Day 5 - Tuesday 31st October - Halloween!

We Will Rise Again by George Rodrigues

I woke about 8.30am but lay in for a while, then grabbed a pastry and V8 from the hotel breakfast before heading back to my room for a much needed cuppa and a write up of the meal from last night. Then I headed off back to the French Quarter to find Bayona – tonight’s restaurant. It turns out to be about 2 blocks from Brennan’s so another easy walk. En route to Bayona I visit George Rodrigues gallery, but unfortunately it is closed. A few doors up there is a gallery selling his work (out of my price league still I’m afraid). There was also work by a couple of other artists that I was very impressed with and ended up buying a print of ‘Lumus Redux’ by James Michalopoulas. I still want a copy of ‘We Will Rise Again’ by George Rodrigues. I have admired the piece since he did it, but having seen the print in real life on the wall of Restaurant August, and then the original silkscreen in the window of George’s gallery I am completely in love with it. Unfortunately, the print is $500 so a bit out of my price league at this time. On the way back I visit ‘La Petit Fleur’, a quaint jeweller's that I had seen the day before. Here I buy 3 gold charms for my bracelet – a fleur de lis; New Orleans masks and a shrimp.

Lumus Redux by James Michalopulos

I wander down to the Farmer’s market and the French market beyond. There I meet a local artist Jon Guillaume – a very talented man, his work is very intense. He is also a very nice guy and I have quite a chat with him before buying one of his signed prints called ‘Hurricane in the Quarter’. I stop for brunch at the Market Café where I have a crawfish pie and chicken & andouille gumbo with a couple of local Abita beers (turbodog). It was very tasty and was accompanied by some excellent jazz by a guy who sounded just like Louis Armstrong (even though he was white). I return to my room to drop off my purchases and then head back out towards Jackson Square.

Hurricane in the Quarter by Jon Guillaume

Louis Armstrong soundalike

I stop at Tower records, which is closing down – I am hoping to get the limited edition version of Black Parade. They didn’t have it, but they did have a Gary Numan set that I don’t have (amazing I know) and so I bought that – 3cd box set of Hybrid + remixes for $15 … bargain! I also had quite a long chat with the shop assistant about GN. Seems he’s got quite a big following in New Orleans. I guess Trent Reznor really helped to build his profile over there. I then walked round Jackson Square. Unfortunately, the perfume shop that had the lovely Bourbon Vanilla perfume is no longer there, in fact most of the shops I remember from my last visit seem to have gone.

crawfish pie, gumbo, beer and crystal hot sauce - a New Orleans feast!

I had decided that I was going to visit one of the fortune tellers. I haven’t had a reading for a few years so was interested to see if anything has improved. I had intended to walk round the whole square before deciding who to visit, but instead stopped at the first teller – so I guess she must have been the right one for me. It was an interesting reading. Like most readings not all of it made sense, but there was loads that did. She asked me no personal details except one thing, was I single or in a relationship. Examining my hands, she then asked me to pick 5 cards from the tarot deck. Finally I would then choose 1 that would represent me. She then used a crystal to draw the energy from my hand and cards to make the reading. She told me that I had a very strong aura and that angels are drawn to me (yeah, right …whatever!). I have several aides who watch over me (this I already knew as I have been told this many times). One especially close is a relative who died of cancer a few years ago, probably a grandmother. She said both my parents were alive and well and that I have a sister, who I am not as close to as I’d like. She told me I had been through some very rough times, and that I had more to go, but that things would soon be getting much better for me. I have a very long lifeline and deserve to have a long life for all the trouble I have had, both in this life and in the 3 I have lived previously. Then she said she needed to check my comment about being single as it didn’t make sense with what she was seeing. She asked if I was seeing anyone, even just as a friend. I said yes and she explained that although we are just friends at the moment she can see it possibly being more in the future, although it will take a lot of time to develop. She said I had been very badly hurt twice before and find it almost impossible to open up to love, but that he would help me open up to love again, which would mean that when my true love arrives (apparently a man with a broken heart, which I will help to mend) I will be ready to love unconditionally again. She also told me she could see money coming my way soon. Not sure how or where it’s coming from but she reckons it will be a considerable amount (perhaps I’m going to win the lottery). I was then told that I work too hard and should cut down, but she was aware that I found it difficult to stop and that it was part of my nature in the same way that helping people was. Unfortunately, she then said that someone who used to be in my life would be coming back into it. The person who hurt me more than any other, who left me for someone else and left me unable to love (yep she really did say it like that) is coming back and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. (Strange this, as the last 3 readings I’ve had have all told me the same thing). She finished by reiterating that generally things would get better for me and I had lots of angels looking out for me, which is a good thing as she also told me there are several people currently in my life who want bad things for me, although they pretend to be my friend to my face. She says I need to work out who these people are and cut them out of my life. Not really sure what I felt afterwards, a bit overwhelmed by information I guess, but she had told me so many things she shouldn’t have known it was hard to dismiss it all completely.

