This was the last full day of the trip, and our last day in New Orleans. So, we wanted to make it special, of course.
We had tickets for the Saints game at the Superdome, which felt like something special already. Before that, I had signed us up for a walking tour of the French Quarter. But the original tour was cancelled for that morning, and we had to wait for another tour, this one not historical exclusively, which was what I had wanted and signed us up for originally, but a mixture, supposedly, of regular history and haunted history. It wound up being much more of a haunted history, and it would likely have helped if I knew the television shows and movies which were constantly referenced. But the woman who did the tour was 18 year old, I think, and she was more interested in that kind of thing. What can you do?
Before the walking tour, we went back to City Park, which we had enjoyed. I wanted to visit the Botanical Gardens, not realizing the day before that they were right there. Unfortunately, though, they are closed on Mondays, and this was a Monday. So, we took as many pictures from the perimeter as possible, and they are here (see below).
We got some nice shots of the mostly empty French Quarter. At one point, according to the rental car's temperature reading, it was 107 degrees Fahrenheit, and trust me, it was very humid. That, it seemed, was why the streets were so empty. But this was our last day, and our tour was scheduled, so we would have to make the most of it.
It was hot, and as mentioned, it felt much too slanted towards the haunted history. I hoped that it would prove entertaining for my son, although it felt a bit cumbersome for me after a while. Still, we were finally visiting the French Quarter by foot, and fairly thoroughly, during the daytime. I was happy, and took some cool pictures, I think.
We ate one final meal in New Orleans. The day before, we had enjoyed the staple sandwich of the city, known as Po'Boys, which are a must if you are in the Big Easy. But Gumbo and Jumbolaya also felt like a must, as did alligator, once I saw it on the menu. Alligator tasted a lot like chicken. So much so, in fact, that I wondered if they simply had taken pieces of chicken, shaped it a bit strangely, and then served it as alligator. It was good, though, as was pretty much everything that we tried in New Orleans.
Finally, yes, the game. For many years, I had seen NFL games played there, including a number of Super Bowls. Saints fans in particular seemed fun-loving, and that was the impression that I had while watching this game. There was a Darth Vader decked out in black and gold, as well as a Stormtrooper, although they did not seem to talk or even acknowledge one another. There was a guy in the lower part of our section dressed in flashy gold. And yes, it was fun. My son is not a big football fan, but he seemed to enjoy it enough to consider it a highlight. He was also impressed at how close the seats were to the field, which is, of course, one advantage of the preseason.
It was entertaining, and felt like a good way to close out our New Orleans trip. Ahead of us, however, was a long drive back to catch our flight in the morning. And so we drove, out of New Orleans and, before too long, out of Louisiana. We drove for quite a while in Mississippi, being diverted by our GPS because apparently, the interstate that we were traveling on had been closed due to an accident.
So ended our sixth day, the last full day of the trip, exactly a month ago on this day.
Garden District, Botanical Gardens, and Lafayette Cemetery
The French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré, New Orleans
New Orleans Superdome (Saints vs. Jaguars):
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