stepping off the edge

Here we are in, arguably, our favorite city to visit. Now before you roll your eyes and imagine drunken debauchery in the infamous French Quarter, no, that is not our form and no, it is not because we are old folks! Most tourists just fly in, get a hotel in the Quarter, and their whole image of this great city is alcohol and carrying on. Years ago we discovered the joy of Mid City. It is bordered by Tremé district and City Park. Clever factoid, City Park is the largest municipal park in the country. Now I am not using that fact to justify one of our more embarrassing yet typical escapades… getting hopelessly lost in familiar places. We have walked through this area dozens of times. This particular evening we were catching a free concert at the botanical gardens within the park.

It went on till dark, we parked conveniently close, and still we were lost in the dark and had to google our way out.

But here are some of the fabulous plants…

And then there was this little guy right in the middle of one of the greenhouses..

By the way, the little darling was all of 4′ long…

A little secret I have is to put a destination into google maps, turn the phone off, put it in my pocket and it will keep giving me voice direction that comes through my hearing aids! This way I can always be the hero to Mrs. T while making various rights and lefts, short cuts, little jukes through vacant lots and seem like a wizard of navigation. Naturally, after this post the jig is up. Here is a picture of the ridiculously simple path we should have followed.

See that circular area which denotes the Museum of Modern Art? See how our path goes around to the right? Correct! We went left and off to hitherto undiscovered lands. Now all the time I was, with great confidence, reassuring Mrs. T I knew exactly where I was going. Long about the time the light completely left us and the shadows were starting to look just a bit foreboding, I had to confess. Took the scolding I deserved, and pinpointed our car with the map. OK, no more about that, lets take a look at some of the fabulous pieces in the sculpture garden.

Mrs. T with her big sister…

Mrs. T in the mirror maze…

This next picture is a small section of a 60′ mural …

Now you may not be able to tell by this shot but this mural was made up of thousands of 1/4″ glass tiles…

Truly amazing art. The very first night in town we were told of a free concert at a historical home on the St. Johns Bayou. This waterway runs through Mid City and is a gathering place, fishing spot, farmers market location and home to several alligators (thankfully small) that make their way up from the river. This night none other than Delfeayo Marsalis and his group were playing.

When we come to New Orleans we often stay at a home exchange. This particular owner has become a friend. Sometimes staying at our place in Capitola and always making her home available to us. This is Yvette and she is one of the Pfister Sisters, a fun and talented group here. Below are a couple of clips of them doing what they do best, honoring the memory of a great team of singers from the past, The Boswell Sisters.

That’s about it for now, next… the food of New Orleans.