Hello, New Orleans!

Some cities are just filled with magic.  London has magic.  St.Louis has spooky magic.  I think my Venice home has a good amount of sparkle magic.  But New Orleans… New Orleans is aalll magic.

I was lucky enough to visit this special city last week.  Because it was my first visit to New Orleans, I.. a) melted in the humidity.  b) was horrified by my frizzy hair.  c) drank daiquiris in the streets.  d) ate beignets several… SEVERAL times.

Want a peek?  Here we go!

In every new city visit, it’s really nice to start with a map.

Two big streets and a curve in the grid.

Evening hours in the French Quarter.

Horse heads everywhere.

Evening hours outside of Saint Louis Cathedral.

Dark and romantic.

Evening hours inside this smokey, candlelit bar.

There was piano music, people huddled in conversation, and a really smelly drunk dude that danced me into a corner.

Tell me you’ve been danced into a corner… that’s real.

Ham, butter, and brie on a baguette is one  of the best lunches EVER.  Thank you St. James Cheese Company!

Louisiana beer is also as fine as could be.  I’ve come to appreciate the wonders of the Strawberry Abita.

There’s a salad in that Bloody Mary… and I’m totally drinking this pineapple daquiri in the street!

It’s like a party everyday!

Any menu that serves Champagne and Fries is a menu I want to be reading.

I mean… come on!

Late night beignets at Cafe du Monde.

Yes… these were the second round of beignets I had eaten on this day.

Yes.. I ate a whole order myself.

Sometimes I have trouble sharing.

I spent a day at Jazzfest!

Crawfish bread.  Cold beer.  Gospel tent. And Ne-yo singing R&B Jamzzzzz!

Is this magic JR and the Inside Out Project!?

I think it is!

Look how rad humanity looks!

We ate big trays of crawfish!

It was awesome… but I’m still not sure how I feel about this.

Back to the beignets… clearly.

I was on a strict beignet diet.

In New Orleans I got to meet my oldest blog friend, Evan!

Evan and I have been chatting for the past four years.  She knows about various boy and cake disasters.  It was so nice to meet her and squeeze her pregnant belly.  Love!

The cemeteries in New Orleans.  So old and worn.

This particular cemetery had damaged headstones.  These piled up pieces feel beautiful and unfortunate.

The cemeteries are beautiful… and also put just a tinge of fear in my heart.  I don’t know what that is…

New Orleans is magic.  The food.  The sites.  The people.  The energy… you can feel it in the air.

Pro tips:

There is no need to lift your top for beads… you can get those anywhere.  They’re even hanging from trees… no joke.

Order more beignets than you think you’ll need… because you’ll need them.

Stand in line for fried chicken at Coop’s Place.

Don’t share your crawfish bread at Jazzfest.

Thank the people that make New Orleans magic.