Left Couchatta and had a fairly uneventful trip through Lafayette and Baton Rouge to New Orleans. We were travelling on Highway 10 and crossed an area called Henderson Swamp. The bridge over the swamp was impressive and seemed to never end, 18 miles of bridge covering probably the biggest swamp/wetlands I have ever seen. We drove into New Orleans Downtown area and the first thing we noticed was homeless/beggars everywhere, more than any other place in to US I have been to. Our Hotel is located about 5km from the French Quarter but on the handy New Orleans Streetcar St Charles line. We dropped our bags in the room and grabbed the streetcar down to the French Quarter. It is $1.75 one way or $3 for a 24 hour pass, very cheap travel. We must have hit it at peak hour as it was packed. Got off on Canal St right at the start of the famous Bourbon St. We started wandering down Bourbon St, note that it is still light and about 6pm. My initial reaction is the street is feral, the bars are tacky and very loud, lots of drunks staggering around already. We turned off Bourbon St and the atmosphere immediately got better. We had a few drinks, wandered between bars, had dinner and headed home. The American bars are annoying, they are all restaurants as well so if you just want a beer you have to sit at the bar and there are normally minimal seats. All of the tables are reserved for eating only. Booked the swamp tour for early in the morning so time for sleep