BlogTourNola: New Orleans Garden District Walkabout

I can't believe it's already been two weeks since we were walking and gawking in the gorgeous Garden District in New Orleans. Our first full day at BlogTourNola started with an amazing breakfast at Chef John Besh's Lüke Restaurant. A big thanks to KBIS for being our gracious hosts. After a hearty breakfast of beignet's and chocolate, omelettes and french fries (yup!), we posed for a quick group shot and headed over to the Charles St. Streetcar for a quick ride over to the historic Garden District.

(photo credit: Modenus)

Come walk with me...

ETA: Just found out that this is the childhood home of Eli and Payton Manning. Probably the most pristine property in the neighborhood. Nary a blade of grass out of place. Thanks to my friends at Feia Construction for the update!

The house above is "Interview With The Vampire" author Anne Rice's former house.

Seriously, right? House after gorgeous house. We were like a swarm of moths to too many flames. 

This Garden District walk ended at the famous Lafayette Cemetary #1.



Now, let me share that it was in the high 80's and very humid that day - in fact the first really hot day of the season in Nola and a good 40 degrees warmer than what I am used to in April. By the time we got to the cemetery, Antiques Diva Toma Haines and I were ready for a sit down and not so much a walk amidst the mausoleams, luckily there was a tree with a fantastic root system handily waiting for us. (photo taken by Kelli Morisseau)

As we headed out of the Garden District towards the wonderful shopping on Magazine, with a stop for a very cold beverage in a highly air conditioned coffee shop, we ran into a true local celebrity Mr. Okra. We'd all been sent a link to a recent documentary short film made about him, so running into him turned us into a gaggle of crazed paparazzi. You'd have thought he was Miles Redd (whom we met that evening) or Brad Pitt (whose "Make It Right" houses were were seeing the next day). He must have thought we were nuts. And no, I'm pretty sure the baby wasn't doing the driving.  If I can find the link to the video again, I'll post it here.  Meanwhile, BlogTour and Brizo19 friend Gloria Graham-Sollicito got a closeup!

 I'll post some of my favorite Magazine Street finds from our little tour, hosted by Shaun Smith, soon.

A big, big thanks to Veronika Miller, founder of Modenus and BlogTour for putting together such an amazing, eye opening and well-run tour. Impressed barely covers how I feel about her abilities. And also to our sponsors for making it all possible!

All photos by Linda Merrill, except where noted.

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