*** PHOTO Trip Journal aboard Carnival's CONQUEST (Sept. 2012, Caribbean) ***

[daliflor]

 

 

With its welcoming décor and plentiful amenities, the Country Inn & Suites Hotel by Carlson (New Orleans,

French Quarter) offered us comfort and convenience in the heart of Downtown NOLA!

 

 

[daliflor]

 

Monday was yet another CLOUDY DAY, so we were unable to relax inside the heated, outdoor pool...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FYI - *Taxi fare to or from the airport is flat rate of $33.00 USD for two (2) people.

 

Additional adult rate is $14.00 USD, we were advised.

 

[daliflor]

 

 

 

Our Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, New Orleans French Quarter hotel's prime location on Magazine Street

placed us guests close to many popular New Orleans activities and attractions, including Harrah's Hotel & Casino.

 

The Concierge advised us that our B-day girl can get a free spin at the Casino that day,

so Harrah's became our next stop that late morning!

 

[cf32521]

Love staying at the Country Inn & Suites - especially the fresh baked cookies every time we walk in or out!

[daliflor]

Love staying at the Country Inn & Suites - especially the fresh baked cookies every time we walk in or out!

 

Oh! You had to mention those, haven't you?

 

Now I am loosing focus remembering that provocative smell... Cookies anyone??! : - ))

 

 

 

Moving on... Left Magazine Street and passed by the luxurious Windsor Court Hotel

(before taking a first glimpse at Harrah's exterior).

 

 

 

You can walk from here to history — from Windsor Court to the heart of the French Quarter.

 

The Quarter is timeless. And eternally gracious...

 

 

 

Voila! Harrah's - the 115,000 sq ft casino with approximately

2,100 slot machines, over 90 table games and a poker room!

 

[daliflor]

 

Harrah's New Orleans - the only land-based private casino with table games in the state by Louisiana law

(there are other casinos in the state with their gambling facilities

on floating boats and horse racing racinos with slot machines).

 

 

 

 

Harrah's New Orleans is referred to in state statute as "the official gaming establishment."

 

 

Our B-day girl got her free spin and she won couple of bucks that Monday @ Harrah's!

 

[daliflor]

 

 

 

With 104 table games and a world-class 23-table poker room, Harrah’s Casino New Orleans

offers card players an endless array of options to try their luck!

French Quarter-style décor, Mardi Gras floats, New Orleans artwork and

the occasional wandering brass band give gamblers a full dose of the Big Easy!

 

 

 

[daliflor]

 

Our B-day girl received from the Casino not only a free spin for her birthday but also a complimentary voucher for the Buffet.

 

 

All of us decided to dine comfortably in the 400-seat, seven-station buffet complete with some of NOLA's favorites.

 

And due to the generosity of the Cashier, we were ALL able to feed our hunger quickly for FREE!

 

 

Yes, FREE Buffet for all of us as the Cashier decided to kindly hand us a $50.00 USD voucher

left at the cash register by a guest who got lucky at the tables.

 

 

Thank you, New Orleans & Harrah's!

 

 

 

[daliflor]

 

From the Pacific Rim to Creole and French fare, the Buffet @ Harrah's is complete with something scrumptious for everyone.

Because of a Good Samaritan, we treat ourselves to several wonderful Buffet options @ Harrah's... for FREE !!!

 

 

Finally, did I mention their famous "Sweet Treats" dessert bar?!

 

 

With over 40 different items to choose from, one may have a tough time deciding!

 

[daliflor]

 

 

With so much food intake, one must burn the calories... or part of them! : - ))

 

 

 

On Monday afternoon, our group split: some of our friends took a "Swamp Tour" that afternoon

(despite the cold weather and rain warnings) and the "Plantation Tour" the next day.

 

 

We decided to use the cloudy afternoon to explore some more of the fascinating French Quarter

and trusted that the forecast will be much better the next day

(when we pre-booked online the "Swamp Tour" and the "Plantation Tour" too -

a combo tour completed in the same day).

 

[daliflor]

 

After ensuring that our friends were picked-up at the hotel for their "Swamp Tour,"

we headed around the corner to the Canal Street and continued to explore the French Quarter.

 

 

 

** Just a quick note to point out a gem that we passed after exiting the Harrah's Casino.... the "Mother's" Restaurant

(often times mentioned in fellow CC members' reviews)

 

 

According to their website:

 

We speak a little differently here at Mother’s, we speak “baby, darling and sweetheart,”

so here’s a dictionary to help you with our menu.

 

You might want to print it out before you arrive, ’cause we don’t like lollygaggers hanging up the line.

 

Black Ham:

the crisp, caramelized crust from the world’s best baked ham

 

Creolized:

The blending of traditional French recipes and ingredients with those of Africa, Spain, Italy, Germany and

the Caribbean that produced the unique flavors that New Orleans home cooking is known for.

 

Edited February 5, 2013 by daliflor

[daliflor]

OK, another detour...

