New Orleans

My Gulf to Lake roadtrip started from New Orleans or NOLA-New Orleans Lousiana. I spent five days there and thought it was great. The city has had a chequered and often dark history but it has picked itself up after Hurricane Katrina.
Lots to see in NOLA and lots of great food to eat. It's a pity that much of the famed French Quarter has become a tacky tourist trap and even the locals seem to be embarrassed by seedy Bourbon Street.
NOLA was the logical starting point of the trip and it was one of the highlights.

Canned cajun 'gator. Like Australian farmed crocodile apparently it tastes like chicken which is not surprising as that is what they feed them in the farms. Expensive way to buy chicken.

Draft Daiquiris,Very French Quarter.

This lady was waiting for a car outside our hotel in the cold. Very sporting of her to let me take her photo.

A traditional lunch on the first day-Crawfish boil. This is about one third of the serve.  It looks like a really big meal but the meat is only in the tail so each crawfish yields about the equivalent of a small prawn after a lot of work extracting it. Crawfish are similar to Australian yabbies.

Happy barman drawing me a beer in the Seaworthy restaurant. The beer in the US is great. Twenty years ago it was uniformly rubbish but the craft brewing revolution has totally changed the beer landscape.

Taking it easy. First afternoon Ace Hotel, NOLA.

Waiter at Tujagues restaurant. "All the friendly people where do they all come from?"

Artists studio ,French Quarter. Me thinks time for a clean up boys.

St Louis Cathedral.The cathedral and the square are major tourist spots populated by musicians -good and bad - and artists -mostly bad

Straight out of the 50s. Cafe in the park

Stunning Longue Vue House and Gardens.

Not sure that I would want to engage these guys as my attorneys.

Bag repairer, Magazine St, New Orleans

What is hip? Vinyl is hip. A large shop dedicated to selling vinyl on Magazine St.

A few metres from hipville .

Larry Flynt's Hustler Club. Which century are these guys living in? Seedy Bourbon St.

Jazz on Bourbon St. The guy playing the trumpet told me very forcibly to "f... off" . Too late I had the photo but I don't feel comfortable taking photos where I am not wanted. This was the only incident like this on the whole trip

A trombone on a seat. No sign of the player. St Louis Cathedral square. At least the trombone could not tell me to "f off"

I have no idea what this couple are doing but they seem to be enjoying themselves doing it

Fresh pralines, French Quarter. There are shops making/selling paralines all over the Quarter. Way too sweet for me.

Bar, Seaworthy Restaurant,NOLA.