Hair of the Dog that bit Him

Early rise, as there is so much to fit into a day in Nola.
A full American breakfast was consumed in a typical Nola joint called 'The Corner Oyster House.'Our waitress provided us with a first hand account of the troubles she had experienced after Katrina.Every member of her family had been affected including her grandmother, who up to that point had been self sufficient and living in her own home.After the destruction, she was left a broken woman and had to be taken into care. Evidence of their plight was there right in front of our eyes - the door of their home which was destroyed by the waters,and made into a work of art - a constant reminder to the family of what they had lived through. Nevertheless, she had NOT lost her fun loving 'Joie de Vie' that most of the residents have and we shared many a laugh together.
Straight on down to the riverfront known as the 'Moonwalk' by locals, to book a trip on the paddlesteamer.Took this picture en route of a local in repose.Looks like he is trying to recover from the previous nights exertions ------- note the paper bag! In the background we have the statue of General Andrew Jackson, victor of the battle of New Orleans and later, President of the U.S.A.
Trust me to go as the only female in a group of three !! I was outnumbered and outvoted when the guys wanted to take a trip on the Mississippi to the site of the Battle of New Orleans.Still, I got to enjoy the cruise , the overall experience and hopefully have retained a tiny fragment of the information dispensed to us by our tour guide.
We were played the song about the battle on the return trip.Music and lyrics were by Jimmy Driftwood who was a high school principal and history teacher who loved to sing, play instruments and write songs. He wrote many songs to help his students learn about this battle and other historical events. "The Battle of New Orleans," is about a battle in the War of 1812, and it became one of the biggest selling hits of 1959. It is said that Mr. Driftwood wrote hundreds of verses to the song, but since records were only two to three minutes long at the time, he picked out his favorite ones to be recorded, and those are the ones displayed here. You might also be interested to know that there is a movie called "The Buccaneer" about the Battle of New Orleans. It is interesting to reflect on the fact that despite the turbulant early relationship between England and the American colonists, our two countries have long since been strongly united. Strange that this song was recoreded by Lonnie Donegan , a fellow Scot, born in Glasgow and was a big hit at the time.

In 1814 we took a little trip
along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip.
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans
And we caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans.

Chorus:
We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin.
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.
We fired once more and they began to runnin' on
down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

We looked down the river and we seen the British come.
And there must have been a hundred of'em beatin' on the drum.
They stepped so high and they made the bugles ring.
We stood by our cotton bales and didn't say a thing.

Chorus

Old Hickory said we could take 'em by surprise
If we didn't fire our muskets til we looked 'em in the eyes
We held our fire til we seen their faces well.
then we opened up with squirrel guns and really gave 'em..well.

Chorus

Yeah, they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go.
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em
on down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

We fired our cannon til the barrel melted down.
So we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round.
We filled his head with cannon balls and powdered his behind
and when we touched the powder off, the gator lost his mind.

Chorus

Yeah, they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles
and they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go.
they ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em
on down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

A late afternoon return left just enough time to jump on the tram and take a ride to explore the French Market with all it's local cuisine and unique crafts.This was an excellent opportunity to take LOTS of colourful pics.
On our return to our hotel, we had a quick wash and brush up before heading out to dinner at one of hubby's favourite restaurants, where the food was to die for.Cajun food was the order of the day for our son on his first visit to the area- a starter of Gumbo, followed by a Cajun trio entree of crawfish, blackened fish and Jumbalaya.
Time to introduce Fraz to the delights of Bourbon Street.A couple of beers in a couple of jazz clubs and he was ready for bed.It's a sad day when your son has less staying power than yourself.One of my favourite neon signs on Bourbon Street read as follows:
'Thousands of beautiful girls
and three ugly ones!'