America the Beautiful - part 2, New Orleans

... so when the Internet was buzzing with updates about Hurricane Barry threatening Louisiana, I got really worried. The horrors of the 2005 Hurricane Katrina were revived in my memory while the driver who picked us up from the New Orleans International Airport acted as tour guide (for a few extra bucks), pointing out landmarks, explaining stuff, and generally giving us an informative introduction to New Orleans and environs.

We don't actually know anyone in New Orleans; this was our first visit there: 4 nights, 3 full days plus two half-days. Just a taste. A smattering. But this one-of-a-kind city drew us in, engulfed us, fascinated us. When Barry came charging (July 13th), I immediately thought of the staff of Melrose Mansion, our home-away-from-home. So I dropped them a line, to let them know I was thinking of them and hope they were all hale and healthy. The only thing that bothered me when writing was that I didn't remember the names of our hosts! Very untypically, I hadn't written a single line in my [handwritten] travel journal during our stay. There was simply no time. For once, I was experiencing rather than recording. Sure, I took pictures with my iPhone. And I did jot down the occasional two-word note on my phone, saying to myself that that's better than nothing and will jog my memory. Ahem.
Long story short: this post will be more pics than text. Also, I'm delighted to say Melrose Mansion graciously and promptly answered my message, saying "Thank you! We are all safe!" (Keana Holmes, Reservations Supervisor.)

Entrance to our spacious room

Our bedroom

Our bedroom

Incidentally: See the neat woven rug on the floor? Well, here's a close-up of it: 

Woven rug -- coarse and unpleasant to the touch

It was the worst item in the room. Ours looked and felt brand-new, compared, say, to the one in our friend Lynne's room, which was a bit worn and therefore not as coarse. A half-decent mat or carpet are important to me, for my sun-salutations routine. This thing was unpleasant to walk barefoot on, let alone place your hands, knees, shins, or any other part of your body on it. I ended up spreading a bath-towel on it, which helped to a certain extent.

Our bathroom

Note the open umbrella in the bathroom; an indication that, though the weather was hot on the whole, it also rained, enough to require an umbrella.

We all settled in comfortably: My husband and I, and our dear friend Lynne, who flew over from Dallas, TX, to spend some time with us at the same hotel. Melrose Mansions only offers breakfast. Luckily, just across the road is Buffa's Lounge, a cozy restaurant-bar with a decent menu and a separate room for musical performances. That took care of lunch, and was an easy solution on other days as well.

Michael & Lynne crossing over to Buffa's

What else did we do? Walk around, of course, as far as The Port of New Orleans, (see below),

ate at several good-food, good-music places such as Adolfo's and Crescent City Brewhouse,

Inside Adolfo's; cozy and pleasant

611 Frenchmen Street, NOLA

Our friendly waitress, Joyce, took this pic of the three of us at the lively Brewhouse

and clapped and stomped to the upbeat music with the rest of the crowd diagonally-opposite Adolfo's, next to the Frenchmen Art & Books corner:

Possibly because I wasn't writing in my journal, I recorded some of our experiences on Facebook, complete with pics, of course. But not all my readers are on Facebook, believe it or not! 

I will quit here, and save the two most impressive locations we visited in New Orleans for the next post. I'm referring to The WWII Museum, and the Sculpture Garden of the New Orleans Museum of Art.

... and here is the post: https://nina-makes-tracks.blogspot.com/2019/08/new-orleans-best-attractions.html

Enjoy!