Day 56 - New Orleans to Fort Waldron

The Orphanage

I felt very brave sleeping in the haunted orphanage last night. I feel I should have mentioned that the only reason I was there was that an Australian girl (Eden) that Karoline had met a few days earlier let me stay in her room for free. I also feel I should mention that you could not pay me enough to sleep there on my own. Check out these pictures on the walls:

Lake Pontchartrain

This morning Karoline and I left New Orleans, on our way to Florida. We left town via the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway - the longest bridge in the world, it's almost 24 miles long!!! I love water and I love bridges so I don't think it gets better than this.

Alligator!!!

On our way we stopped at the Gulf Islands National Seashore where the very nice lady working there explained to us all about deck prisms.

We then drove off into the swamp and were very lucky to see this big guy

As well as these turtles

When we were there we met these two guys who were drunk off their faces (and yes, driving)

The area was really pretty:

Can you see the crane (tall bird) in the middle of the picture?  He blends really well with the sticks

Florida

It's really nice in Florida, the sun is shining, it's bliss.

We have found a really nice and cheap place to stay in Fort Waldron - we have a kitchen and it even has a pool and a hot tub so we lay soaking and watching military planes flying really low overhead. Karoline cooked me her grandmother's recipe (egg fried spaghetti with ham cheese and ketchup) and we are feeling very civilised and grown up in our studio flat.

Other things

This is the actual sheriff of Grand Bay on lollipop lady duties

Day 55 - New Orleans

N'awlins

Today was cool. I went on a free tour where I learned all about the history of the city. The tour guide was a National Park Ranger so she was really good. 

Two separate friends recommended that I go to Cafe du Monde to have coffee and beignets (sugary doughnuts) but my Lonely Planet was really rude about it saying it was really overrated. Friends trump guidebook so I went and it was really good! 

Following the recommendation of my friend Roberto who used to live here I went to Cafe Maspero to try a fried seafood platter. It was ridiculous: fried oysters, fried calamari, fried shrimp (prawns) and fried catfish topped with fried potatoes and sitting on top of ... can you guess? Probably not: two slices of bread. WTF? 

After eating as much as I could this is how much was still left:

I asked for a takeaway box and gave it to a homeless guy. 

I made a friend!

In the gross hostel I stayed last night (with the drunk grabbing guy and the homeless lady smoking in my dorm) I met Karoline who is from Germany. 

Some of you may know that before I started my trip I was expecting to meet loads of people who would want to catch rides in my car to the next city. I had planned exactly what I would do: I'd get to know them really well, then I would mention that I had a car, maybe spend some time with them before offering them a ride. 

Well, that didn't happen at all so when Karoline said she was headed to Tampa (Florida) I immediately said "I'm going there next! I have a car! Wanna come?!"

Thankfully she has turned out to be really nice - we spent today walking around the French Quarter. 

Aren't these the coolest Christmas decorations?

Landshark!

This was in a witchcraft shop - can you see the sign that says "We sell V blood"?

Salt and Pepper shakers

Peace Y'all!

Spooky shadow on the Catholic cathedral

Green sign: "1000s of beautiful girls & 3 ugly ones"

Catholic cathedral (not so spooky from inside)

I fed the pile of sugar from my beignets to the ants so the birds came to eat the ants. I made an ecosystem!

Yup, that guy is flipping over those people!

Tonight I am sleeping in an old haunted orphanage so wish me luck!

Day 54 - Greenville to New Orleans

I hate drunk people

I specifically hate drunk men who insist on grabbing you in their drunken stupor to tell you that you have pretty hair. I especially hate them if they are doing this while standing in the kitchen at my hostel. Grrrr. I've had some unwanted attention in the South (much more than anywhere else I've been so far) but so far it's been pretty harmless -this takes the biscuit. He did it twice and if he'd done it one more time he was going to get a knuckle sammich. Ah well.

Farewell Mississippi

I left my homey lovely new family in Greenville this morning - not without being given all my laundry clean and neatly folded, a nice coolbag full of sodas and a general warm fuzzy feeling inside.

Natchez

I went to Natchez, a very old French settlement with those typical antebellum mansions you see in all vampire movies. It was beautiful.

It took me a minute to work out why these stairs went nowhere

Rocking chairs! Makes me want sweet iced tea for sippin'

I love the gardens of these antebellum houses - they remind me of grand old English gardens

This photo is not blurry - the tree is covered in fluffy mossy stuff

This is a close up of the fluffy mossy stuff

The last time I saw one of these was in California - it's like a pinecone with red m&ms in it

This reminds me very much of "Interview with a Vampire"

Other bits

For sale in the visitor centre in Natchez

I dyed my hair birght pink by mistake... I like it though!

I'd never seen one of these in real life! (not sure it was terribly accurate)

New Orleans

I am in New Orleans now, really excited about all the cool things I'm going to go see tomorrow (unless I wake up and I'm a vampire of course...)