Cafe Du Monde New Orleans

Yesterday morning we left Slidell, LA and headed for New Orleans. Toesocks just had to have a Cafe Au Lait and Beignets at Cafe Du Monde on Decater Street in the French Quarter. Being Saturday we knew it would be a packed house and being late June we also knew it would be a sauna down in the French Quarter. So off we headed about 1030 AM as the temps climbed to about 92 degrees. The original Cafe Du Monde was started in the French Market in 1862. It is still open 24 hours a day everyday except Christmas and whenever an occasional hurricane passes through! The dark roasted coffee with hickory is served black or Au Lait, meaning mixed half and half with hot milk. Beignets are french style donuts covered with a thick layer of powered sugar. They also serve iced Cafe Au Lait and so Toesocks and I ordered one of each and three beignets. We normaly shy away from fancy tea and coffee shops and go for plain DD or McDonald's but this is one place you just cannot pass by. The place was just jammed packed with hot sweaty people, the few empty tables that people were scrambling for were still covered with powdered sugar and dirty napkins and coffee cups from the previous customers and it ws every man for himself to get a table. There was a long line going down the street but we just went right into this open air cafe and luckily found a still dirty table that we promptly grabbed for ourselves! We still do not know why there was a  line as it was clearly seat yourself. Maybe these were all people on their first visit to NOLA? After we had our iced and hot cafe' and beignets we decided to walk around Jackson Square and also a block or two to see street performers and artists. Again it was jam packed with people spilling into the street from the densely crowded sidewalks as we pushed our way through the masses and into a bookstore to cool off. Inside Toesocks found a kid's book by a local author that was autographed and was about a giraffe that visits New Orleans. She has been collecting these signed children books almost everywhere we travel for her Grandaughter Maize. She must have quite acollection by now. When the crowd and the heat got to be too much we went and found Farkus waiting down by the waterfront and headed off to check out Avery Island next.

 Cafe Du Monde
Jackson Park














Buggy Tours of French Quarter











Artist's work and bike