I slept in, missed the Community Service day, but walked “all over” the French Quarter for three hours, looking at lots of nice three-storey houses with iron-railed balconies. I had some crackers in the morning, then wandered around for almost three hours before finding the Cafe du Monde and its famous French beignets – a sort of puffy pillow of eggy pastry, deep-fried and then whisked to your table. Finally, a reason for powdered sugar! It keeps the beignets warm. Back at the hotel (Canal & Bourbon), I went to the conference welcoming buffet – a good thing, too, I was hungry.
Then a group of us went out again – I wanted a dark ale and they were after oysters. We waited in line for half an hour, then got into one oyster place where we could stand by the bar watching patient fellows shuck live oysters for our pleasure. I slipped away, ogling the costumes in the street — it’s the Saturday before Halowe’en. The streets are narrow – buld before cars were thought of, they’re at most two lanes wide. One of the tourist attractions is a tour by mule-drawn open carriage. But I resisted temptation — it’s $60. So I’ve had lots of fresh air today.
