new orleans-a review

i really enjoyed visiting new orleans-the food and continuous live music is something you don't find everywhere.  the weather was perfect for walking around. the accommodations, while not sumputous, were very spacious, close to everything, and in a quiet neighborhood in the french quarter.  i wish we had spent more time walking along esplanade avenue.  i highly recommend reading barbara hamby's books on new orleans-gives you a glimpse of the city back in the day.  the rest of the photos are here.
some of the things we did:
~visited the st louis cemetary 1-one of the most unusual cemetaries i've ever visited.
~we did a culinary walking tour where we toured and sampled food from different restaurants-our tour guide was very informative and the food was excellent.  not many people get to walk into the kitchen at antoine's i'm sure.
~on our own we ate at the crescent city brewhouse, eat (nola), melanege, and cafe du monde
~we bought regional cookbooks, rootbeer extract, and in-house blended spices, and a really cool wisk for making roux
~listened to live music in the french market and dueling pianos at the howl at the moon. music was everywhere
~i tried on a hat at this shop
~bought a dipping pen and writing paper at this shop
~people watched on bourbon street and at the french market
~walked along the mississippi river, and walked some more
~watched football (we were between mealtimes-and it was a compromise since i dragged hubby into some of "my" shops.
~visited 2 galleries featuring works by local artists
~and yes, at bourbon cowboy i rode the mechanical bull-shocking i know-dont' tell the kids.
we'll definitely be going back again.