Today we headed back to the French Quarter, with the intent of spending some time in the revitalized Riverfront area and then having supper at a Cajun restaurant with Cajun music.

We took the bus that heads down Esplanade Ave to the downtown, which was only about a 10 min ride . We walked over to see the Ursaline Convent that was closed the other day when we were there (New Orleans' oldest and most historic building, built in 1745), then headed back toward the riverfront to a restaurant to have po-boys for lunch. Along the way, we saw a great little hillbilly band playing in the street. They were the best! I've attached a video of them.

Po-boys are standard lunch fare here - they are like subs, except on a French bread loaf with fillings like deep fried shrimp, oysters, and catfish, or the more traditional chicken and roast beef. After lunch we headed to the riverfront and walked down the Riverwalk past Woldenberg Park and the Aquarium of America, to the Algiers Ferry dock. The ferry is free for pedestrians, so we rode it across to Algiers (only about 5 min) on the Mississippi River.

Algiers, established in 1719, is the second oldest neighborhood in New Orleans. It was first used for the location of the city's first powder magazine, and a holding area for the newly arrived African slaves . We walked briefly in Algiers, then back across on the ferry to the Warehouse / Art district (huge disappointment). :( We were tired by this time, so we stopped at Ryan's Irish Pub and Roger had a couple of beers (one was AndyGator - 8% alcohol ... lol). What is kind of interesting here is that you can walk around the streets with your alcoholic beverage - you just ask for it to be put in a plastic cup (they call it a go-cup) before you leave the bar, and you can wander with it. Roger is spoiled now - he says shopping is way better when he can follow me around with a beer in his hand!

For supper we went to a Cajun dance/supper place called Mulate's. We had grilled gator for our appetizer (tastes like chicken ... lol), then shared a platter of crawfish made in different ways (fried, au gratin, etouffe (sort of like a stew on rice), and grilled) with a double baked potato and vegetables. I'm gonna have to buy new pants if this keeps up. :(

A Cajun band called La Touche was the entertainment tonite. We danced between courses, and watched two cute old couples who danced every song. After a while, the one gentleman's wife was too tired to dance so he came and asked Roger's permission to dance with me. Awww. He was adorable. He showed me how to do the Cajun jitterbug, and the Cajun waltz (which has lots of twirls). What a blast!! (by the way "Who dat" is a phrase that's all over the place here - on advertising, t-shirts, etc) - hence the title of this entry "Who dat dancin'??". ;o)

Tomorrow we're heading to Houma, Louisiana (about an hour south) to go on an airboat Swamp Tour! Should be interesting - the fellow Roger talked to on the phone had such a thick accent that he couldn't understand him, so goodness knows what we're in for. ;o)