Beginnings of summer

I already know that I'm going to love this city.

Liz picked me up from the airport Sunday afternoon and after making a couple of wrong turns, we ended up in the French Quarter instead of the Garden District. First lesson learned: New Orleans is a city made up of one-way streets. Although by accident, we took a miniature tour of the Big Easy, driving through St. Charles Avenue, spotting the Mississippi River, and finally passing Magazine Street. I tried to take a mental note of each Jazz club we passed, hoping to go later in the week. I also saw the Street Car (not Trolley!) speed by, and I couldn't help thinking of Tennessee Williams (thank you, Mrs. Stearns). After settling in to our condo on the corner of St. Andrew and Camp street, Liz and I went to get lunch at Slice, a pizza and salad restaurant on St. Charles. We then made our grocery store run and went back to the condo. At night I went out to eat with Tim and his mom at a restaurant by St. Peters. We took a taxi back to the Garden District, and the cab driver said the quote of the day: "Don't cry when you're full. Only cry on an empty stomach."

On Monday we started off exploring Magazine street. We went in to a store that sold alligator heads and trilobite fossils (woo geology!). We then took the street car to the French Quarter, stopping on Canal Street. We walked to the Mississippi River, watched the steam boats go by, and made plans to come back to check out the Aquarium. We pretty much walked all day, which made me realize how hot it is in New Orleans. Second lesson learned: wear something you can sweat in during the day. For lunch we ate at the Red Fish Grill, the same owners of the place we went for dinner. If you ever go to New Orleans, you HAVE to go to Bacco on Chartes Street in the French Quarter. The lobster ravioli was probably the best thing I've ever tasted...ever. I start work on Thursday, so I plan to get to know the Big Easy more before then.