Day 7 - New Orleans

Day 7

After waking, we headed down to the lobby for a continental breakfast. Waffles with syrup again, but this time doughnuts and bagels were also available. We had learnt prior to coming to New Orleans that we must take a ride on their streetcars. The system is the oldest in the World. We took a ride to St. Charles and back again. We observed the colonial/plantation mansions en route.

After we arrived back at Canal Street, we decided we would now find Cafe Du Monde. We had been told that people won’t believe you have been to New Orleans unless you go to Bourbon Street and Cafe Du Monde. Locals say it is the best coffee in the city and it is cut with chicory, a root vegetable. During the War, they had difficulty in getting hold of enough coffee to satisfy demand. To make up for this they cut coffee with chicory, which has a similar taste. It has become such a tradition that it’s almost impossible to find regular coffee in the city today.

Chicory becomes bitter after 10 minutes of being brewed therefore it has to be consumed quickly. Due to the bitterness, the coffee is mixed half with milk. Charis, Rowena and Luke had Frozen Cafe au lait, Jamie had a regular Cafe au lait and Kishan and Beverley had chocolate milk. We had beignets (pronounced ben-yah) with the coffee, freshly baked French doughnuts with icing powder. Yum. All of the waitresses were Asian, which we found surprising as we had not noticed a high Asian population anywhere else in the city.

We then took a Walking Tour of the French Quarter mid afternoon, learning the History of the area and local points of interest. Along the way, we passed Brad and Angelina’s holiday home and Nicholas Cage’s house which is meant to be the most haunted in the area. As the tour guide was saying this, we heard noises inside and realised someone was in. We learnt that most of the French Quarter was saved from Hurricane Katrina.

The tour guide told us she likes to eat Muffuletta at the local Central Grocery Company. Five of us shared one between us. It is a large sandwich packed with many meats, cheeses and olives. We had another stroll through the French Market and decided to take the free ferry over the Mississippi river. It was pleasant, but very hot. After the voyage we went back to the Hotel to freshen up.
The tour guide also told us she liked the Cajun/Creole food at ‘Gumbo Shop’. We all either had chicken or seafood Gumbo, or Shrimp Creole. The service in New Orleans was generally not good. We decided to try out a famous bar on Bourbon Street, Pat O’ Brien’s (or Patty-o’s). There was live music by the Gas House Guerrillaz but the crowd was older and substantially more inebriated than we were. On the way home, we stopped off at CVS Pharmacy where the Security Guard told us Nicholas Cage had been in there a few hours prior. The guard also told us he has seen Brad Pitt in there another time. After a long day, we retired to the Clarion.