New Orleans

In February, Zach and I finally took a second honeymoon , sort-of, to New Orleans.  Zach and a few co-workers had been working on a paper that was published and were invited to present that paper at a conference in New Orleans the week prior to Mardi Gras.  Zach was the only one allowed to go from work and since he already had the hotel room, I tagged along.  We left the kids with my parents (thanks!) and flew out Valentine's Day. 
 It was actually kind of sweet because as we were boarding the plane, the seats were not assigned and since we were at the end, we were going to be separated.  I think we must have looked like either newly weds, or really in love because a very nice lady traded seats with me telling me I should be able to sit next to my sweetheart on Valentine's Day. 


Loved this tree- but don't know how it could possibly support those branches!

On Wednesday, we were able to do some touring and since our hotel was in the French Quarters, we just walked everywhere.  New Orleans is an interesting town.  Very old, and very dirty, but also full of history and music.  We had to try some Gumbo, Crawfish, Jambalaya,  Pralines and Beignets, of course.  Loved the Pralines and Beignets, not so fond of the Crawfish and Jambalaya, but I suppose that's because I don't like seafood.  I was a little hopeful that my tastebuds would be a little more tolerant.  We never did get around to trying a Po' Boy or a Mufaletta, both which sounded really tasty. 

The view from Cafe Du Monde- where Beignet's are served

A Banana Tree!?!

One of the floats

We viewed a couple Mardi Gras parades and caught a ton of beads.  Zach would catch them, then put them around my neck.  Just to give you a taste for what Mardi Gras is all about, the name of the parades we caught were: Knights of Babylon, Chaos, and The Muses.  The parades were held at night and directly in front of our hotel.  They would consist of floats and high school marching bands.  At the end of the night we were feeling so sorry for all those marching bands- they looked exhausted! 




The next two days, Zach was at his conference all day so I completely relaxed and read to my heart's content. 
Saturday was the day of Zach's presentation and I snuck in to watch.  It was fun to watch him and I learned that he is very comfortable in front of his colleagues.  He gave a great presentation and I could even follow it, a little.  It was fun to see him in that format, something I never get to see. 
Right after his presentation we caught a shuttle back to the airport and flew home. 

Presenting

It was so nice to get away with my husband and I think really good for us.  I was also happy to be coming home to my cuties.