Day #2 -- the wedding of the decade!

This morning we awoke at 10:00am!!  We had some coffee in our room, got ready for the day, and decided to walk to Cafe du Monde, a famous coffee and beignet place.  It was already pretty steamy out -- our first taste of New Orleans on a day late in May.  Our walk took us down Royal Street in the French Quarter.

We went into some shops as we strolled.  We were in the art/antiques section of the city.  And we came upon a cat viewing some art as well...

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We arrived at Cafe du Monde at about 11:40 and found a table with two other women, one of whom lived in the area and the other from Colorado.  The place was packed, and we sat there for at least 10 minutes without being waited on, so we decided to leave because we had lunch reservations at 1PM and needed to stop back at the hotel before lunch.  But we took a picture next to the place!

 On our way back to the hotel, we saw this sign describing a short history of the city.

We climbed the steps on the sea wall to view the mighty Mississippi. A huge ship was passing by - awesome.

 As we turned off Decatur to go up a side street to get back to Royal Street, what should we pass but the New Orleans School of Cooking!  I was able to get some Joe's Stuff, a staple of my famous oven-fried chicken, right from the source!

After a brief pit stop at the hotel, it was on to Herbsaint, a restaurant highly recommended by Swanna and Christian, the couple to be married this evening.

What a fabulous place!  The service was great -- friendly and efficient.  There were definitely some power lunches going on; the restaurant was in what looked like a financial area.  We chose carefully - I had my very first Pimm's Cup -- quite refreshing!

Bob chose a wine flight - 3 northern Italian wines.

Here is the list of wines: Bob looks a little scary, I must say!

For our appetizers, I chose cornmeal fried oysters - incredibly succulent with a sauce that had a bit of a kick.

Bob had pork testa -- kind of a pork pate on toast.  Both appetizers were quite delicious.

Our entree choices were the yin and yang of lunch.  Bob had crispy GOAT (he said it tasted like lamb, but it really didn't -- it tasted like chicken -- just kidding -- it tasted like goat!!!).

And I had a spicy chicken dish that tasted like -- chicken. Go figure.  So many interesting flavors in the rub and broth!

View of the restaurant from the street.

We skipped dessert and headed back to the hotel, where we found some friends at -- what a surprise -- the bar!!  This is New Orleans, after all, where it's commonplace to see people on the street carrying various open containers of alcohol -- beer, hurricanes, daiquiris, etc. I chose a hurricane to enjoy while revolving on the carousel.  It truly is a carousel -- the bartenders have to climb over the bar to get out because there's no door through....

While sitting there, who should arrive but Amanda!  We caught up some more (we'd chatted the evening before).

 There were also other people sitting near the bar that we recognized from the previous evening.  I introduced myself to them, and, again, when I mentioned Sam's name, they all knew who I was.

While chatting with them, I discovered that many women were wearing fascinators just for fun to the wedding.  So this sent me on a mission (while Bob stayed behind and chatted with Amanda and his new friends) to find a fascinator.  I can't believe that I ACTUALLY TRIED ONE ON IN CANADA but decided not to buy it!!! I tried a few shops near the hotel -- no luck.  I went further afield, going all the way back to Cafe du Monde just as the skies absolutely OPENED UP.  I got totally drenched before I decided to buy one of the plastic bags that has a hood and armholes - my sandals were sopping wet.  BUT...I found something close to a fascinator!! Yay!! I got back to the hotel just in time to take a shower and get ready for the wedding, which was at 6:30.  

Swanna had been sick all day -- she claimed food poisoning, but it was probably stress and lack of sleep.  And then all that rain.  But by the time we were dressed and ready to go, the sun was out and the streets were almost totally dry.  Amazing.  We ran into a bunch of people walking to the Pharmacy Museum, the site of the wedding, and we sat with Sarah and Amanda, who looked fabulous.

And the skies stayed blue, and there was a lovely breeze...perfect.

Looking up from my seat at the wedding

Of course, Swanna was about 10 minutes late, but arrived looking radiant!

 Exchanging vows.

The wedding was so sweet - they exchanged lovely vows and even sang together - and we sang the chorus!! Then an amazing vocalist sang Ave Maria and a few other songs as well.

We toasted with champagne after the ceremony.  Gitty had told me that there was a memory table set up with friends and family who had passed away -- and Sam and Rhiannon's picture was on that table.  So sweet and lovely and moving.

Then it was time to get ready for the second line, a New Orleans tradition!  The bride and groom basically lead a parade of the guests, who have hankies in one hand and drinks in the other (we had Abita beer), through the French Quarter and to the reception, accompanied by a New Orleans band.  What an absolute hoot!!! We had people throwing beads down just like at Mardi Gras, and the police kept the area clear of traffic.  Wow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IcD1HhcAUI&feature=youtu.be

And then -- my iphone camera was full.... So I took ONE picture at the reception.  But I was too busy chatting, eating, drinking, and dancing!!!!

