Downtown, Down & Around

This post is a little late, but totally worth it. Saturday night was when it should have been posted, but instead Joey and I went downtown to eat a very well known New Orleans "donut," called a Beignet. They sell them pretty close to our house, but everyone agrees to get the full experience of a Beignet, you have to get them from Cafe Du Monde. Cafe Du Monde is located downtown in the French quarter, and is probably the cutest little shop they have down there.

Cafe Du Monde

Let's start this out by describing my Beignet experience.We got downtown and parked about a block or two away from the Cafe. In my opinion, one of the best things about downtown is walking down the sidewalks. As I walk down them, I'm constantly amazed at the uniqueness of the city. No matter which corner you turn, there are always people sitting on the step playing their guitars singing their little hearts away. With their buckets always open for tips, they seem so content. Almost like they aren't really there for the money, but instead just doing what they love without judgement.

We get to the Cafe, and Joey just walks in and leads me to a table. This to me was quite odd because with the hustle and bustle, I thought we'd have to wait in line for our table. We sat down at a little table and I begin to look around taking in the whole environment. Again, I thought we'd be sitting there for awhile because there was so many people! But no, shortly after we sat, a young man came and asked us what we would be having. Two cokes, and two orders of beignets. We sat talking and looking around until our order came out. $5.62 was all it took to completely inspire me.

My Coke, the beignets, and the inquisitive glass of water.

 
When our order came out, our two drinks were placed on the table, then the beignets, and oddly enough to small glasses of water. I looked to Joey kinda like "What in the heck is this for? I didn't want water?"  Whether he was pulling my leg with his response or not, I'd like to think he was for real. Casually he replied, "For your hands." Me, being a beignet virgin, thought to myself... "For my hands? What the heck could I need water for? I'm not that messy."

I took a drink of Coke, (might I add, that was the best Coke I've ever had) and prepared myself to try this weird looking thing on my plate. To say that it was completely covered in powdered sugar is an understatement. It was more than just covered. After I lifted each one of them up, I found even more sugar! That is not a complaint though... Not thinking that their was an art to eating beignets, I began to put it into my mouth as I was taking a breathe in. I felt like I had inhaled more sugar than the daily recommendation for my lungs and had to clear my throat. I kinda pulled it away from my face and just looked at it. Again I put it to my mouth, this time without breathing in, and took a bite. Wow. It was amazing. So amazing, as I write my mouth is watering just thinking about it. From them to look so little on that plate, they were entirely fulfilling. I could only eat two of mine and I had to pass up the third to Joey who also felt completely stuffed. I can not describe the taste, but the closest thing I could compare it to would be a Funnel Cake you get from the fair, just 968231547854 times better!

Back to the little glasses: After I was done indulging my small piece of Heaven, I noticed how messy I was! I had powdered sugar everywhere! On my hands, on my jeans, and all over my mouth! Maybe I am messy... But here is where the water came in handy! I stuck each finger in the water one by one and wiped it off. Dipped my napkin in the water and cleaned my face and mouth so that I could walk back into society and look presentable. That little glass was helpful, just as Joey suggested. But whether or not that's truly the use of it, I'd like to never know. I want to keep on thinking cute that small thing was in fact, just for cleaning.

We left the Cafe and walked around some more. We walked there, ate, and made it back to the truck all within an hour. (I remember this, because as we left the parking lot, the meter made us pay $6 for 1 hour) Like the last time we were down town, we rode around a few times. Crazy as it sounds, part of the fun of downtown, is just seeing all the people walking around. Not to mention laughing at the wild party buses that come by. 

That picture caught two of my favorite things downtown, the many balconies, and the horse drawn carriages. We pulled up to a red light at the corner where the horses stand waiting for their passengers. The man driving the carriages nudge his horse to go and I just happened to hear him to it. "Ya ya, Chopsticks, Ya, ya." And then the horse began to move. I started laughing because I couldn't help but to wonder why this horse was named Chopsticks. I'm astonished at how calm the horses are when there are cars driving so close to them. They don't even get spooked with people blowing their horns. I bet they would with train horns, but I don't want to see the inside of a jail. ;)

The Crescent City Connection Bridge

 Above is a picture of my favorite bridge. No matter where we go in the city, this bridge is visible. And I always try to locate it! I get so happy and proudly announce to everyone when I notice it. "Look, Babe, my bridge!" And when he notices it before I do, "Look Babe, your bridge!"

New Orleans is a beautiful place, and I'm falling in love with the city slowly but surely. It'll never be my Tennessee, but somehow, someway, its becoming more and more.... Home.  <3