A Tale of [family madness in] Two Cities - Final Thoughts & PTR Link!

[brookelizabeth]

Continued from previous post

After this exploring was done we were all cold and getting hungry, so we walked away from the water and found a little mall.

3 women in a mall means shopping must be done!

I bought this-a spoon rest for the stove, a couple postcards, a magnet and a t-shirt for Henry (pic of all of it later)

We searched for the food court in this mall and found a tiny corner of it had about 3 choices...which were limited. All well! We were here, we were hungry and didn't feel like hunting out a place on the street.

Chicken sandwich for me

BBQ something for Joe

Back out on the street we were each handed a baseball hat by a random woman who said she was "giving them away, but we could donate $10 to help the homeless of New Orleans." This kind of tactic of raising money kinda irks me - but I liked the hat and was feeling generous, so I bought it. No idea if the money actually went to the homeless or in her pocket, but whatever!

Since it was so chilly, and we didn't have a set plan for the day, we deiced we'd just head back to our respective hotels for a nap, and we'd meet back up at the wedding that evening.

Themed garbage cans! Just like Disney!

Poppa took video of this corner - these musicians were warming up

I happens to find THIS VIDEO of these same musicians playing! I wish we had heard them! They are a great example of the "sound of New Orleans"...everywhere we went there was music coming from street musicians or the shops.

And we are back. Ready to nap!

Our lobby

A view out one of the windows next to the elevator

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[brookelizabeth]

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Our door

SOUVIES! Henry loves this shirt and wears it a lot!

All three of us laid down for a nap...but Henry stayed awake while Joe and I dozed. Not exactly what we had intended!

At some point we got all prettied and cleaned up and headed back out into the frigid air. Our destination was Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church for the wedding, and then onward to the Royal Sonesta for the reception. The church was a few blocks away and guess who fell asleep on the way over?

Yep, Henry!

It actually worked out beautifully because he slept through the ENTIRE wedding ceremony - and then woke up for the reception!

He even slept through these guys playing!

I couldn't get a picture of the bride, B, coming down the aisle, but Poppa got some great video HERE (2 minutes)

There wasn't time to catch much else. The wedding was exactly 28 minutes from the minute it started to when it ended.

We all filed out of the church where the musicians from the wedding were joined by a few more pieces of the band. They started to play...

Video from outside the church - great jazz music! (1 minute 12 seconds)

and the bride and groom led us down Bourbon Street to the hotel. We all danced and shouted and waved hankies. It was a BLAST! 20 second video HERE

The groom grinning ear to ear!

Inside the hotel we were led into a room for cocktail hour, then into a larger room for the reception.

Centerpiece

The beautiful couple had their first dance as husband and wife

Henry was dancing in his chair - he loves jazz music (as do Joe and I), so he was having a great time!

As you can see from the picture above, there was food. And LOTS of it! An entire second half of the room was opened to reveal these wonderful stations of food - everything from your basics to New Orleans specialties. It was delicious!

An entire table of bread.

My dessert of choice!

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[brookelizabeth]

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Henry wanted to take pictures with our camera...that made me nervous, so I CLOSELY supervised. Here is how he did:

Nice job for a 2 year old!!!

The reception was a ton of fun. The jazz band was excellent, the food was outstanding and the bride and groom had everyone laughing and crying with various stories they shared from their dating years.

As the meal wrapped up they welcomed everyone up to an Entertainment Suite in the hotel. We had spoken to the groom earlier, saying our good-byes, as it was getting pretty late and we had Henry to get to bed...but he insisted we come up, just for a few moments...so we did!

The jazz band, bride and groom led us out into the lobby and to the elevator bank that led to the Entertainment Suite.

• 50 second video HERE
• 2.5 minute video HERE

And the view off the balcony...

The balcony was right over Bourbon Street, it was pretty neat! Lots of people walking below wondered what kind of great party was going on up there on the balcony!

Looking through the balcony bars-aka Henry's View.

We felt pretty dorky at such a nice wedding in those jackets, but we had nothing else with - we didn't expect it to be in the low 40's upper 30's!

I was looking through the glass doors and noticed a random guy in a flannel shirt. I instantly thought "Uh oh, party crasher!" But turns out he was the pizza delivery guy...despite all the food we had just consumed downstairs, there were 12 pizzas delivered!

Henry was excited to see the police horses

Inside the place was hoppin'!

Joe grabbed a slice of pizza - he always has room - and we said our thank you's, gave our best wishes, and said our good-byes. It was one of the best weddings we have ever been too, we all had a BLAST!

I think we were starting to feel a little loopy...

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[brookelizabeth]

Continued from previous post

The Royal Sonesta decorations

The party was on the 3rd floor - the top balcony in this picture

On the way back to the hotel we ran into the first of many issues for the stroller:

Completely uneven sidewalks, huge pot holes, etc. Not stroller friendly!

From another angle - the lobby of our hotel

In the hotel room Henry insisted on putting on his own pants...

It didn't quite work!

Off to bed for the family...we had actual plans for the next day...and I was excited...!

 

[mrsksomeday]

Great updates!! The pictures of New Orleans are amazing and fantastic. The wedding looked wonderful, everyone was having such a great time. I love the pants picture of Henry that is adorable!

 

[nodnol]

New Orleans looks beautiful! Thank you for all the great pictures. I guess I have to put it on my list of places I want to visit if DH and I ever get on our long planned vacation in the US...

 

[ClaireW]

New Orleans and that wedding looked great! Well done Henry for sleeping through the ceremony and waking up in time to party

 

[Charleston Princess]

I just knew you would get great shots around New Orleans! You really captured the feel of the city with them!!!

Cool spoon rest! I really like it!

