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 Sunny today! We went to
Poppy's Grill for an early lunch. A great
24-hour greasy spoon diner, they have an incredible bacon cheeseburger cooked under a hubcap, and
rather good chili on the fries. The humorous phrases on the menus are also cute. Also, there is
something about the way they make chocolate shakes in the Midwest and South that defies explanation,
but is worth trying for the shakes and malts enthusiast.
Walked about for a bit before taking the Garden District/Streetcar/Cemetery Tour, and I ended
up buying a cap for some much-needed protection from the sun. Very warm and humid; what weight we
gain from eating we will lose from sweating. New Orleans usually feels like a humidor under a warm
sprinkler.
Monday apparently was our "rich tourist" day. We were the only two people who showed for the
tour, so we had our own private guide, Bill Normand, who is very well-spoken, informative, and
good at what he does. This tour takes the streetcar into the Garden District, into the Lafayette
Cemetery (which is not the oldest in NOLA, but is expansive and pretty -- the angel you see in
the photos is supposed to be the one in Interview With The Vampire, and along the streets of the
Garden District to view some of the fabulous antebellum homes there, including the house of Edgar
Degas. We just HAD to use the back-and-white film on this jaunt.
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| Photos of Lafayette Cemetery and the
Garden District - Click a Thumbnail to Enlarge |
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This house on First Street belongs to some woman named Anne Rice, who wrote some books, owns several
of the old houses in the G.D., owns a couple of private limos, and is reputedly really nice. We
wished she was home so that we could say hello and mightily impress our friends and infuse them
with much jealousy, but it was not to be.
This house on Third and Chestnut belongs to some guy who makes industrial music, name of Trent.
He drives a very non-pretentious old beige Volvo, and lives quietly with his wife and two kids.
After the tour we rested our feet and cooled off at
Cafe du Monde, a necessary stop in New
Orleans. Powdered sugar is strewn about the floor from active eaters of beignets, and large and
formidable pigeons rule here. A plate of beignets, a nice non-bitter chicory coffee and a
chocolate milk later, and we were on our way.
We wandered up Dumaine Street and into
Esoterica, the local occult/Wiccan shop.
Neat stuff but expensive, and the guy behind the counter was only mildly helpful.
We then stepped next door into Armed and Dangerous, which has goth jewelry and a lot of really
fabulous dark stuff for good prices. I nearly bought the chrome-handled carved umbrella for $35.
We rested our feet in the Cajun Cabin, trying to ignore the odor of garbage that permeates
Bourbon Street on hot days. There was a group in the corner, like Marty and Elayne from
Swingers but slightly better, playing "House of the Rising Sun" (which, interestingly,
was an actual house of ill repute in New Orleans that catered to plantation owners' sons that had
reached the proper age). Bianca tried a Blackened Voodoo beer, which really isn't bad, and I had
my first "Swamp Water," which looks like green liquid soap and tastes like a watermelon Jolly
Rancher. Very treacherous. It occurs to me that I have drunk more alcohol in New Orleans than
ever in my life. Wasn't staggering, though. ;)
Bianca: Dave wasn't staggering, but his speech was a bit slurred! One for
the record books!
We went back to the hotel's rooftop patio to soak in the jacuzzi, after which Bianca relaxed in
the sauna whilst I lit up an Upmann cigar in the warm New Orleans evening, listening to jazz
and sirens wailing in the night... poetic as fuck, eh?
We went out later for dinner at the Napoleon House, in business since 1791. It was supposedly
built by French loyalists hoping that it would be used by Napoleon Bonaparte. A wonderful
ambiance, with heavy, battered wooden tables and a dark interior. They play classical music (the
good Wagner/Tchaikovsky/Mussorgsky kind, not the Romeo & Juliet piano crap) and make great
muffaletta sandwiches, which they serve heated. The biscuit tortoni, a custard ice cream, rocks.
DAMAGE REPORT: One badly blistered pinky toe on Dave's foot.
- Poppy's Grill: 717 St. Peter Street - 504-524-3287
- The Original New Orleans Garden District/Cemetery/Streetcar/Walking Tour - 504-486-0444
- Cafe du Monde: 1039 Decatur Street - 504-587-0835
- Esoterica Occult Goods: 541 Dumaine Street - 504-581-7711, 800-353-7001
- Armed and Dangerous: 539 Dumaine Street - 504-568-1100
- Napoleon House: 500 Chartres Street - 504-524-9752
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