Well we finally made it to New Orleans withut freezing to death at night. its amazing how hot it is in the day and how it changes so dramatically at night. The first night we were here we went out and had a bit of a party down on Bourbon Street (as you can see from some of the pictures!) even tho its off peak its still really busy and they have all live bands in the pubs. As it was raining there wasnt any street bands but the atmosphere was still really cool. it was a pretty heavy night with getting back to the apartment at around 4 (probably had something to do with the cocktails we were drinking before we left........:o) But we had beds so we could have a really good sleep before exploring the city the next day.

So after a really long lay in - the most we have had since we arrived!!! we got ourselves together for a wander around the town. we headed to the french markets for breakfast and experienced a traditional meal in New Orleans called a 'Po Boy' which is like a french stick with salad and then catfish in a funny bready batter - it wasnt bad but needless to say we didnt try it again! the town has such little quaint houses and a real european feel, that it was hard not to take pictures! lol. i have only put a few up on the blog as there would be way to many for you all to look through.

That night we went out for dinner and had some traditional Gumbo, which isnt bad but they dont half add loads of hot sauce! jeez! lol, they take there hot sauce extremely seriously here and add it to everything. Again we went out but not for a huge one - we had another long drive the next day and sitting in the van with a hangover isnt exactly fun :o)

Today we headed to the 9th Ward which was the worst hit area 2 years ago during hurricane Katrina, and as you can see from the pix it still looks like a war zone. basically people couldnt afford to rebuilt there houses so they vacated and left them as piles of rubbish. There is some rebuilding but its really scarce, it honestly looks like the hurricane hit last week not 2 years ago.

We drove on down the Mississippi and did a swamp tour down the river which was quite good - the guide gave us loads of local knowledge on how Katrina hit the river system and the houses there. we could see boats upside down where people just couldnt be bothered to do anything and houses smashed to bits by falling trees. We even saw a snake and a croc! lol.

Tonight were chilling in Lafayette and watching DVDs before heading out to San Antonio tomorrow and the Alamo! should be fun.

xxxxxx