Day 2 Hot and humid today! we did lots of Day Exploring. I walked around by myself in the morning to run an errand for forgotten toiletries at walgreens. Jackson square is so gorgeous. I remember getting my first psychic reading here at 19. It was also the first time I ever came to New Orleans (On spring break). It was so great. Ironic now. (Being a well known psychic and Syd too). Life opens up when we are ready to receive it.
Syd was so feeling the city. It was his first trip here ever! The music, the coffee, the food etc. He fell in love fast and hard! We walked down to the French Market for breakfast where a bunch of bro-ey looking guys ate and drank giant beers next to us. They were loud and obnoxious and one of their girlfriends was almost in my lap. We dealt with it while we had a little food and some coffee. I think I’ve been there before. Belle’s cafe I think. A tiny little diner very retro. Cute. The service was awesome. Both us and the server were relieved when they left. We gave him a big tip!
The markets were really fun. We went through relatively fast. We ended up getting a beautiful famous photography print of St. Louis Cathedral. in the rain. It’s in a pride of place in our bedroom now. Syd also fell in love with a spinner ring that matched the rest of his jewelry exactly. I bought it for him as an early birthday gift. We also got a coaster of a vintage steamboat. Vintage square looking coasters from our travels are what we collect as a couple now. They’re flat, they’re art, easy to pack and practical to use. Syd drinks a lot of tea. He’s British after all!
After a very full morning of walking around we went back to the Omni to change and rest. Our Dear family friends Barry and Lili live in New Orleans, and wanted to meet up for some fun. We headed over to their place in Uptown. We had some drinks and snacks. Barry and Syd both Brits got on like a house on fire. We all had such a wonderful time talking about architecture, travel, my family, our lives, etc. This was the first time they met Syd and gave pre-meeting my biological family approval. Lili was so sweet. She gave me a handful of vintage glass mardi gras bead necklaces.
They are rarer to find these days. I of course was immediately in love with them. I luckily wore an off the shoulder 50’s top with no necklace serendipity! They then whisked us off to the Rock N Bowl to hear a Zydeco band in action!
There was dancing, and we ate there too. I had a few cocktails and hung out with the visiting family of theirs too. The food was surprisingly good, and the music was off the charts. You can tell our hosts love life, but also love their lives in general. It was such a lovely time! We hated to go but my first surprise activity for Syd was at 9 or ten so we had to boogy back to the quarter. Barry was a fantastic host and drove us back telling us great stories and all about the mansions of the quarter along the way. If he ever wanted to come out of retirement, As a former scientist and professor I think he’d kill it as a tour guide. They are truly awesome hosts. I posted their rental houses in New Orleans part 1. If you want to stay in Uptown rent theirs. I’ve stayed there twice. It’s glorious!
Next we headed to Jackson square for our HAUNTED CARRIAGE RIDE I got a deal for through royal carriages. Our guide was very cool. Of course being both psychics we were feeling ghosts left and right at night in the quarter. It’s truly haunted EVERYWHERE! We heard a ton of stories. Syd said he clairaudiently was hearing the sound of swords. Just then our guide said we were near a dueling park where people would sword fight and later duel with pistols. This kind of stuff happens all the time. The tour was fun, but being in a moving air buggy was glorious! We ended up chatting with and giving our driver impromptu psychic readings. We had bonded by the end of the tour. You should follow him on instagram. He posts great stuff about New Orleans! @richlofton (Crawfish Assassin)
We then ran around a bit. The night was still young (For New Orleans) and so were we (Relatively), so we decided to walk down to Pat O’ Brians. Syd had to see the fountain with fire! We were so hungry and *PLOT TWIST the kitchen was closed but the awesome door guys told us to get a burger or chicken sandwich across the street at St. Patricks pub I think. It was a dive bar, but the food was ridiculously good. When in doubt ask the locals what they like! We got the food and brought it back to Pat’s. They are so cool in this city. We got seated right by the fountain and ate and drank.
We rang in Syd’s official birthday at midnight then headed back to the hotel! What a wonderful night!
To Be Continued. . .
The Adventures of Syd and Meg 