We actually saw a spelling like the title (above) in New Orleans. Some people do pronounce it pretty much phonetically according to the above title. We arrived just north of Lake Pontchartrain (in Covington, LA) and decided to stay at a Holiday Inn. It was quite cool that afternoon and there were predictions of temperatures in the high 30's that night. The Holiday Inn we stayed at had suites, and we were able to get a two bedroom suite that could handle us all (it even had 3 TV's .. oh no, not that again .. sounds like the good old days at the resorts). We booked in for two nights, so we could do a full day in New Orleans the next day.
After a breakfast and some advice from a local tour guide operator, we headed off the next morning across the 24 mile causeway into New Orleans. This little trip (in and out) allowed us to finish off our tapes of "Watership Down", which we had been listening to in the car for the past day or so. Lake Pontchartrain is a brown (I am guessing fairly shallow) lake that is huge! We drove straight into the heart of the French district (which is where we spent a fair amount of our time).
Here we are on the start of our day trip into New Orleans. The Mississippi River is just off to the right (just beyond those trees):
There is a very pretty view of the Catholic Church and the Jackson Square (the statue you see is of Andrew Jackson):
Quiz question of the day, 'why is Andrew Jackson famous?' If you want to answer by e-mailing the siglersix e-mail address we would love to see what answers people provide .. hey, no cheating .. just what comes to the top of your heads. The horse drawn carriage you see in the foreground is very common in this area. They do guided tours on these for up to four (sometimes six) people in a carriage. They charge $40. We did not go on one mostly because it was quite cool and windy on this day.
Here is a few of us wandering about the outside stalls in the market area. Inside (to the right) there is a very long series of stalls where people are selling all sorts of things (we had just walked the length of the building inside in the middle and had just turned around here to walk along the outside):
For lunch we ate at the San Antonio Hard Rock Cafe. We were pretty weary from all the walking in the morning so the waitress (who was very chipper) commented how our children were 'so polite' and 'quiet'.
After lunch, we spent a long time heading through downtown and out past Tulane University (and a few other sites) on the trolley (a national historic ride). We went the full 13.2 mile length one way (to a dead end) and then we got out, boarded the same trolley and headed all the way back. Here is James and Pam disembarking from our final stop (where we started):
This trolley is highly used as a standard mode of transportation by the locals (including school children .. we were driving by a lot of schools that were just getting out for the day). It seems kind of strange to hop on a trolley and just go on the entire route both ways and then end up where you started. This trolley gets pretty packed .. not quite sardines but close. On the way back the driver kept encouraging people strongly to 'move on back' and this in turn encouraged a few funny 'remarks' in reply .. though I am sure he could not hear them .. fortunately. It was quite an interesting experience. At any rate, it was a nice alternative to walking at this point.
The end of the day arrived and we all headed back up the causeway (in rush hour of all times .. mind you, traffic wasn't particularly bad). We had dinner back in our room at the Holiday Inn. David went to the local Blockbuster video and rented a movie (he got Ever After .. I did not have the computer with me at the time) and brought it back. After messing about for a while (it did not work .. another one, this is getting annoying), David took it back and tried one more time (this time Nicholas Cage in Snake Eyes). This one did work and Reba and Dad started watching the movie in the master bedroom. Later, HL, James, and Dan joined in. Pam watched a different TV movie. Well, it's off to bed, wake up in the morning, and head off to our next destination ...