Quarter View

The Big Easy waking up.

Business is up and booming. I often get asked if it has recovered from Hurricane Katrina and from what it looks like downtown, I'd say it is very close to looking 'normal' (the way it did before 2005).

Jackson Square and the St. Louis Cathedral. The Cabildo (old city hall) is to the left of the cathedral, The Presbytere to the right.

The Natchez steamboat. This one was built in 1975. I wonder if this boat looks similar to the one that Mark Twain piloted in the 1850's.

 Trolley Car-- these always remind me of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. :-)

 Classic Quarter scene.

 Quaint Quarter homes.

Muriel's Restaurant. This originally started out as a humble cottage in 1718 and was subsequently torn down and reconstructed sometime between 1743 and 1762 to become an opulant private residence and what you see today. It became a restaurant in 2001 and according to the owners and local patrons, it is reportedly haunted.

Many pathways lead to small gardens or private courtyards. This one is a public corner off of the French Market.

The good old muddy Mississippi.

 Another quiet nook.

I often wonder how old all of the buildings are since some were destroyed by fire in 1788 and again in 1794. Many of the buildings just smell pretty old-- history really does have a scent!

Jackson Square facing the Mississippi River. Back in the 1800's, you could see the river from the Square, but it became imperative to build a levee thus blocking the view of the river. However, by standing on the 'Moon Walk' {the river walk named after former Mayor Moon Landrieu} you can get a clear view of Jackson Square and the Mississippi.

 The city at dusk.

Quirky Quarter

And now for a little New Orleans flavor...

'Who Dat' refers to the NFL New Orleans Saints and more specifically the phrase that Saints fans chant-- "Who dat say they gonna beat dem Saints? Who dat? Who dat?"

Baby Saints fans have a different version of the above chant that goes, "Poo Dat!"

Legal Saints fans (21 & older) would be all over this beer mobile. It's a cooler with wheels!

Then you have street performers like this one decked out in silver paint and full metallic gear doing the robot for spare change....

Or you have balloon artists like this guy who will whip up a balloon and give it to your kids before you can say, "Ummm, that's ok." and then ask you for a "donation".

There are even literal street artists!

Sweet holy tackiness. Notice 'Saint Drew Brees', winner of Super Bowl XLIV and slayer of Kurt Warner, Brett Favre and Peyton Manning.

Speaking of Saint Drew, how about this lovely addition to your home?

You laugh, but this is high priced art in the French Quarter all because of that iconic blue dog.

Vampire or zombie? You decide.

Who's YOUR crawdaddy?

Ahhh, yes. The Zoltar machine from the movie 'Big' with Tom Hanks. I wished that Peyton would go from a testy toddler to a perfect potty trained angel.

Yep, it didn't happen.

I want my money back.

Pan handlers, street vendors, 'psychics', portrait artists, street musicians and that guy in the red shirt... you can find them all surrounding Jackson Square.

Swing dancing in the street with a full band.

Graffitti on the trains, on buildings, sidewalks, abandoned houses, occupied houses, urinals, on top of other graffitti- in short, everywhere.

A long line of horse drawn carriages and the smell of crap they leave behind. Not as romantic as you might think.

Cajun hot sauce and seasoning are a local obsession. There are literally hundreds of variations of cajun seasonings including one called, 'Slap Ya Mama'.

Nice.

Po-boy love. Funnily enough, Troy who was born and raised in New Orleans and who has had many a po-boy has never heard of the Leidenheimer company. Guess they can't be that much a part of the 'cultcha'. :)

Mardi Gras Court Jester who likes to be paid under the table. Notice the pail-o-tips to the left.  

Watch out for those loose women. I hear they like to frequent the street below.

Bourbon Street: a one way street to Hades.

Quintessential New Orleans: a window case filled with seafood and beer bottles.

What the Locals Do After a Humid Day Strolling New Orleans

They get Sno-balls! Believe it or not, Sno-balls are very different than snow cones (and much better). Sno-balls are much softer due to how the ice is shaved (versus snow cones which are just chipped and crushed ice) and they are extra tasty because of the copious amounts of syrup that is drizzled from top to bottom.

Anyway, it certainly was hot enough for Sno-balls after our walk downtown and the kids were looking pretty wilted and parched.  So we did what any local would do-- we made our way to Sal's on Metairie Road to get ourselves some sweet ice-y goodness in a cup!

Troy and Peyton ordered the Purple Dawn which are Strawberry and Spearmint syrups put together. Those two combinations wouldn't ordinarily sound good together, but it was actually quite tasty!

Chloe and I ordered the Joker which were Rasperry, Blackberry and Grape syrups all put together.

