A Tour of New Orleans and...Jackie

Everyone gathered around at 9:00 am to begin our day with a tour of the city. As usual the temperature exceeded expectations and it was 80 F at 9 in the morning. We were ready to face the crazy weather. We took a tour of the city of New Orleans, driving through streets and neighborhoods as well as discovering the houses that were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The tour guide explained that the big empty lots were filled with houses but were destroyed by the hurricane and were never built again. We eventually stopped and enjoyed ice cream and walked around a serene sculpture garden where we took pictures and had relaxing time. One of the fun parts of the day, for us girls, was the flea market. For some it was like heaven. Jewelry was as low as $5 a piece!!! And for me, I fell in love with the masks. I've never seen so many in my life and it was the perfect place to get it (especially bargaining with them). We did shopping and had lunch in the flea market then headed off to the New Orleans Southern Candy Makers in the French Quarter where they sold the best pralines on the face of the planet. I literally fell in love. As we were on our 2 hour free time break, all the girls went to Fleurty Girl, the shop where we got our T-shirts as well as the shop Mrs. Sharp loves to get her T-Shirts from. Her shop was very calm and peaceful and has this really laid back vibe. After we left the store, we drove to Mardi Gras World where they store the old floats of past parades, recreate the old floats into new, and create whole new ideas. It was very interesting at the warehouse because we got to see all the past floats and even got sneak peaks of future year's parades. Mardi Gras 2012 is a Fairytale theme: they were creating Snow White, Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast floats. What was so cool was that each float has a certain design that could be used for Mardi Gras parades in the future. They always have new floats and new themes EVERY single year. They were all so big and designed very well. They also mentioned that the workers on the floats stand on the float for 8-10 hours while drinking... a lot. Imagine where they have to go to the bathroom. I do. It is disgusting and something very unattractive. Mardi Gras World was very interesting and a lot of fun to see all the intense floats during Mardi Gras. We ended the day, by having dinner at Hard Rock Cafe, and of course we got our t-shirts.

Now, when I included the name, Jackie, in this blog's title, it was for a very specific reason. We were tired after a long day of touring and exploring the city, but the real excitement started when our bus driver, Jackie, spoke to us for the first time. She finally opened her mouth and you heard the funny and outgoing attitude of Jackie. She was making us laugh and telling us jokes that wouldn't leave my mind. Especially when she moves her hips and moves her neck around, it gives her attitude a sassier vibe. "No, Hell no!" is all Jackie would say. Something we would laugh so much about. Now I have a feeling that Jackie is going to become a great asset to our adventure in New Orleans. She's is our bus driver and let's just say, our new tour guide.