The morning started with me rising before my alarm. I had trouble sleeping as I did not want to miss my alarm; I kept waking up. I managed broken sleep and rose before my 6:30 alarm around 6, and started on the long blog for Thursday’s busy day. It took me until 8:45 to finish. I wrote and did the usual things, including making coffee using the in-room coffee maker and updating Quicken. I jumped in the shower and soon we met downstairs.
We walked toward the Mississippi River, then to the French Market, and finally to Cafe du Monde. Today it was powdered sugar and beignets! And we got some of their smooth coffee with chicory. We ordered two small orders of the fried sweet-style bread, two each, for breakfast. It was loud and crowded, and we did not need to reexperience this.
After that, we walked to the Hop-on Hop-off Bus for New Orleans (NOLA), bought a day pass for over $50 each (cheaper than Uber), and soon were enjoying a view from the top of the bus and a tour guide covering the area. I think it is the best way to see the city (though I have not tried the streetcar), and soon we were out of the French Quarter and in the central city.
It always reminds me of the land-of-expense-reports and conventions. The places seem mostly to cater to the accident tourists of business travelers. There are always a few places I wish I had time for—some jazz and food places—but so far I have stayed in the French Quarter and the Garden District.
The same is true for the World War 2 museum; someday I will spend a few days looking and then return on other trips to cover the parts I missed. But again, I never fit it in.
We leave the bus on the edge of the Garden District and decide on Gris-Gris for dinner. This is an on-the-edge southern restaurant, and we are given the kitchen bar location. We get to watch them make the food. The place does not disappoint. Dondrea has the chicken gizzards over grits and a bowl of gumbo. We shared the gizzards, and it was amazing. I tasted the gumbo, and it was terrific, with extra flavors that might be from filé gumbo powder. I had the pot toast, recommended by our waiter; it was a dream. Donna tried a bowl of gumbo with a wonderful house salad. It was a joy and a pleasure to eat and watch the cooking. Recommended!
We headed back to stop 11 on the Hop-on Hop-off, and Dondrea ran to the bus to hold it up while Donna and I caught up. Without too much trouble, we then continued the tour on the bus, entered the Garden District proper, and saw all the expensive homes and mansions, including Ann Rice’s former home.
We rode the bus back into the French Quarter. I am someday going to get off at Riverwalk, walk the levee of the Mississippi River, look into the paddlewheel there (I have done the one in the French Quarter), take a tour, and maybe visit the aquarium, too. But not today.
We stopped at the Marigny area and soon walked the one block (I first started the wrong way) to Frenchman Street near Washington Park. I am happy to see we are near Snug Harbor and The Spotted Cat jazz clubs. We walk the path towards the Mississippi River, and soon hear excellent jazz and smell great food, but we are not looking for food right now!
We find that The Maison, our target, is not yet open, and head back a few doors to the 30/90 to find a seat. Daphne Lee Martin was belting out an eclectic mix of jazz, folk, blues, and hints of rock with her band. We heard the end of the first set and stayed for three more, sipping soda pop drinks with the mixology class on our mind. I talked to the lead singer on one break, and they will be in Oregon later. I will have to try to find her. I signed the guest book and hope to get some information.
Daphne Lee Martin and the band kept getting better and better as they played. Their last sets are excellent. We leave before the final song, as it is time for The Maison Mixology Class. During the break between sets, I noticed the jazz club was now open, so I talked to folks and learned what we needed to do.
We climbed to a balcony-like area in Maison with a bar, and Chris, our bartender and teacher, was ready for us. Donna and Dondrea were partners, and I got Chris because there was an odd number. Excellent. We could tell that Chris knows his stuff and the history of his drinks. I hear him revising the history I had heard in a bar-hopping tour in the French Quarter on one of my trips. Chris showed us how to shake and open the shaker. He pours the booze for legal reasons, but the rest of the work was ours. There were six folks besides us three. We were soon shaking, straining, and tasting. We make a Pimm’s Cup first, and mine was bright and refreshing. Next, the Hurricane, made following the original recipe rather than the industrial version, was quite good. Chris won’t split that one with me, and I drink much of it with Donna, taking some too. With fresh juices and less sugar, it too seemed a refreshing drink; but, beware, it is full of rum you do not taste!
Chris makes us each a Sazerac, though we get to stir it, all of us trying to get the proper bartender motion. I add the garnish, and it makes for a softer, more expressive drink than the ones I have had. Even Donna liked it.
Vieux Carre is a mix of two drinks, and we quickly put it together, and it is, unlike the Sazerac, not fragile. It is not at all boozy like a Saerac, but it beguiles you as it is full of booze. It was lovely; I had never had one before.
We talked to Chris for a while after the drinks were done. We were all quite happy. We learned that Chris is in his last nursing classes. He is moving to the medical field. We talked about various drinks, discovered he was a gun collector, and discussed guns a bit.
We managed to get off the stools without falling to the floor! We got downstairs and were granted a table on the main floor; I had been very polite when asking for help earlier (polite works here), and they were willing to seat us. I also think they are proud of their class and us students.
We enjoyed The Shotgun Jazz Band (here). They were great musicians and show people. I could watch them over and over. We got some light items—still stuffed and now tipsy—we tried the fries with gumbo. An excellent alternative to a bowl of soup. I also ordered 6 oysters in the Rockefeller format. Dondrea had two. They were perfect.
We left The Maison after the band finished, thanking the staff. The drag show stars were outside to advertise their later show in the upper area. We decided to stick to our promise to get some sleep tonight and not stay up all night, or at least late.
We found the night art show was on and did it as a side trip on the way out. It was full of edgy art that Dondrea pointed out had a different, if not strange, feel. I agreed.
We walked the four blocks back to our hotel. We arrived without issue, and soon I was back in my room.
I spent the rest of the evening writing this blog. It is louder tonight. I like the sleepy days better, Mon-Thur.
Thanks for reading.
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