Getting Lost in New Orleans

Let us take a step back to the days of the late-noughties where my friend Bobbie and I were not yet in possession of smartphones and our stubborn will led to an adventure in New Orleans.

We set off early on a warm November morning from her home in Mississippi to the Cajun capital. Our ultimate destination was set as Cafe du Monde and we took our first steps exploring New Orleans with barely a breeze about and the sun peeking beyond the clouds. Bobbie, worked from her sugar covered memories, leading us through the French Quarter to Canal Street where we wandered past the stores until we were right at the edges of the mud colored rumbling Mississippi River.

We continued back down Canal Street and stopped for fresh, filling poboy’’s and full bodied gumbo in a small little restaurant with a few other hungry patrons also filling up on local cuisine. Once satisfied, we set off with renewed enthusiasm that we weren’t far off and soon found ourselves at the base of the Superdome with it’s crisp round edges distracting us for a moment.

Standing in the bright sun on palm lined Poydras Street, business men and women hurriedly walked around us into the power buildings of New Orleans’s business district. We turned back and followed our route to Canal Street.

Trying our luck through another section of the French Quarter as tourists ambled passed us in all directions. I followed well behind Bobbie, with all hope given up I was ready to depart from New Orleans in defeat.

Suddenly, Bobbie turned around with a glint of a smile at me and I recognized this was a sign of success. Making my way to her side, we stood opposite the jade colored building with the ‘Cafe du Monde’ sign above and full tables throughout.

Entering the full cafe with powdered sugar covering every patrons fingertips, we opted to order our beignets to go as fighting someone for a table required more energy than either of us could summon after our adventure.

With the iconic donuts clutched tightly in our brown paper bag, we set off from the busy counter towards our parking lot, with only the street name as a reminder. Strolling back down the street and with Cafe du Monde still in sight, we discovered the parking lot and our car only two minutes from it’s doors.

Leaving the city in the review mirror we laughed at the irony of our predicament and at the adventure through downtown New Orleans we had enjoyed while we crossed over the swamps back to Mississippi once again.