Monday, May 3, 2010

Birthday weekend, Day 1

Birthdays are usually low-key but stretched-out affairs in our household. Husband Walter’s official birth anniversary was Wednesday, and he and I celebrated at breakfast. A 5:30 a.m. birthday gift prior to a 6 a.m. start to his workday didn’t seem quite enough to me. Saturday, after a bit of dithering back and forth, we agreed that a quick trip to New Orleans for beignets is an appropriate birthday weekend activity.

During a beignet trek to the French Quarter in April, crowds, traffic, no available parking and a tight timeline eroded our determination to acquire the French doughnuts. Our ardor for the treats at Café du Monde had only increased with time. We struck out for New Orleans. Success at last!

Birthday beignets
After we savored every bite of the beignets and remodeled our attire liberally but accidentally with the accompanying powdered sugar, we conducted a little people watching. Cafe du Monde, situated at the end of the French Market and across from a corner of Jackson Square, is perfect for people watching. Then we indulged in another of our simple New Orleans traditions. We strolled the perimeter of Jackson Square, browsing among the artists, palm readers, musicians and visitors. We happened upon an energetic group of street musicians and the crowd they had attracted.

Engrossed in the French Quarter experience

High-energy attention grabbers

Emily Post of street entertainment

My husband took the photo above. For more of his New Orleans photos, go to Outside of Paris.

Lunch
We continued our stroll and wound up at the Pontalba Café on Jackson Square. We are far from foodies, so I will just list the things I liked most about this café: the floor to ceiling French doors that invite the outside in, a ringside seat to the constant activity outside those doors and the festive, friendly bustle inside.

Love those French doors

On the way to our van for our trip home, I took a few more snapshots of iconic French Quarter scenes. Then it was back to Mississippi.

Carriage ride, lady?

Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral

3 comments:

  1. Nice photos. I remember those beignets from many many years ago. Tip: do not exhale out of your nose while taking a bite or you will have powdered sugar all over your face. (Not that it's ever happened to me . . .)

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  2. Looks like ya'll had lots of fun - Happy Birthday to Baboo! Those beignets are calling to me - I have loved sweets with this pregnancy! Looking forward to seeing you both next week on Walker's "birth"day, if not before!!

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  3. @Katie - Every time our phone rings lately, I scramble frantically to answer, just in case Walker is an early bird! As if a few seconds will make a difference. Anyway, got my bags packed!

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