From Puerto Rico we returned to Louisiana to explore
New Orleans for two days before finally embarking a
cruise we were to have taken in 2020, but well, you
know, COVID.
This was our third trip to the Crescent City and
by now we have our favorite places and rituals to
observe. This trip we opted to stay in an historic
hotel in the Garden District, which was just a block
from the St. Charles streetcar line. The first morning
we boarded the streetcar and headed to the French
Quarter where we enjoyed a second breakfast at Café
du Monde.
The original Café du Monde coffee stand was
established in 1862 in the French Market. The Café
is open 24-7 and is closed only on Christmas Day
and when the occasional hurricane comes along. Its
specialties are dark roasted coffee and chicory and
beignets, little square French-style donuts, liberally
dusted with powdered sugar. The coffee is served
either black or Au Lait, which means it is mixed half
and half with hot milk.
After wandering through Jackson Square and taking
our obligatory selfie with the St. Louis Cathedral
in the background we walked through most of the
French Quarter and found gifts for family and friends.
Then it was time for another ritual, purchasing a
Central Grocery muffuletta for lunch. Muffulettas
are a Sicilian-American sandwich made of Sicilian
sesame bread split in half and covered with layers of
olive salad, salami, ham, Swiss cheese, provolone and
mortadella.
As we approached the grocery, we could see
scaffolding covering the front and were saddened
to see it and the neighboring building had been
heavily damaged in Hurricane Ida last fall. But the
enterprising folks at Central Grocery knew how
important their famous sandwich was to NOLA
visitors and are making their delicious wares off-site
and selling them at Sidney’s Liquor Store in the same
block. So, we chalked off another item on our NOLA
wish list.
That afternoon we strolled over to Bourbon Street
to take in some classic NOLA jazz at Fritzel’s European
Jazz Club and sip on one of NOLA’s classic drinks –
a hurricane. The entertainer that afternoon was a
talented piano player named Richard Scott who did a
near perfect imitation of jazz great Louis “Satchmo”
Armstrong. Our day was complete.
On our second day we headed to the National World
War II Museum. Founded in 2000 as the National
D-Day Museum, the renamed museum covers the
war from industrial efforts on the Home Front to
the combat experience of the American servicemen
abroad.
The museum is set apart from others because
of numerous immersive exhibits, multimedia
experiences and a wonderful collection of artifacts
and first-person oral histories. We loved how they
introduced people to the museum by walking
you onto a train car labeled “North Platte” and
mentioning the famous canteen there. Each train
rider was issued a “dog tag” that covers the personal
story of one WWII serviceman or woman which you
follow at interactive stations scattered throughout
the galleries.
There is an amazing movie titled “Beyond All
Boundaries” narrated by Tom Hanks that provides
a 4D journey through the war. These tickets are
purchased separately from the general admission but
are so worth it. This museum deserves at a minimum
four hours of one’s time, but we could have easily
spent an entire day there.
We did enjoy lunch in the “The American Sector”
restaurant and bar, which features a menu filled with
Southern and GI favorites from the 1940s. There is
also a soda shop for quick snacks or a great shake.
Capping off our 48 hours was a trip to the Avenue
Bar, just two blocks from our hotel. Frequented by
locals we knew the fare was good and it gave us a
chance to also sample Louisiana-made beer. Because it
was right on St. Charles Street it featured a miniature
streetcar on a track mounted up on the ceiling that ran
throughout the evening to entertain guests.
