the big easy

When Jason and I got married, we wanted to do something different for our honeymoon. A lot of people suggested a cruise or Disneyland, but we thought we should take the oppurtunity to go somewhere we wouldn't normally go.

So we tried to think of a place that neither of us had ever been and somehow came up with New Orleans. Maybe because our favorite part of Disneyland is New Orleans Square, maybe because of Jason's love of jazz...

A lot of people think that if you don't drink, there is nothing to do in the Big Easy. But that is absolutely not true! New Orleans has a culture all its own. Its roots are a hodgepodge of French, African, Creole, and Haitian influences. Our hotel (and all hotels in the French Quarter) had beautiful wrought-iron balconies and a semitropical stone courtyard. We felt like visiting the French Quarter was nearly like going out of the country, only with much less hassle and expense.

While we were there, we went on a riverboat cruise on the Mississippi, a swamp cruise where we fed wild alligators (and held a baby alligator!), went on a cemetary and voodoo tour and a "vampire" haunted history tour. We walked all over the French Quarter, hung out in Jackson Square, took the streetcars through the Garden District to see the beautiful houses, explored the Louis Armstrong Park, and spent a rainy day at City Park (chock full of gardens and live oaks--beautiful!)

Our week in New Orleans really stuck with us, and we would love to go back someday.

Maybe we can hang out with these guys again. Do you see their vampire teeth implants? They told us they live the vampire lifestyle as much as possible.