There is a house in New Orleans...they call the Rising Sun....

Because the weather was so nasty when we stopped in New Orleans on the way to Texas, we decided to stop again on our way home. The weather cooperated, and we had a wonderful day in the Big Easy.

I know a lot of people who have visited the city or who know little about it say how much they "don't like" it but, to me it is an amazing city with great history, FABULOUS music, amazing food and fun. I guess if you only go to Bourbon Street and drink, you can't get a feel for the whole picture.

Here is one of the early heroes of Woman's lib.....Joan of Arc.


The famous French Market......

And the best deal in New Orleans....the historical Cafe Du Monde. Touching Salt's and my love for good coffee, they offer some of the best. I even splurged and ate a half order of Beignets (French doughnuts). We all liked them so much we bought both coffee and beignets to bring home and share with our friends.

WARNING....do not try to bite into one with ALL the powdered sugar on it.....you will probably choke, sneeze and wear it! YUMMMMMM they are so good.

Ruth and Gene pose outside the cafe with their goodies. The cafe is right across the street from Jackson Square, which is the place to go for free entertainment.....

Even though we took a guided trolley tour the last time we were in the city, we couldn't resist a buggy ride (mules instead of horses pull the carts) around the city. I am SO glad we took the tour, our guide was raised in the city and was a wealth of information!!

The picture above, one of the beautiful hotels....Below is the city's oldest bars, which was once a blacksmith shop. Here, according to our guide, they still make the Hurricanes with REAL fruit juice (unlike the kool-aide that the famous Pat O'brien's serves).

If you enlarge this picture you can see the beautiful (and wickedly expensive) fence which is designed to portray cornstalks and corn. The story goes it was a wealthy man from Iowa, who built it for his wife because she missed the cornfields back home??????

Unfortunately, we didn't have time to stop here....ha ha

The picture above is the House of the Rising Sun One of the early houses of "Ill Repute", as well as the subject for the song sung by the "Animals".

And the picture below is the home (one of the homes) of Brangelina (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie).

The people of New Orleans Love them.....say they are very down to earth and have done a tremendous amount to help the people of New Orleans after Katrina.

When we walked through and around Jackson Square, HBO was making a movie....

They were doing a musical segment as we approached....this girl was absolutely unbelievable. I have NEVER heard a violin piece done so beautifully....I was mesmerized!!

Even though it was colder than normal, the artists, musicians and street entertainers were out in full force.

These kids were cute....it was NOT windy....they had strings on her dress and he had his tie and coat wired.....very clever.

Just a couple of good ole boys....giving the crowds some great Christmas jazz....

Just another beautiful building in the French Quarter......

And a gold statue....until you walk by him...

And the guy who made Ruthie and me these 4 carrot diamond rings...

The beautiful cathedral......

We certainly had lots of excitement on this trip.....this was another traffic jam we were in....police doing a drug raid. I wasn't quick enough to get a pic of them hauling one of the guys away in cuffs. We stopped in the Alabama welcome center and were amazed to find a real LIVE Christmas tree in the lobby. I love the smell; now I'm anxious to get home and get ours up!!

And what a way to end a wonderful trip.....Gene and Ruth have talked about this restaurant for the longest time. You HAVE to go on the web site and check this out. http://www.throwedrolls.com/

And YES they really do throw the rolls....and they are DELICIOUS!

Then....AFTER you order your entree and 2 sides, they bring around huge kettles of more sides.

First they come with apple butter and sorghum for your rolls, then pans of fried okra, macaroni and tomatoes, cooked cabbage, pinto beans and black eyed peas, fried potatoes and onions as much as you wanted......and get this for $9.99.

Our waitress was a hoot....she for some odd reason picked Gene the entire dinner. She never cracked a smile and just had one joke after another....here she is offering him a mint and when he put his hand in, this mouse jumped out.

Check the size of the free refillable drinks.....

Another gag on Gene.....

And one of the best, when she pulled the raccoon out of the pot.......

We would love to take the grandchildren here, wish it were not so far away. Probably just as well though because Rachael and Emma would probably strive to become waitresses here....