Quite a tiring journey from Nashville to New Orleans, as we had a stopover in Atlanta. However, upon arrival at our Homewood Suites hotel, although early, our room was ready. A change into lighter clothing, and off we go exploring.
It is noticeably warmer and more humid than previous destinations, but it is manageable. The French Quarter is very busy with people, and Bourbon Street is as expected, tacky and touristy.
Back to the hotel, then dinner at a restaurant up the road, which is Vietnamese. We will sample the local food tomorrow!
Today is our New Orleans bike tour. There are four other people on the tour, a group from New Zealand! Our tour guide is Eric, and he is excellent. A local, with great knowledge of the history of the area. It was interesting cycling around the inner city neighbourhoods. The overall impression was of a place of unique character, but quite rundown and grungy. The road surfaces were poor, and the areas were not at all affluent. New Orleans is built on a swamp, is hot and humid and vulnerable to hurricanes and flooding, so you need to be resilient to live here!
Eric took as to a cemetery. Burials must be above ground, due to the swampy, shifty ground below. Families are buried in mausoleums, stacked on top of each other. A coffin is placed in its burial site, and is not touched for a year. After this time, the heat has caused rapid deterioration of the body.
Overall, a really informative tour, one of the best we have done. For lunch we went to the famous Cafe du Monde, and indulged in the Beignet, deep fried squares of sweet yeast dough, absolutely covered in icing sugar. Once we removed most of the sugar, they were not bad, but hardly earth shattering.
