One of the main purposes of our trip south was to meet our old friends Jean, Clair and Hugues in New Orleans, where they were vacationing from France. We first met them and their son Bastien many years ago when we were all staying at the same B&B in South Dakota. I think Hugues was 13 at the time, and now he is 27.
Our time together was a brief few days, but we made the best of it. Below we’re at Briquette with the owner and new friend AJ Tusa who graciously gave us a kitchen tour and allowed us to choose our own fish. The meal was outstanding, as was the service and hospitality. A definite highlight of our time in NOLA.
In the Briquette kitchen with redfish, red snapper, grouper and more fish that were swimming less than 24 hours before we gratefully devoured them.
We had intermittent thundershowers through the day, but that didn’t keep us inside for long. Here’s a street scene from Jackson Square, where we ate a lunch of gumbo, po’boy sandwiches and jambalaya. Folks gotta eat for fuel, and it gave us a chance to dry off.
We watched the steamboats along the Mississippi and toured the Louisiana State Museum in The Cabildo, a former government building and prison originally built in 1795.
This is a statue in honor of immigrants who built our country. I felt very moved there, reminded of my own ancestry and knowing that America still provides refuge for my friends, the Osmani family from Afghanistan. I wish more Americans would open their hearts to others from afar.
New Orleans’ is filled with gorgeous, wet and mossy Southern Live Oaks.
A bientot— until we meet again!
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