French Quarter 101

We are planning on taking a nap because all of our systems are

thrown out of whack by the weird travel times (I guess we’re already seeing how Oscar will do with time zone changes too in this way), but Oscar is having none of it.  So, we all get things together and head out with the stroller that I researched until John grew tired

 of me discussing it.  I bought the most ostentatious, ridiculous stroller that I wasn’t even going to try at the store, but when I did, it was magic.  Even John says it’s a dream because he can push it one handed while drinking something and maneuver it

 over bad sidewalks, around people easily.  I’m glad that I did all the research and even more glad that I bought it on eBay for one third of the original price because it’s going to get beat up and  I don’t want to cringe every time I spill food on it etc…if it was just one hand fold, it would be the best 

 stroller out there for travel.  We took off for the river before we lost the light and headed up to the river walk.  As we’re standing looking out at the river, we realize that Oscar’s pacifier is gone and we didn’t put the little clip on it that we brought with us precisely 

 because we knew that this was going to happen.  I figured it happened at the trolley tracks which were bumpy and walked back and got it easily enough, but lesson learned, use the damn clip Jo!!!  We had another WTF moment when we are walking through the Riverwalk and come upon the 

 New Orleans Holocaust Memorial.   I mentioned that I understood this in Paris, they handed over the majority of their Jewish population without a qualm to the Nazis, but as far as I know, New Orleans didn’t do that.  I understand that there are Jewish people here who lost relatives and want a reminder, 

First bite of a beignet is a hit

but this is a beautiful piece of art by Yaakov Agam that has meaning and needs several plaques to explain it and it’s in New Orleans, LA.  And 100 yards away Plessy was arrested on a streetcar for riding in the all white car and there is nothing to commemorate the separate but equal phase of

 American history.  Maybe some people have it right that we like to forget about the bad parts of our history, at least the Jewish people put some time and money into having people remember the awful history so that maybe it doesn’t happen again.  We continued on down the Riverwalk to Jackson 

Brewery and Café du Monde to get the first of a series of beignets that we plan to eat while we’re here.  Oscar appears to like his first bits of this treat, but we leave the powdered sugar off his bits to try to make it wholesome you know…Beignets in Jackson Square and strolling around the French Quarter for the first night in town in order to get out legs back under us.  But strolling through the French Quarter does not

 seem to be finding us food that we want to eat, so we head back to the hotel and get some recommendations there and continue to Gordon Biersch restaurant that the woman at the hotel said would be family friendly.  Forget the part about having high chairs for Oscar, 

they’re having a tapping party opening their new Belgian triple and John realizes that we have had these beers before in Michigan.  Since they’re handing out the triple for free because of the party, it seems like this stop was meant to be for John.  He had a great steak and I had Bruschetta chicken that was sadly not as good as the one at Blue Lake Tavern back home.  Who would have thunk it?  I didn’t, but Oscar busily ate rice cakes, packets and little bits of his cookies and we were able to have a nice meal that again gives me hope for a trip to Europe not being a total nightmare.  After a great dinner like that, all 3 of us crashed hard when we returned to the hotel.  We all needed over 10 hours of sleep to try to make up for this first day of traveling.  Unfortunately, it was interrupted sleep because Oscar would wake up periodically most likely because of the noises in the hotel, sirens on Canal Street, etc and then would get upset because he couldn’t figure out where he was.  This kid is going to have to get used to waking up in weird places if he’s going to hang with us.  A little head patting and soothing talk and he’s back down again pretty easily, but I’m hoping that this doesn’t happen every night.