I did get one picture of the two of them cutting the cake. 

After a full day, we were exhausted by about 10PM, so we said our good-byes and walked back to the hotel. 

The Big Easy Wedding - Day #1

Monday through Wednesday passed in rapid succession after our trip to Canada.

This week I learned that our final exam only counts if it helps the student's grade. What a mess -- here's moment of clarity I found on Facebook.

But then I looked around at my bright classroom on a sunny day and felt better.

We left for the airport a little after 3pm, left our car at the Park n Jet, ate dinner at Legal Seafood, got on the plane, and made our way to New Orleans.

View close to New Orleans

We arrived at our hotel, freshened up, and headed for the House of Blues, where our first event was a meet and greet. We sat by ourselves for a while after saying hello to Swanna and meeting Christian, but then Sarah Shepard and Amanda Schweitzer showed up and we chatted with them.

Looking a little worse for the wear, I'd say -- not Sarah, us!!

Eventually, I introduced myself to Gitty -- when I told her that I was Sam Cassel's mother, she immediately knew who I was. And when  I told her I was ginger 755, she really knew who I was. That same pattern occurred every time I recognized a name from Instagram!

We stayed until 11:30 and stopped to take some pictures of the House of Blues.

The upcoming acts performing

Back at our hotel, we had a nightcap at the famous Carousel Bar. Bed at 12:30ish Central time!!

The long and winding road home.

This morning we were packed by breakfast time; our last delicious meal at Abacot.
I had a fried egg and sausage.

Bob had an omelette.

We said good-by to our hosts and the other guests and were on the road before 10AM.  I was trying to find some chenin blanc that I remembered purchasing 2 years ago -  I though I had gotten it at one of two wineries.  We stopped at the first, Jackson Triggs, but they don't grow those grapes.  However, we did get a few pictures of the growing grapevines in front of the winery. -- http://www.jacksontriggswinery.com/

We tried Trius again to see if I had missed the chenin blanc yesterday, but the manager again confirmed that this area is not the right microclimate for chenin blanc grapes.  She called around to other places, but no luck. Must have been dreaming, or perhaps they had one bumper crop with limited bottling a few years ago.  Oh, well.  After crossing the border in RECORD time, we took the fast way home (not through the heart of the Finger Lakes) and stopped in Conklin, NY, to try a German restaurant called Hallo, Berlin.  We were the only customers there for most of our meal, which was delicious!  Bob had a Dortmunder weisbeer; I had a dark beer. -- http://www.halloberlinrestaurant.com/

Enjoying a relaxing lunch near Binghamton, NY.

Bob had bratwurst, and I had curry wurst; we shared an order of spaetzle -- yummy.

 

We finally arrived back home at about 6:30 after a really great time in Canada. Waiting on our porch were places to visit to order granite, flooring, and paint for this year's renovation: redoing our kitchen!

Day 3 - Theater and such.

This morning's breakfast was eggs Abacot - with a sense of humor!

We ate a leisurely meal at Abacot -- here are some pictures of the back of the b&b -- so lovely.

After breakfast, we drove into town and then parked a few blocks away from the Festival Theater, the afternoon's destination. Near where we parked and across the street from an old folks home was this sign - hmmm.

We explored the opposite end of town and had lunch at Zee's, a restaurant right across the street from the theater. I had a charcuterie plate. -- http://www.niagarasfinest.com/properties/zeesgrill/

Bob had salmon, pickled beets, and greens.

We then saw Oscar Wilde's Mrs. Windermere's Fan. Although the production values and acting were good, the pacing was slooow. The play had been edited and not in a good way - Bob had just read it, so he was our expert! -- http://www.shawfest.com/

We stopped back at the b&b and then headed for a quick wine tasting at Trius before dinner at Peller Estates. We bought varied red wines and ice wine at Trius. -- http://www.triuswines.com/

Dinner at Peller was an event - the chef there had won the Canadian version of Top Chef two years ago. We tasted some wines before heading in to our five course tasting menu. -- http://www.peller.com/

Before the first course, we had a duck prosciutto amuse bouche.

Here we are looking good - behind us were two sisters who were also staying at Abacot. We joked about being hired by their husbands!

First course - Chard pistachio goat cheese with ice cuvée sparkling wine 

Second course -- Leek scallop soup paired with chardonnay

Third course -- Pork belly with asparagus and lobster paired with Pinot noir

Palate cleanser -- rhubarb cordial

Fourth course -- Bison tenderloin with fiddleheads, lima beans, and potatoes paired Cabernet Sauvignon 

Pre-dessert dessert -- Carrot cake with ice wine-soaked raisins and walnuts

Fifth course -- chocolate ice cream sandwich with cookies and cream ice cream and chocolate bits, caramel, and peanuts paired with late harvest Vidal wine

 

Two and a half hours of foodie heaven! Afterward, we offered the sisters a ride back to our b&b -- they had been planning to take a cab back. Bed at 10ish.