Going For A Walk: New Orleans {Or Dodgy RV Parks Mean More Beignets}

I was looking back at our blog the other day and realized that there are a number of adventures we had during our USA road trip that I haven't told you about yet. Like the time we stayed at a dodgy RV park in New Orleans. The great thing about dodgy RV parks in  New Orleans is that they're cheap (for New Orleans, that is) and that means you have more money to spend on beignets. The bad thing about dodgy RV parks is that they're, well, dodgy.

Although I blogged about the lack of public toilets in New Orleans back in January (and if you're of a certain age, you'll agree that knowing where the public toilets are is an important consideration!), I haven't taken you on a walk through the Big Easy. So have a little wander with us from the comfort of your couch and I'll show you what we got up to. If you have some beignet mix, you might want to fry up some to munch on while we go on our little walk. Don't forget the powdered sugar.

Here's where our little walk starts - at the Pelican RV Park. This was the view from our window. Do you like the barbed wire? While not pretty to look at, it was oddly reassuring. Because if you're staying in this part of town and leaving your camper unattended while you explore New Orleans, it's comforting to know that there is a barbed wire fence around the place and a locked gate.

Sure we could have stayed at a posh RV park, like the French Quarter RV Resort, but why pay close to $100 a night when you can get a bargain rate of only $27 a night? To be fair to the Pelican RV Park, while it wasn't pretty, the manager was extremely helpful and responsive and told us that they're in the process of changing the place over from a mobile home park to a proper RV park. So maybe things are looking spiffier now. 

Once you leave the barbed wire compound, you head up two blocks to the bus stop. (You can get a one day Jazzy Pass for $3.) The Pelican RV Park is five miles away from the French Quarter, which was a bit too far for us to walk, considering all the walking we would be doing in the city. Plus I hadn't had any breakfast yet, as I was saving myself for beignets, so the energy levels weren't really up there for a long walk.

Beignets. Yum. Have you ever had them? Fried dough with heaps of powdered sugar on them. This is the place to go - Cafe du Monde. Scott had never tried them before. I'm guessing they aren't a big seller in North Dakota. He was balking at spending $2.42 on a plate of tiny doughnuts, but, after one bite, he was a convert. Powdered sugar and deep fried dough will do that to a fellow. He had no qualms about shelling out more money for a second helping.

While you're scarfing down beignets, you can hear the folks playing jazz outside. It will make your toes start tapping. Even if you try to stop them, they'll start tapping on their own. Between the sugar overload and the music, you'll be feeling fine.

Then it was time to walk those beignets off! We could have shelled out for a horse drawn carriage, but I'm allergic to horses and Scott's allergic to spending money unnecessarily. So we set off on foot.

 It was a pretty drizzly day. But it kind of made the waterfront look romantic.

After having a peek at the waterfront, we wandered aimlessly around the city. Sometimes, you just need to put away your map and see where your feet take you.

There's music everywhere you go.

Scott likes taking pictures of old ghost signs.

At some point the sun came out and we moseyed around watching the street performers.

New Orleans is definitely a party town. I wonder how much alcohol is consumed each day?

Like every good tourist to New Orleans, we made our way to the historic cemetery. Like eating beignets and listening to jazz, it's kind of expected that you check out the old tombs. Just preferably not at night. Apparently, roaming around the cemetery after dark is even dodgier than the RV park we stayed at.

And of course, no visit to New Orleans would be complete without Ethiopian food. We took the streetcar out to the Garden district in search of doro wat. There were two Ethiopian restaurants to choose from. I chose poorly. So sad when you get yourself all giddy and excited at the thought of Ethiopian, only to wish you had had beignets instead.

Have you ever been to New Orleans? Did you have beignets and Ethiopian food?

{We explored New Orleans, stayed at a dodgy RV park and ate way too many beignets on 10-12 January 2015.}  

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