A New Orleans Getaway: Day 3

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How about Day 2? Click Here

Our third day in New Orleans was also our 1-year anniversary, so we celebrated by taking a river cruise!  See how excited Bossyboots is?

Not really - he was just putting on a show.  :)  We started off our day on a lunchtime cruise aboard the Steamboat Natchez.  The boat piped out calliope music (that I think was live), so Bossyboots danced himself up the gangplank.

The cruise was actually one of the highlights of our trip; I totally recommend it.  For two hours, we just chilled and watched the banks of the river pass us by. 

The boat offered a pretty decent lunch.  The food wasn't A+++, but it was good - we cleaned our plates! 

I took a break from photos as we spent the majority of our day wandering the streets and then stopping for a lil ice cream.  It was hot out - we needed it!

For dinner, we just left our hotel and walked into the first place that looked tasty...

I know pizza isn't a New Orleans food, but we ARE pizza lovers.  It was actually really great!  The pizzeria was located on Decatur, to the West side of the French Quarter.  I believe it was even named "The French Quarter Pizzeria"!  The pizza was neapolitan style, and we chose a Greek pizza w/ feta and olives, then a muffaleta pizza...also with olives.  I enjoy olives, what can I say?

For several days, we'd been joking about getting our tarot cards read.  We thought it'd be a fun laugh, and we weren't taking it seriously.  Our end destination for the night was supposed to be live jazz at Preservation Hall... and it was right across the street from a voodoo shop.  Of course that meant we HAD to waste time getting our cards read while we waited for the music to start.  :)

The reading took longer than I thought it would  - about an hour for both of us.  The reader gives an overall impression, and then you can ask specific questions.  Although, since they charge $20 each, they probably want you to feel like you got your money's worth.  I REALLY wanted to take photos, but that seemed extremely inappropriate, so I didn't.  Sorry, Sad Panda.

Our reader was super normal, and actually not awkward at all.  We were led to the back of the voodoo shop, behind a beaded curtain that came straight from your dad's attic.  Bossyboots went first, and we were surprised that his reading was actually extremely specific and accurate - no stretches of imagination.  I started to wonder if he'd peeked in Bossyboots' wallet somehow.

Then... it was my turn!  If you've never had cards read before, you select five cards out of a very large stack.  I picked one, two, three, four, five cards.  Our voodoo guy turned each card over one by one, and I noticed that two of the cards featured very voluptuous women in various reclining positions. 

Eyebrows cocked.

Our reader: "Sooooo, out of 78 potential cards, you pulled 2 fertility cards.  You have fun with that."

Oh Tarot Reader, you are humorous.

My reading was also surprisingly familiar and specific.  Color me surprised.  We went into our reading for a lark, and it was much different than I expected. I thought he'd tell me I had a rainbow-colored aura or that my spirit animal was a unicorn!  (My spirit animal is a piglet, in case you were wondering.  I decided that they're pink; my soul is pink.  It's perfect.)

Anyway, we stepped out of the dark voodoo shop into the sunlight and joined the looooooooooooong line for Preservation Hall.  For your own trip to New Orleans, if you want to visit Preservation Hall, make sure to get in line an hour before they open.  There are only a few seats, and the hall overall is not large.

Once inside, Bossyboots and I were relegated to standing room only, but that was ok.  We just wanted to hear the music.

We really enjoyed the music.  It wasn't rompin' stompin', but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  There is no bar, but you can bring in drinks from Pat O'Briens next door, no problem.  Also, the cover of $12 is good for all night.

After a few hours, we manned up and finally made it out to Bourbon St.  (As two claustrophobics, we had been too chicken before.)

Seemingly by magic, we found ourselves back by Cafe du Monde, and we *had* to order frozen cafe au lait and beignets.  HAD to.

Tomorrow, our NOLA expedition concludes with BBQ shrimp, ferry time, and a new friend.  :)

Comments

[Serena]

Ahhh, the powdered sugar on those beignets is just calling my name! Sounds like a fun (and yummy) time :)

[Vee]

I had my cards read in NoLa and was surprised by how much sense the reading made to my life as well. Also, he just said some things to me that weren't necessarily "predictions" or statements on my life but that really touched me and affected my life. The only thing I can specifically remember is that he said he believed when we have a pet, we give them a piece of our soul. I had just gotten my first dog (I told him this; not something he "saw") and it made me cry!

[Wrigley T-Mama]

Senor Diamondback and I also took a riverboat ride on Natchez!!! We loved it, what a lazy but somehow really interesting 2 hours spent on the Mississippi!