Krewe of Barkus

No explanation necessary for the Krewe of Barkus.  Magda accused me of behaving like the paparazzi of Jackson Square.  Guilty as charged.  For the video, I got down to the dogs' level.

French Quarter Morning

Mardi Gras wreaths, a bicycle built for two, an encrusted chariot and mermen welcomed us to the French Quarter Saturday morning.

We picked up beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde and ate them on a bench overlooking the Mississippi River before heading to Jackson Square, named after our current President's role model.

Catholics began worshipping at the St. Louis Cathedral 75 years before the US made the Louisiana Purchase.  A fire destroyed the original building in 1788.

French touches included a clam shell

a bedazzled Virgin Mary and baby Jesus,

and fleur de lis everywhere you looked.

A itinerant artist used his bike as support for his sketch pad.

The figurines in this window display looked a little too much like lawn jockeys.

Other gritty remnants of NOLA's past were evident near Canal Street.

This was as close as we got to a streetcar on St. Charles Avenue.  They weren't running because of an afternoon Mardi Gras parade.