Our nights on Bourbon Street were some of the most memorable in my life. I could only describe it as wild abandon…

The streets are litter with broken beads thrown from the galleries above the street. They are underfoot everywhere. But like the city renewed itself after Katrina, Bourbon Street renews itself early every morning as city crews come in and clean the streets. It’s fresh and clean for the revelry to start over.

Despite the record snowfall from about ten days earlier the plant life, and even the flowers seemed to be thriving outside.

Just wandering around New Orleans, you can see the most interesting people.

Men’s and women’s nipple glitter on the street corner on Bourbon.

We went to a cute Drag Show on our last night.

On Monday we booked an historical walking tour of the French Quarter. Our tour guide was Tom. We started in an area of the old French Market called Dutch Alley.

We moved to the shore of the Mississippi River and walked along the levee. He showed us the flood wall and the gates that they close for high water.

Here we are at Jackson Square in front of the Andrew Jackson statue. The St Louis Cathedral is in the background.

The French built matching red brick buildings on either side of the square, flanking the Cathedral. The gold accents at the top of the drainpipes are a nice touch.

The condition of the building, I saw as a metaphor for the US, it looks Okay from a distance but up close you see the cracks.

New Orleans has been the home of many literary giants. This is the house where William Faulkner started his writing career.

Tennessee Williams resided in New Orleans when he wrote A Streetcar Named Desire. Apparently it is named after the Desire Street Streetcar!

This lady plays Stella in the Annual Williams Festival.

Most homes were built with an inner courtyard. The slave quarters were at the back of the courtyard on the upper floor.

The preservation society has protected the old buildings in the French Quarter. The high rises start outside of the Quarter.

We were back in the French Quarter early on Monday for a cooking lesson.

It’s been a while since I was in school!

We secured a seat at the back of the room. Here’s our new friends Logan and Elena.

Chef Eric explained the difference between Cajun and Creole cuisine. Also some of the basics of what he was preparing for the menu.

He started with the basics of making a roux. I have known the stages as White, Blonde, Brown, and Dark Brown. Chef Eric uses a different nomenclature for the last two, calling them Peanut Butter, and Chocolate. You can use butter for the white or blonde roux, but you must use a high smoke point oil for anything darker. The second picture, I thought was at the Peanut Butter stage but shortly after, he pulled the saucepan off the heat and added the Trinity ( the southern Mirepoix) with onions, celery, and bell peppers.

Adding the veg cools the rou x and stops it from further browning. The mixture is added to the stock made with Andouille sausage.

The resulting Gumbo was so good. New Orleans style Gumbo is usually made with Filé powder rather than the original with Okra.

The Red Beans and Rice was next. It’s one of my favorites. They offered us a local craft beer to go with the dish. In the glass is unsweetened Iced Tea, something I associate with southern states.

Chef Eric previously showed us the making of Pecan Pies. They baked while we had the Red Beans and Rice. He made Pecan Pralines as the pies were cooling. We were informed that the correct pronunciation is Pcawn Prawlins and Not PEcan PrAylines.

So good!

Every independent corner store in NOLA also had a side food hustle. One close to our hotel made Po Boys and a great Muffuletta!

After posting Safety, I decided to take a few more pictures of the security. The State Troopers had a few of their motorcycles on display.

There were vehicles parked on most side streets off of Bourbon.

Not all of the officers drove big vehicles

I guess that a smaller ambulance would have less trouble navigating through the crowds.

There is a huge law enforcement/military presence on the streets. They come from across all levels of government.

Before lunch, we went to the Museum of Death! You aren’t allowed to take pictures in the museum itself, but I snapped a few in the entranceway. The displays covered a wide range of the subject of death. There was quite a bit of information about serial killers, Including artworks made by some of the killers in prison.

Yes, that Gennifer Flowers!

I saw a big chicken!

BBQing on Bourbon Street.

So, I went everywhere today with beignet powdered sugar on my shoe.