The wedding and reception look like so much fun!!! I love that the wedding procession walked down to the reception with jazz music playing! So neat! The food sounds delicious!!!

 

[Lady Lallie]

It sounds like it was a truly lovely wedding with lots of fun. I love weddings like that. They just make you happy.

I can't get over how beautiful New Orleans is!

 

[MEK]

Brooke -

You are an updating fiend! Why didn't I read all these updates over the weekend. What is WRONG with me??????? Now I can't see a single picture and I am frustrated beyond belief. But at least I have something to look forward to when I get home tonight.

About SWA - they used to let all the parents with kids under 6 board first specifically to prevent that jam up. But then they started the business class thing and paying for the early boarding. I think it screwed everything up. One thing I always knew was that there weren't going to be any kids anywhere near me on one of their flights, because they had all boarded while I was still in the bathroom. (not that I don't like little kids - I had two, but they cry, come with lots of equipment, and can get generally disruptive at times - capeesh?)

During my last SWA flight all the kids were sitting all around me and I thought, "How the heck did this happen?" So I can understand your frustration. You should have been up in the front of the plane to get settled. Once you are settled, everyone else comes in.

Still in all, I like SWA. And I am really glad they found Joe's phone. what a fiasco that would have been!

 

[jenseib]

So how excactly does SW work? I am considering it for our next trip as the prices are much cheaper for us, and then with free bags as well it could save us around $300 for the flight and then we won;t have to rent a car either as we would fly into MCO instead.

Love the NO's updates too. Looks beautiful there.

 

[luvfigment]

Great picutres of New Orleans! The wedding looked like tons of fun. What a great way to get to the receptions by going down Bourbon St. That must have been a blast! Henry did a great job taking pictures! I guess it is in his genes huh? Thanks for sharing!

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Hey BE! I'm so glad to hear things are working out for you guys in NYC. We just got back from out trip to the Twin Cities. It would have been great to have been able to meet you guys, but I know you are where God needs you to be. I couldn't remember where I left off on your TR so I've started over from beginning. And I'm glad I did. I missed the videos the first time around. I think they were on my "come back to" list and I just never made it back to them. Until now. I'm still on day 2, but am slowly catching back up. Loving it all again!

 

[ptcrn]

Henry took some great pics- he's a talented little photographer!

Love the march to the wedding reception with the jazz band- that looked like so much fun! Do the bride and groom live there?

The Bourbon Street pictures made me laugh- I can just smell the beer and Tide now! Reminds me of Savannah on St Patrick's Day!!

 

[MEK]

So how excactly does SW work? I am considering it for our next trip as the prices are much cheaper for us, and then with free bags as well it could save us around $300 for the flight and then we won;t have to rent a car either as we would fly into MCO instead.

Love the NO's updates too. Looks beautiful there.

Basically you book a seat. There are no assigned seats. When you check in 24 hours in advance you are giving a letter group - A,B, or C. Then within each letter group you get a number, for example B15. You line up by your number and that's how you board. You can sit where-ever you want once you are on the plane.

I have found boarding to be fairly easy. In the past everyone just picked a seat a sat down. I liked the boarding better when SWA didn't offer business select (which sits you towards the front) and the opportunity to pay $10 for earlier boarding.

In the past the only people that preboarded where people in wheelchairs and families with young kids. This made sense. Now you can have a high A position and still be towards the back of the plane.

I love SWA. Despite their no assigned seat policy I still find them to have great customer service and I love free luggage. Plus I love rebooking for lower prices and knowing that I can change my flight without change fees.

 

[MEK]

Brooke -

I love your pictures!!!!!!! That was the coolest wedding ever. I love music and I can't imagine actually having a trumpet play the trumpet voluntary instead of just the organ. Plus being escorted by a live band is just too cool. the buildings are fabulous. All the hotels look lovely. The French Quarter is very cool (of course I can't smell Bourbon street). Really, really fun update. I love seeing other places in people's TRs. Nice job!

And Henry did take some really great pictures! I don't know if that was beginner's luck but way to go Henry!

 

[SoonerGirl]

I'm back from St Louis and all caught up! You've been updating like crazy this past week!

Back to NYE - My first thought when I saw the wait times board at Epcot was "Figment was 45 mins???!!!", then I saw the 4 1/2 hrs for Soarin' That's INSANE!!!

I'm so sorry that Joe and Henry didn't make it to the Poly in time to see the fireworks with you It sounds like getting anywhere that day was a major hassle!

I had to smile at your comment about the way Bourbon Street smells, I thought the same thing when we went there for the Sugar Bowl several years ago. Unlike most people though, I couldn't get past how dirty and smelly it was - that one trip was enough for me, I don't care to ever visit the city again.

The wedding looked beautiful!!!

 

[thewesterberg]

What another great installment... love all the pictures of NOLA... It was a fun trip down memory lane - It was a year ago I was there for the big youth gathering and found out we'll be going back in 2 summers with the kids from church again. The street car, and the hotel, and the sights, sounds, smells... NOLA is very distinct!

And the wedding... wow! What a cool experience! It sounded like it was a fabulous celebration!

 

[All7OfUs]

What an amazing wedding party!!! I can't believe the food and entertainment! NOLA really is such a pretty city with so much history and culture. So different, really, from any other culture in the States!

I think I always have room from pizza too.

Do you think the sidewalk damage was from Katrina? or just that it's generally an old city?

 

[praisehisname]

I really enjoyed looking at the pictures from your walking/riding tour of the city! Very pretty and so much history!

That wedding was amazing! All that food looks/sounds wonderful! So glad you were able to go and have fun!

Looking forward to seeing what the next day's plans are!