The Bywater Skeleton Krewe

After breakfast on Monday, our last day in NOLA, we did a walking tour of Faubourg Marigny.

Sidecars are something you don't see much these days.

Pssssst--have you heard about President Pinocchio's Russian connection?

Tom, in town for the NBA's All-Star weekend, joined us in Bywater, part of the Ninth Ward. Despite the close proximity of the mighty Mississippi, the neighborhood escaped flooding after Hurricane Katrina because of its slightly higher elevation, away from the levees that broke.

Bywater is even funkier than Faubourg Marigny with lots of interesting street art, Art Deco buildings, junk stores and ornately decorated telephone poles.

Aladdin Sane's in da hood, always a good omen!

The Bywater Skeleton Krewe + a neighborhood pooch.  Unfortunately, none of us actually plays an instrument.

Euclid Records didn't suffer the fate of Jim Russell Rare Records on Magazine Street.  A peek inside the wondrous emporium transported me back to 1958 and the first singles my parents ever bought me: Sheb Wooley's Purple People Eater and David Seville's Witch Doctor. Speeding up the latter's ear worm chorus eventually produced Alvin & the Chipmunks.

Loco Bowie behind a Guy Fawkes mask.  Fuckin' brilliant!!!!!

We crossed the railroad tracks to walk back to the French Quarter alongside the Mississippi.

After a lazy afternoon, we dined early at the Commander's Palace in the Garden District.  A band of Mardi Gras revelers took the starch out of a place where the dress code is loosely enforced, to say the least.

I'm a Waitress in a Donut Shop

After horrifying Thom--someone promptly threw up near his shoes the minute we turned the corner onto Bourbon Street for his first and only visit--we made our way to Maypop, a new restaurant celebrated for its Asian spin on Creole cuisine.

All evidence to the contrary, Mardi Gras revelers don't barf beads.

After our most delicious meal of the trip, we hit Frenchmen Street for the second night in a row.  Brass bands in New Orleans arrest you with their talent.

But we had trouble finding a bar that played the kind of music we all liked.

This anonymous combo reminded me of Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks, definitely an acquired taste.  If the kewpie doll vocalist had covered "Sweetheart," I would have been in heaven.

Faubourg Marigny

Before returning our bikes, Thom and I cruised around the colorful Faubourg Marigny neighborhood, now inhabited by hipsters.  NOLA homes are generally much deeper than they are wide because of the property tax structure.

 

 Gay hipsters are even more painstaking in their restorations.

Some residents go all out with the Mardi Gras decorations.  Check out this bead tree.