had managed to get a crowd despite the technical hitches earlier in the day
and, more importantly, they convinced most of us to part with some cash.
By the time the show ended we were ready for more food - it was
definitely a good that job we did not go travelling whilst on diets, though we
really needed to go on one on our return to the UK. The famous Café Du
Monde got our patronage on this occasion. Famous, according to Lonely
Planet, for coffee and beignets (doughnut type things). Once again we were
obviously following the trend as the café (essentially a marquee) was packed,
and we had to stalk people in order to get their table when they finished their
meal. The food was very nice, although we did sit in fear of pigeon poo while
we ate - the thrills of semi-fresco dining!
Bourbon Street was our next destination, one of the main thoroughfares
during the Mardi Gras parade, and without a doubt the most famous. When
we arrived on the street it was still daylight and we wandered up it looking for
a restaurant recommended by our guidebook, and by the people who we had
met at the BBQ van in the KOA site in San Antonio. It was a bit of a dry run for
later, as we figured the street would be crowded, noisy and harder to navigate
after dusk.
Bourbon Street turned out to be pretty wild by daylight however. Most
of the strip clubs were already open and there was little need to go into them,
as the advertising outside was quite explicit by itself, especially at 5pm in the
afternoon. Walking past the 'Bottomless Club' we could see a live bare bottom
through the doorway and hurried on for fear of being charged for this glimpse.
Every other shop was a strip club, and the rest of the buildings were bars.