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| Maison St. Charles Hotel |
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| Statue in covered courtyard. |
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| Mural in the drive through courtyard |
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| Other side of drive through courtyard |
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| Painted on the building next to our room. |
After we drove through and checked in the first thing we saw was a black cat. I had to wonder if that was a good sign or a bad sign. The kitty was really very friendly and as we had a vet with us, I couldn't muse too much about it.
The courtyard outside our room was in full wedding mode ! People were dancing, drinking and having a great time. It was a beautiful venue for a wedding! Soon after we went in the room, we noticed people circling the courtyard and swinging handkerchiefs as they followed the happy couple. I was really wondering what in the world that was all about. Turns out that it is a New Orleans tradition called a second line. Traditionally, this occurred after a jazz band. The jazz band went first and then the second liners came dancing and enjoying the music. It was also used at Funerals where everyone followed the hearse or coffin and sang dirges or hymns. I much prefer the wedding version. Traditionally, the wedding occurs close enough for people to follow the wedding party to the reception and they sing and rejoice in the couples' happiness along the way. Parasols and handkerchiefs are often twirled and that is what we saw. It looked so fun!
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| Interior hotel room. |
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| New Orleans Box! |
We started to unpack and make the room more festive with some surprises I had packed for the girls! Boas and mini bottles:)
After we unpacked, Stephanie and I started our touring! Tera and Julie stayed behind to rest. Poor Tera drove the whole way so I can only imagine how tired she was AND she was coming down with a cold and didn't know it. Julie's back didn't survive the car trip very well so she needed rest as well. Stephanie and I, however were raring to go! We walked out of the hotel and immediately noticed the trees that still had the Mardi Gras beads from the previous weekend on them. The pictures below are a little out of order but honestly it's late and I'm tired. :) We were looking for Lafayette Cemetary Number one but we fell woefully short of it. As it got dark we wandered back to the hotel room. As you can see from the pictures it really is the Garden District!
Later that night, we ventured out to Bourbon Street of course. It was the weekend after Mardi Gras but it was still wild! More about that on the next post!
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| Festive lamps.. Now! |
After we unpacked, Stephanie and I started our touring! Tera and Julie stayed behind to rest. Poor Tera drove the whole way so I can only imagine how tired she was AND she was coming down with a cold and didn't know it. Julie's back didn't survive the car trip very well so she needed rest as well. Stephanie and I, however were raring to go! We walked out of the hotel and immediately noticed the trees that still had the Mardi Gras beads from the previous weekend on them. The pictures below are a little out of order but honestly it's late and I'm tired. :) We were looking for Lafayette Cemetary Number one but we fell woefully short of it. As it got dark we wandered back to the hotel room. As you can see from the pictures it really is the Garden District!
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| Houses still with Mardi Gras Decorations |
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| Love this house and tree |
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| Houses |
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| Beads in trees |
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| Houses |
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| Random Fountain |
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| Birth of a Muse.. She got beads:) |
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| Me obsessing over the cool tree |
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| courtyard of the building next to us. |
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| Room decorations |
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| Black Cat welcoming us. |
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| Trees whose branches grown in and out of the ground. |
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| More historic houses. sooo beautiful! |
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| Beads all over the trees |
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| Pretty houses on Prytania Street or thereabouts. |
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| Love the house! |
