“Residency Week 4 – More Parades!”
V(W)ince and Lori arrived on Monday morning from Philadelphia. They got settled in and then we walked across to Shaya for a lovely lunch on the patio. I can’t say enough good things about this restaurant. Diana was raving about the French white wine, and of course Vince was listening and sent six bottles as a thank you after they left.
Their daughter, Emily, came across to the condo and hung out with us on the balcony for a pleasant couple of hours. She and her boyfriend live in New Orleans while he’s doing a course at Tulane.
The Tuesday puzzle was clever – celebrating 2/22/22:
Oysters were in heavy demand on Tuesday, and so we went down to Royal Oyster House in the French Quarter. Everyone got their fill of oysters – mine chargrilled, and then we rambled around the Quarter for the afternoon. I love this picture of Diana dancing to the gentleman on the balcony who was playing music, miming the lyrics and blowing bubbles.
Denny and Anne met us at Lafitte’s and then we walked to the old US Mint for a free concert on the balcony by Corey Henry (trombone), followed by the Hot 8 Brass Band. It was very nice to see all the families with young children enjoying the music on the lawn.
Here’s a little taste of Corey Henry:
And here’s the excellent Hot 8 Brass Band – I love these guys:
La Petite Grocery was our dining destination on Wednesday evening. Vince, Lori, Emily and Mark joined us and the food was even better than I remembered. The scallop appetizer and turtle bolognaise were both perfectly executed. Even Vince, a chef in Philadelphia back in the day, was very impressed.
Oh, oh, I almost forgot the butterscotch pudding – so yummy.
Before dinner, we checked out the assembling parade. The marine band was very serious, but Lori coaxed a smile from the sousaphone player.
I had made an appointment for a haircut and beard trim at the Barber shop down the street for Thursday lunchtime. This place was a hoot from start to finish. The constant banter between the two barbers, the glass of bourbon I was “forced” to consume, and the carnaptious dog asleep in the corner all made for quite a unique experience. McD was out for a walk and stuck her head in to check on me – she was quite entertained by the show.
More parades rolled on Thursday evening and we enjoyed them all – Babylon, Chaos, and the local favourite Muses. Hand painted shoes are the treasured throw at Muses and you really have to know someone on the floats to have a chance of getting one. Well…that’s what they say anyway, as Lori was able to come home with two beautifully decorated shoes from her very first Mardi Gras parade.
Vince and Lori moved over to stay with Emily and Mark on Thursday, making way for Campbell and Molly to arrive on Friday evening. I picked them up at the airport and then we went to Denny and Anne’s to wait for the parades to finish. One feature of our condo that we didn’t realize ahead of time is that it’s “inside the box.” The box being the part of town that you can’t drive into or out of while parades are rolling. The whole krewe was over at Webster Street to welcome Campbell and Molly.
Saturday saw Campbell and Molly at their first parades – Iris and Tucks (my personal favourite.) They had an absolute blast catching throws and interacting with the krewe.
After Tucks, we went over to a house party where Deacon John was playing a show. Great fun and a really good band.
A quick sample of Deacon John and the scene:
Sunday brought – yes, you guessed it – even more parades with Okeanos, Mid-City and Thoth (pronounced Toeth), even though Campbell and I tried our best to convince Diana that it’s “Thoath.” Jack got a very entertaining outfit from one of the floats.
And another house party after Thoth – down in Audubon park, close to Fred and Kelly’s house. The band was great and everyone had an excellent time. Campbell was amazed that folks put on such a great event for their friends with no entry fee or wrist band required – you just have to know about it through the local grapevine. Some burgers and hilarity at Fred and Kelly’s home and then it was time to close out a very fun filled week.
Same story again this week – not much time for reading – still ploughing through “The Great Wide Open” by Douglas Kennedy. Hope to finish this coming week and tell you about it.
Campbell had this song in his head the whole time he was here, and would walk around singing a couple of lines:
I think he picked a great song to get stuck in his head.
This one is a bit unusual for me, but I’ve really been enjoying the clever mix of Walk on the Wild side bass with the other more hip hop elements:
Stay safe and be kind to everyone!