We left Lauryn's heart in New Orleans

New Orleans,

Lauryn

You!

I will be letting Lauryn post for this topic, the love for New Orleans was given to me with pride.

The bus cars are just fascinating to me with all the culture and just history of who was sitting where you were - who knows Louis Armstrong could have sat there.

Anyways, the day after we all got there my dad had to work so me and my mom got beignets in the morning and then went on a cemetery tour. We sure did learn a lot - my favorite fact was Marie Lavue was not the famous New Orleans voodoo queen she was just smart enough to listen to people and use gossip to her benefit.

After the cemetery tour, we road the streetcar to City Park, New Orleans's Central Park. It was beautiful! I don't think people understand all that this city has to offer. The park had big, old trees and a sculpture garden where we took the LOVE statue. It also had Storybook Land that had a 40 foot slide shaped like a dragon!

Lauryn loved the history and culture almost as much as the food! She was blissfully going to eat her way through the city. From the beignets to the oyster to the shrimp to the gumbos, she ate everything that we put in front of her. The waitstaff LOVED her! We loved getting to share with her some of our favorite restaurants. We took her to Dragos, the Bourbon House, and Cafe Du Monde. I think we can also add the Royal House Oyster Bar to our list because Lauryn loved it and we got to sit inside but at the door so it was also outside. Best of both worlds with fantastic food!!!

Here is Lauryn at the Royal House with a belly full of oysters, clams, and mussels!

Besides eating, we did do some typical tourist type things like Jackson Square and the French Market.

We also took the streetcar into the Garden District so that we could go to the zoo. While crowded on the streetcar, Lauryn was busy picking out our New Orleans home. We had a great time at the zoo and ended having a leisurely stroll through Audubon Park to the streetcar stop.

When the time came to go home, Lauryn had already started planning her next trip to New Orleans. I think that Tom will have to start coordinating a New Orleans trip with school vacations so that she and I can tag along! New Orleans, she is in love!