 

Since truby's DD is very curious about Louisiana's swamps, here are some images from our friends' SWAMP Tour that Monday afternoon:

 

 

Drop- off point (after the van picked them up from the hotel; tour company suggested by the Concierge)

 

 

 

All aboard!

 

See the Cajuns of the Bayou living and surviving in harmony with the swamps.

 

Here, the waterways are their highways!

 

(M & E's pictures)

[daliflor]

More images from our friends' SWAMP Tour that Monday afternoon!

 

Seen some of the wildlife that made the Barataria Swamps the Crown Jewel of the Louisiana Purchase.

 

Here, birds, snakes, turtles, fur animals, and Gators are the king of the swamp and easily spotted.

 

 

From the comfort of their covered Swamp Tour Boat, our friends drifted slowly past

a 2000 year old Indian Burial Mound, a Cajun cemetery and Fishing village!

 

 

(M & E's pictures)

[daliflor]

Last images from our friends' SWAMP Tour that Monday afternoon:

 

 

Gators do hibernate during the cold winter months, but lay on the bayou banks on warmer days.

 

 

(M & E's pictures)

[trubadur]

OK, another detour...

 

Since truby's DD is very curious about Louisiana's swamps ---- images from our friends' SWAMP Tour Monday afternoon:

 

 

WOW! She is very excited. Thanks for the 'detour' !!

[daliflor]

Back to the streets of the French Quarters... Monday afternoon...

 

 

 

 

 

As a tourist, one can easily identify many things that make the New Orleans French Quarter different from other places.

 

One of them: it is easy to spot the colorful plants and ferns that people use to decorate those historic buildings.

 

 

[daliflor]

 

 

 

The French Quarter balconies look great with the hearty plants or hanging ferns... wrought iron and French doors.

 

Those decorative details make the New Orleans French Quarter a more livable and beautiful place to visit.

 

 

 

[daliflor]

 

 

 

New Orleans French Quarter streets can be much quieter than many people would think.

 

The residentail areas tend to be much quieter and historic and sooo beautiful.

 

It ain’t all Bourbon Street : - ))

 

 

 

[daliflor]

 

The bronze statue @ the Bienville Place -

the triangular park between North Peters and Decatur streets at Conti Street

 

In March of 1718, Bienville started a settlement called

New Orleans on the banks of the Mississippi.

 

Life was not easy in the Crescent City from the beginning.

 

 

Tid bit of histroy is that Bienville was born in Montreal, Canada on February 23rd of 1680.

 

The statue is of a native Indian and a Priest at 400 Decatur in a small park called Bienville Place.

 

 

The statue (showing Bienville in colonial attire) was sculpted by artist Angela Gregory in 1955

for the Louisiana Purchase Sesquicentennial Commission.

 

 

 

 

 

Well, it wasn't the day of the SuperBowl XLVII...

 

Still, the power (electricity) seems to be only 50% in New Orleans:

 

[daliflor]

 

 

New Orleans offers a HUGE selection of Masquerade ball masks, Feather Masks

including the very popular Venetian Mask Styles:

 

 

 

[daliflor]

 

 

 

In New Orleans' shops, handmade works of art meet the masquerading traditions of

Carnival, Mardi Gras, Halloween, and costuming for all occasions.

 

 

 

No longer confined to the historic French Quarter or the parades along St. Charles Avenue,

the splendor and mystery are now available to everyone!

 

 

 

[daliflor]

 

Masks have been worn during New Orleans’ Mardi Gras balls for centuries.

 

 

It is also a tradition to wear a mask on Mardi Gras Day to disguise oneself for the revelry.

 

 

The word "throw" is used to show that those necklaces were mainly purchased in a great quantity

so they can be thrown during the festivities from a balcony or Mardi Gras float.

 

That's how history has made Mardi Gras Throw Beads a famous part of the Mardi Gras tradition.

 

 

French Quarter - colorful jewelry, masks and beads, jazz and drinks!

 

 

Enchanting and grotesque masks add to the mysteriousness of Mardi Gras as only a hint

of seductive lips and enticing eyes give a sign as to who hides beneath the mask.

 

[daliflor]

 

All the streets in New Orleans lead to... historic Jackson Square!

 

 

For well over a half-century, an open-air artist colony has thrived at Jackson Square,

with artists painting, drawing and displaying their work on the outside of the iron fence.

 

Under the shade of the oak trees, you can sit and have a pastel portrait done in about 1/2 hour.

 

 

 

Edited February 5, 2013 by daliflor

[daliflor]

 

Adjacent to Jackson Square on the Mississippi River are the Shops at Jax Brewery,

the Washington Artillery Park river overlook, and the French Market complex.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[daliflor]

 

 

 

On the northwest side, Chartres Street, stood a church (now Saint Louis Cathedral)

and the governor's mansion (the Cabildo).

 

 

 

JACKSON SQUARE -

 

In the center of the square stands one of three bronze statues of General Andrew Jackson, hero of New Orleans.