Family Weekend

This weekend was Family Weekend for all Loyola students. My uncle, aunt, and their three boys came down to see me. Guess where it rained all weekend, that's right, New Orleans. Thank you, mother nature.

On a brighter note, I was able to show my family around New Orleans.  It was hard for me to show them only a few landmarks when there is so much to show people in this beautifully cultured city. There's the  French Quarter, the French Market, the old architecture, all of the cemeteries, Audubon Park and Audubon Zoo, the list could go on and on. I decided to show them what I first saw when I came to this city - Bourbon street, Cafe Du Monde, and the French Market.

Now, I had to be careful and make sure that the little ones were shielded from scarry Bourbon street and all the horrors that come with the journey down that lovely street. Wouldn't want them scarred for life... So, I decided to take a picture down the street, just to show them what they were missing. To my surprise, there wasn't as many scantily clad ladies on the street. Thank god...

My cousins loved all of the brightly colored neon signs that were all along Bourbon. The three boys liked the voodoo store that was on Bourbon. All the trinkets looked pretty authentic, opposed to the souvenir stores with the crazy colored 'voodoo dolls' and 'spells'. Unfortunately, I couldn't snap a picture because there was a very important ritual going on. But the boys were able to take a piece of New Orleans back with them to Texas. And I swear when we walked out of that shop, we all had the munchies...

On to Cafe Du Monde. This place is probably the worst place in the world. It's a trap for the senses. If someone told me I could never have anything from this wonderful place I would actually cry. I can't get enough. Neither could the boys, or my uncle and aunt. I bet if we were there for another hour, we could have eaten 5 orders of those delicious beignets and that chicory coffee...Oh god that coffee. I could sing songs about that coffee. No one in my family could drink that completely black though...way too strong for me, way too strong for my uncle. It could probably clear the sinuses and shock you out of a cold. Thank you for milk and sugar. 

The French Market. Best. Place. Ever. Sort of. It has food, beverages, trinkets, odds and ends, do-hickeys, jewelry, doo dads, thing-a-ma-bobs, pretty much anything you could think of. Unfortunately for my family, we just missed the market. We were too busy checking out all of the interesting souvenir shops and locally owned stores that we didn't make it down there in time. Oh well. guess that means they will have to come another time.

Hopefully they will come back. There's still so much to see.