Le Bon Temps Roule

We headed out with the plan of walking to the French Quarter, then ending up at dinner, which was close to the hotel. Our first "stop" (we didn't stop) was Canal Street, which is the main drag boulevard to the Mississippi. We were seeing nicely dressed young men and women who appeared to be prostitutes. No, wait...it was prom night! (Seriously, Julia Roberts was wearing a dress that covered more in "Pretty Woman") Yes, I'm old and judgy. The place was infested with them! The last time I was here, 35 years ago (?), it was also prom night. Things have changed!

It took us about 15 minutes to get to the Mississippi River walk. That was the moment my tender-as-veal footed sister realized that she had a hot spot on her foot. We tried to put kleenex over the spot and then looked up where the closest Walgreens was about a half mile away. It was in the Bourbon Street area, and as we neared, it became louder and much more crowded. We found the Walgreens and picked up our supplies. The next problem was finding a place to stop and apply the blister patches. After going into a couple of very crowded restaurants, hoping to use the waiting area seats, we ended up in the parking level area of the Marriott.

At this point, we were very close to Bourbon Street, and the sound was deafening. Not exaggerating at all. The music was not the Jazz I remembered, but full blown rap music. That, along with sirens, loud vehicles with no muffler (on purpose), and all the people was overwhelming. We decided to head to the restaurant an hour early and see what we could do. My phone was not navigating correctly, so Heather took the lead. We picked a route that avoided that area, even though it was a bit longer. As we moved away, it became quieter and less stressful.

Finally we found the restaurant...Read more