Did you notice the LSU shirt in this picture? I told you they're crazy about their LSU Tigers here! :-)

Peyton didn't want to wait for Daddy to give him a spoon full so he grabbed a chunk of ice off the top as I was taking this picture! His aim isn't always the best so most of it landed on his feet which were in sandals and it gave him a bit of a shiver.

Once Chloe had one bite, that was all she wrote! She was barely patient enough for me to take a bite and quickly dip the spoon back in to give her a turn once more!

That's one wine colored face of satisfaction!

Such happiness over a simple pleasure!

I'm not sure she liked it, are you? We might have to try it again sometime to see for sure. ;-)

Check out Mr. Strawberry Lips! I'm thinking next time we shouldn't walk so close to the cemetary- he looks possessed! Then again, we've been thinking that long before this trip.

Maybe it's just because he's a toddler. 

But then again, you never know; ESPECIALLY when you're in New Orleans. :-0

{Michalopoulos Art Gallery} French Quarter, New Orleans

Now I'll let you in on a little secret...

One of the real reasons we wanted to go back and visit The Big Easy was because we wanted to scope out some paintings for our home. We are smitten with the work of James Michalopoulos and think that it would be a perfect and fitting touch to add a little New Orleans to our Texas home.

Troy was born and raised in New Orleans; in fact, the hospital he was born at is only 7 minutes from the hospital Peyton was born at (27 years later). So New Orleans is firmly rooted in Troy's heart and even with all of its problems and crime, I have a soft spot in my heart for it too. 

After our breakfast of beignets, we headed down town, paid for parking and settled the kids in the stroller. We bounced down the uneven sidewalks and smelled the original scent that is New Orleans and made our way to the gallery with haste.

James' art style is wild and impressionistic and reminds me a lot of Vincent Van Gogh with a Creole feel. It is vibrant, textured, vivid and really captures what it means to live in New Orleans.

 There are so many that I wish I could call my own...

The Garden District style homes (see painting at bottom right) get me every time. I love those beauties with their wide porches, distinct gables and quaint courtyards and gardens. 

I love the funky cars he paints too. Troy thinks they are 'cool' but don't evoke enough of a New Orleans flair to him. 

This serigraph print is one of my absolute favorites. It shows Louis Armstrong standing outside on St. Louis Street in the French Quarter holding his trumpet and wiping the sweat from his face. I just love the golden glow from the windows, the crescent moon in the sky, the band waiting for him back inside and the pure look of joy on his face. Just beautiful.  

Oops, this one turned out a little blurry; but you get the idea. This is a painting of one of the many thousands of above ground graves that can be seen in cemetaries across the Crescent City. The reason that the dead are buried above ground and not below in New Orleans is because the water level is so high that in many cases, to dig deep enough for a grave, you'd risk hitting water. This presented a nasty result during Hurricane Katrina when there were literally corpses floating in the rising water levels because they were swept out of their tombs. I'm just glad I was spared that particular image of the city...

 The tilting angles of the buildings in the French Quarter really make me think of Van Gogh- that painting in the center is superb don't you think? 

Check out that blue car! Wouldn't it be fun to ride around in a classic vehicle? The building looks familiar, and I'm sure my New Orleans friends will be able to tell me what it is but my mind just can't figure out where I've seen it before.

More art from upstairs. 

James also paints depictions of nature; one of my true hearts delights. I adore trees- and he captures them in his colorfully kaleidoscope way. 

Troy really likes the yellow house with the tree branches caressing the sky and framed in by moon and cloud swirls. I really like the swirly pond to the right of that painting.

How now brown cow? I must admit that I love that brown cow. I'm not sure where I'd ever put it, but the bright blues, greens and brown and cream looks lovely together. I also love Peyton sneaking a peek outside to see all the action on the street.

Troy is just so-so with the man taking a stroll down the street, but I ♥LOVE♥ this piece of art. I love the beautiful homes in the background, the light shining down from the moon and the happiness on the man's face. Perfect. 

This picture doesn't do it justice, but the painting of Satchmo is truly beautiful and unique. All of the swirls of paint and color combined, the action of Louis playing the trumpet- it's stunning.  

 This one at the top is Troy's favorite and very likely will be a giclee hanging in our home within the next 6 months. Although we'd love to have the original, we just don't have $27,000 lying around. Yes, you read that right. 27 G's! The giclee's price isn't anything to sneeze at either, but is certainly more affordable than the original.

Here are some other favorites that weren't at the gallery the day we went {James was in San Francisco at a meet and greet at his gallery there so he took a bunch of our favorites with him}.

"Home"

"Trees to Please"

"Marigny Made"

"Greek Revival"

What do you think? Do you like Michalopoulos as much as we do?