Free Day (Elective)

I love everything about the words free day. I love not having anything to do and not having a set time to do it in. Although we had planned on getting up earlier in the day to get started, we ended up taking our time getting ready. Being a full time student, working full time (3rd shift), and being a volunteer firefighter and EMT, free time is not something I get to experience often. After a rough week of finals, I was immediately put into packing and travelling mode. This free day was something that I had been waiting on for quite a while.

After leaving the hotel in the early afternoon, we boarded the trolley and headed to the French Quarter. We had heard wonderful things about Coops, so we decided to have lunch there. Josette and I both had the oyster and shrimp PoorBoy. This was delicious. I was not overly impressed with Coops because the wait for a drink and to place our order was quite long, and the only thought that kept entering my mind while we were there was "how did this place pass sanitation inspection". The food and music at Coops was good, so I can only imagine that this is why they are still in business.

After lunch, we stopped at Molly's for a "frozen". it was quite delicious also. I particularly love the freedom of being able to order a drink and then walk out of the bar to drink it while shopping. So we drank as we walked to The French Market.

We had been to the French Market before, but this time we went with a mission --shopping. Because of work and school, I did not have time to do any Christmas shopping before our trip, so I was doing my Christmas shopping today New Orleans style at the French Market. Prior to leaving for our trip, I had asked my parents if there was anything particular they would like for me to get for them. The only request my father had was a New Orleans t-shirt that has a front pocket. I literally asked every vendor at the French Market if they had such an item and was turned down each time. After doing some shopping (some for myself too), we hit the streets and the stores along the French Quarter. I literally went into over 50 shops and asked for a t-shirt with a front pocket, and ended up with the same results. So, the one and only special request I got was an Epic fail.

We then went to Marie Laveau's House of Voodoo. I had wanted to do this and had heard of the stories and of all the voodoo that was in New Orleans. I heard that there were even television shows that featured Marie Laveau and definitely plan on watching them when I get home. I got a couple of gifts there also. I am so excited to give these gifts.

After shopping, we stopped at El Gatro to have a drink and some Mexican food for dinner. It was a great dinner, and especially enjoyed watching them make the guacamole at the tableside. The food and the drinks were good here and were much needed after a long hard (lol) day of shopping.