Last Day of Lovin Nawlins

Joan's View

Lots more food & fun today in Nawlins.

Nawlins was meant to be for us Schroeders.

Our Sherpa led us to … wait for it...

The Winslows "framed"

Cheese

Rum still on his mind

...Mardi Gras World in the morning, where they build many of the Mardi Gras floats.

The Mean Mom team

We took a tour of the float making process and had some fun photo opps, as you can see.

Tony's meditating buddy

What would have been if that ref had made the right call

Check out KISS above Tony's head.

Yikes! Alligator

From there, we took a Mardi Gras World shuttle to the French Quarter. Tom found a muffuletta sandwich at the Central Grocery. He had been drooling for that sandwich since he got to New Orleans. At the French Market, I found an alligator sausage stick and Cindy found a crab cake.

We had to stop to get a picture of St. Joan on her horse as well. Gotta love St. Joan!

We headed back toward Jackson Square to visit the St Louis Cathedral. Lots of street people, performers and vendors were out today. Several cruise ships were in port so along with the gorgeous weather here, the streets were crowded. Amazingly, we caught our same shuttle with perfect timing. The driver was full of lots of information about the area.

Dinner tonight was extra special! We got to meet our future daughter-in-law's (Linda's) sister Anel & her husband Ricky. Since they live in New Orleans, we asked them to pick the dinner spot and they chose Katie's. What's even better is that Katie's is where they had their wedding rehearsal dinner, so they must be super food savy. In addition, Katie's was featured on the show "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives." Thanks Anel & Ricky! We loved it!

Tony's Extras

I thought the Cathedral was beautiful from the outside and there were street performers outside the front door. Inside was nice also, but not super spectacular compared to all the beautiful churches we have seen this year. I was amazed at all the floats and the size of them. They do 200 floats per year of the 500 floats used in all the parades in New Orleans. You can't reuse the same float in the same yearI it is a law. I am ready to get on the bicycle even with 22mph headwinds.

Also, thanks Anel and Ricky for all the dirt on Linda and Wade.