trick or treaters

Walking back to the hotel, I saw loads of people in fancy dress. I wish I was dressing up too, but it’s not the same being on my own. I want to visit the Haunted House on Bourbon Street, but I think that’s going to be packed tonight!

Bayona's menu

My visit to Bayona is disappointingly short and I’m back at the hotel by just after 10pm which included a stop at Wendy’s for milk and a convenience store for coke (I’m not exactly being a rock and roll chick on this holiday, am I?). It was another interesting meal and a bit of an eye opener too. Last night I was almost coerced into sitting at the bar, which was OK apart from the smoking, but it was only this evening that I realised how smoothly they’d done it. I got to Bayona at 7.50pm for an 8pm table. By this time I can hardly walk – lucky I bought those ballet pumps as I could never have walked to the restaurant in high heels. I dressed in a black skirt, with a black devore top, black marcasite jewellery and Halloween nails just for a touch of dressing up. I was immediately shown to my seat (unlike the previous night where I had waited for over 15 minutes at the bar even though the restaurant was almost empty). It was nice to be at a table in the main restaurant area, rather than out of the way or in a corner, but not so nice that it was on the main walkway, so everyone who walked past me looked at me pityingly because I was dining alone.

The service was very quick – they are friendly and attentive, but it is clear they wanted to get me out as soon as possible. My main course arrived at the same time as the couple next to me, but they already had their starters when I sat down, and I am not the fastest eater in the world. This continues with dessert and when I was sitting people watching while I finished my wine I was told several times not to hurry, but just to remind me that my bill was there to be paid. The meal cost $116 including the tip and was lovely. It was completely different from the food offered at August, but yet again tasted completely fantastic. However, I really do wish I hadn’t been there alone.

So I’m sure you want to know what I had to eat, as it was the reason for visiting the restaurant. I had a Sazerac cocktail whilst I was looking at the menu. The Sazerac was the first cocktail ever created, and it was created in New Orleans, so I felt I really ought to try it. It is made with rye whisky and Herbsaint – and to be honest tasted pretty nasty! It was a bit like Benedictine and whisky but with a bitter undertone. For my starter I chose goat’s cheese toast with mushrooms in a cream and sherry sauce. This was followed by a Neiman pork chop with rough grits and spinach and cheese. The dessert was an Appalachian apple stack with a caramel and moonshine ice cream. To go with the entrée I had ½ a bottle of Pinot Noir.

Halloween decorations

I walked back via Bourbon Street. It was really interesting to see all the crowds dressed up and enjoying Halloween. The main Halloween action was over at Frenchman’s Street, but that is outside the other end of the French Quarter and was too far (and too dangerous) for me to walk alone at night and my feet were hurting so badly by then I couldn’t have walked that far anyway. I considered briefly whether to visit Harrah’s Casino on the way back to the hotel, but to be honest I’m far too tight to waste money on slot machines, and I didn’t even fancy sitting in Ernst’s, so went back to the hotel room to listen to MCR and read my book. Once again an early night – I was in bed by 11.30pm, yes disappointing I know in such a party town.