Maderville

The Big Easy

I thought it would be fun to take Sister Rosalie to New Orleans to check out the sights and sounds of the Big Easy. We left on Thursday morning and took Landry to the Barnhart's for an over night trip. We made it to N.O. around noon and headed straight to Gretna. It has a very large Vietnamese population and we knew we could find some food for her to eat there. I found a fabulous store called the Hong Kong Supermarket and it was huge! When I Googled it, it said it was the Walmart of Asian markets and it really was. We ate at a Pho(sounds like DUH with an f) restaurant and headed back to the city. We checked into the Bienville Hotel and was pleasantly surprised at how really nice it was. I got the rooms for $62 night and it included breakfast! It was right in the middle of everything and the staff was very nice. We rested for about 30 minutes and then we took her to the St. Louis Cathedral. It is such a magnificent sanctuary and I was absolutely blown away by the art in the ceiling and the stained glass. As I was leaving, we made an offering and lit a candle for my baby girl, Sophie and of course it was the 12th one on the row! We walked around the N.O. and looked at the architecture and strolled around the river walk. One of the things that Sister Rosalie noticed was all of the tattoos on everyone. Every time she saw one she shook her head and grimaced. It was pretty funny to see her reaction to so many new things. She was really surprised at how big the city was. She had been to San Francisco but she didn't see the buildings up close the way she did down there. I wish I could do a Faces of Rosalie series. I could have had some doozies! One of the things I think Mike and I appreciated most about this trip was that we got to be tourist and we took the time to really look at the city in a way other than just hitting Bourbon Street. It was kind of nice to appreciate another side of it and we certainly did. Later that evening, we went to a Japanese restaurant and had a some dinner. We got her to her room and settled in and then Mike and I hit the town! YEP! Sister Rosalie and Landry were both in safe places and we took advantage of a night out. Can I just say, we had a REALLY good time. I won't go into detail but be assured that we made the most of the night. We met a great couple from New York celebrating his birthday and just danced and sang our hearts out! We had SUCH a good time that I ended up buying a round of drinks for a whole table of Army soldiers that were heading to Afghanistan. I guess between the Olympics, Sister Rosalie visiting and thinking about my favorite Soldier(my Daddy), I was feeling patriotic and I thought it would be a nice gesture. They were very appreciative and even toasted to us. The only thing that made me sad was the fact that a few of the guys looked like they were barely out of high school. They were just babies. I hope they make it back safely. Anyway, here is a sneak peek of tomorrows post. Good times ahead!