I ended up taking a nap and then walking around the Garden District. It was one of those days where no one particular amazing thing happens; everything is just so extremely pleasant that you end up feeling like it was the best day ever.
The guides say that the best way to get there is to take a bus down St. Charles. I didn't know where to get the bus, so I figured I'd start walking down St. Charles until I found it. Well I never did see the bus, but I got to the Garden District in about 45 minutes which isn't so bad. And it was nice to walk through an area that looked like a normal city, to be reminded that there's more to New Orleans than just the French Quarter.
I was walking through the commercial district when I saw a bunch of TV people standing around. Right when I got to them, they suddenly started acting more alert. I saw a man walking towards them and realized that it was the mayor of New Orleans! I grabbed a quick shot of him with my my phone cam, but then he started talking and I wasn't interested in actually listening to his speech, plus I was in the way of the reporters, so I moved on.
When I got out of the commercial district I had to cross under a highway. I stopped at a mini-mart to buy a bottle of water, and when I got to the register the clerk told me to take 2 because they were buy one get one free.
Finally I got to the Garden District. I was hoping to get gardening ideas, but it's really more about architecture. All the gardens I saw were too formal, or too tropical, or both, to give me much inspiration. I did see a lot of nice houses though. It's kind of weird to be a tourist of private homes that people actually live in. I was embarrassed a couple of times to be standing there staring at a house when someone walked out of it. But I guess they're used to it by now. I saw the oldest home in New Orleans, and also Anne Rice's house. (It's lavish, sprawling and pretentious. Insert joke about her books.)
I walked down to Magazine Street and looked in the windows of a bunch of cool stores, and stopped for an ice cream cone on the way back. Then when I got to the French Quarter, I walked past a bar band playing decent jazz instead of the usual horrible rock cover band. And I got back to the room just as the Colbert Report was starting. What a nice afternoon. I ended up walking for about 3 1/2 hours and got back just before it got dark. The weather was relatively cool and breezy, perfect for walking.
I just got my last few photos finally posted, so now I can relax for the rest of the evening. Too bad the hotel cable doesn't have Soapnet. Oh hey, The Harvey Girls is on! I love this movie.
Tomorrow morning I'm going to stop at Whole Foods for supplies on my way out of town. I think I'm going to manage my goal of not once eating fast food or in a chain restaurant. Not bad for an 11 day trip. Today I spent less than $15 on food the whole day: beignets, the ginornimous muffuletta for lunch and dinner, and the ice cream cone. I'm aiming to get on the road by 10, which will get me to Atlanta by 6 (7 hours of driving plus time zone change).
4 Comments
Hate to bust your bubble, but Goode Company is in fact a chain -- it's part of the Pappas restaurant group, which also includes Saltgrass Steakhouse, Pappadeaux Seafood, and half a dozen others I can't think of at the moment. We don't generally eat at Pappas places, mostly because Russ finds them overpriced for their quality and there are so many other places to go.
OTOH, I think Pappas is mostly a Houston-based chain, so that counts at least halfway!
I'm sure there's some kinda rule about not arguing w/ the locals but what the hell... i never pay attention to those kinda things. Anyway, I did some googling and I'm pretty sure you're only partly right. Goode Co. is a chain, in the sense that there are multiple Goode Co. restaurants. But they don't seem to have any connection to the Pappas empire (see: www.pappas.com and www.goodecompany.com). Altho, oddly, they are both very similar businesses -- family owned, Houston-based restaurants which have expanded over the years. I would add that I've eaten at a Pappadeaux Seafood. I was unimpressed.
"Buy one, get one free" always reminds me of someone I knew who used to shoplift caramels from Starbuck's. She'd pay for one, slip another into her purse & called it "buy one, get one free".
By "chain restaurant" I meant national chains like Chili's or Cracker Barrel, not local restaurants which have more than one location. I guess technically that is a chain but I don't consider it as such.
I had read on Roadfood.com that Goode Company has several locations but that the one we went to was the best. It was good enough for me!