

After settling into our new digs it was off to ride the historic St. Charles streetcar through the Garden District with a brief stop at Audubon Park. I believe it is the oldest operating streetcar line in North America - wooden benches!

 One of the beautiful houses of the Garden District...

 Fraser couldn't resist a photo of me "tripping" over the sidewalk. This is a common feature in older neighbourhoods with mature trees...be careful if you are tipsy after dark....

 We also stopped and checked out Magazine Street where we sampled a green juice from FARE( 4838 Magazine Street)  along with a chocolate pecan cookie and bought some crackers - they are gluten and soy free and have a few vegan options as well as catering to a paleo diet.  Further along we stopped at Superfoods Bar (4113 Magazine) www. superfoodbar.wix.com - they have lots of juices/smoothies (F got a nut based one) salads and sell some healthy supplements like protein powders etc.
They had photos on the wall of Bathsheba in Barbados!

Many places were closed due to it being Sunday so we walked a bit further and then took a bus back to the hotel...travelling through another interesting area of Magazine - is this area known as the Irish Channel?

After an air conditioned break it was off to SEED a new vegan restaurant on 1330 Pyrtania - below is their version of a Po'Boy with tofu - scrumptious! We also had a kale and mango salad and for dessert as per our server's recommendation a Chocolate Mousse to die for! He also gave us a sample of their raw onion flax crackers...yumm.

 Afterwards another ride on the streetcar brought us back to Canal Street and a stroll through Bourbon Street..below is me having a famous Hurricane at Pat O'Briens.

 No Zydeco tonight but over on Frenchmen street was a guitarist singing Neil Young! Also a duo of saxophone and guitar/vocals doing "Bring It On Home to Me". Pat O'Briens by the way is a BIG place - F's brother used to work there many moons ago as a bartender.

On Decatur street we ran into our across the hall neighbour  Shane and his friend Todd. Oddly enough they had planned a trip to NOLA too! Shane is a pilot with Air Canada and was on standby so he unfortunately got bumped from our flight when they changed to a smaller plane. No matter - being resourceful they flew to Houston and rented a car! Of all the people to run into in New Orleans! We had been wondering what had happened to them and now we knew...they were enjoying lots of gumbo!

It seems I didn't take a picture or F didn't of our lunch on Monday at Meals from the Heart (www.mealsfromtheheart.com) - this great counter in the French Market. It's low fat, low salt, healthy food with vegan options and food can be prepared whenever - so you can have afternoon pancakes if you want. We enjoyed Black Bean Soup, a nice salad and complimentary fruit while we waited. I got a roasted Portobello and vegetable sandwich prior to my flight the next day - delicious.  They got a chuckle out of us switching plates half way through our meals.

On my own it was time to do some shopping - I bought a cool t-shirt created by a local artist in CocoAlly . I didn't realized until afterwards that she is also vegan! My shirt is grey..I love it. I think I may have to order another one..so comfy. I also got a onesie for my great niece Sophie and some "wish dogs".

www.cocoally.com

I also found Rouse's grocery store where I bought a bunch of spice mixes including one for Red Beans and Rice! I also bough a great retro style dress from a store called Trashy Diva!

  It's a 1940's style "flutter" dress - www.trashydiva.com

Next stop - a New Orleans institution - Hove Parfumeur on Chartres Street in the Quarter - enchanting little shop that features a wealth of in house scents. I bought "Mantrap" a spicy oriental and the lovely "Habanera" - which features tobacco flower. They also special in a number of traditional scents associated with New Orleans such as Sweet Olive and Vetiver, Spanish Moss and Heliotrope (one of my faves) - there are perfumes and eau de toilettes, in a variety of sizes, solid perfumes, shower gels, talcs and massage and body oils as well as soaps and candles. The salesperson said they have a number of Canadian customers who mail order..I think I may be one of them...I had such a hard time deciding since many of the scents were wonderful. I also liked "Flame" and "Whirlwind".

www.hoveparfumeur.com



Closer to the hotel I discovered a sleek cafe called Merchant and enjoyed an iced latte. They can also do some veg items like salads etc.  They are located at 800 Common Street.

Another night on Frenchmen Street - we stopped again at Maison but since they didn't have anything vegan on the menu I hopped across the road to 13 Bar and Restaurant and got an Herbed Tofu sandwich which was good.

A couple of last photos here from the French Quarter - after coffee at the Spitfire Cafe, grabbing from sandwich from Meals from the Heart and some cool earrings from Dutch Alley Artists Co-op - "Glamour Trash" is the label, it was homeward bound.

I bought some choclate at the Vosges kiosk in Chicago O'Hare. I have to say I now know what Louis means when he sings "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?"