New Orleans Botanical Garden

Another great botanical garden, as one would expect in New Orleans with its subtropical climate and abundant plant species.

 

Bywater burning

Sometimes you stay at an AirBnB deep in New Orlean's Bywater district, and in the wee hours you hear strange sounds that turn out to be a fire raging across the street! Scary but memorable, and to the best of my knowledge no one got hurt.

Chewbacchus Parade

Later the same evening, the Chewbacchus Parade, a much bigger parade with a sort of science fiction twist. These parades, while not Mardi Gras, are part of the larger Mardi Gras season.

'tit Rex Parade

'Tit Rex, the New Orleans parade that features little floats.

Lombard Plantation House

Wandering around the Bywater neighborhood I could not help but recognize this intriguing historic house. It turns out to be the Lombard Plantation House which was featured in a recent issue of Preservation magazine. Built in 1826 before New Orleans grew up around it, it is now one of the best preserved West Indian style Creole cottages in the country.

Morning Call

For afternoon coffee we checked out Morning Call, the new venue for coffee and beignets in City Park. It's a good use of a great indoor/outdoor space.

Cafe NOMA

In keeping with our tradition of going to art museum cafes, we had lunch at Cafe NOMA at the New Orleans Museum of Art. In keeping with that tradition, the food was very good.