Don't forget to bring cash for Cafe Du Monde

Our trip started very early in the morning with arriving at Hilton New Orleans Riverside at about 2 am. Not ideal, but we made it work.

Hilton was right across the street from Harrah's Casino, and was it bustling! In the room, noise was non-existent and the black out curtains made for an peaceful few hours of sleep.  

Coffee in the morning was a necessity, and the Starbucks in the lobby was a must stop.  After a quick stop for coffee, we headed through Wolden Park towards Café Du Monde along the Mississippi River. We grabbed our order (glad I had cash, because that is the only form of payment they accepted), and made our way across the street to Jackson Square to find a bench and listen some of the street performers and watch the horse drawn carriages. 

After filling out bellies with pastries and another dose of coffee, we headed out to do some local shopping and explore Bourbon St. Although most of it was bars to pop in and out of, we made our way through people watching while making our way to Marie Laveau's House of Voodoo.

While making our way back to the hotel, it started pouring on us (do not ever buy an umbrella at one of the gift shops there, it will break on you within 10 minutes. We went through two of them), we had a blast darting from one awning to another until we just had to endure the rain. 

After a quick nap, it was time for a Cemetery and Ghost Tour after dark- we learned about history and why cemeteries are so different in New Orleans. Half way through was a quick stop for some more Beignet's at Morning Call Coffee Stand before heading over to the Hurricane Katrina memorial. There we were given spirit rods to use around the cemetery. My daughter swears she saw a figure, although we never caught any thing in our cameras.

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