New Orleans was amazing, everything was just as I thought it would be. We only had about 30 hours int he city,  but it was enough to get a feel for the place and I’m sure we’ll go back soon.

Raven was happy to have everyone on her stomping ground and seeing her again made it feel like we’d seen her only yesterday. (I love how you can see Emma in the sunglasses in this photo).

It was Mardi Gras, so we all got dressed up in our costumes. Tom was a sailor, I was a mermaid, Emma and Raven were cowgirls with oversized hats, Morgan was Captain Morgan and Amber (Raven’s sister) opted for a classy boa and mask combo.

We stared the day by watching some of the parades. Everyone was still celebrating from winning the superbowl, so we ended up with the Who Dat! song in our head, which goes along the lines of “Who dat? Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints? Who dat! Who dat!“.

Everyone was throwing beads in to the crowd, so we ended up with dozens of them around our necks.

We picked the worst parade watching spot, which was out of the sunlight, so we got cold pretty quickly.

We warmed up with hot bowls of gumbo.

Gumbo is a thick soup / stew with rice. I went for the seafood one which was quite yummy.

After lunch, we went for a wander around the French Quarter, which had such pretty buildings.

Emma and Raven got acquainted with the god fearing locals.

Our next stop was Pat O’Brien’s for some Hurricane cocktails.

These were super strong but so easy to drink. Morgan and Amber tried to teach me how to tie knots with cherry stalks.

It got lovely and warm in the sun, so we stayed out in the beer garden for a while.

After a few too many Hurricanes, we headed down to Bourbon street, which was a massive street party with people throwing beads down from the balconies.

Everyone’s costumes were amazing. Next time I want to dress up as a sugar skull.

Even the animals were dressed up.

If I ever have to move to Nola, I found the perfect house on Bourbon Street. I really want a porch with a swinging chair.

Tom and I took some time out to see the rest of the city. Everyone we met was so nice.

The shoreline was really pretty.

This was exactly how I imagined New Orleans to look.

In the evening, we all went for dinner at Mother’s Diner, where Tom managed to confuse the waiter by asking for “a glass of waiter”. I had pancakes for pancake day!

Afterwards we went for a drink in a pirate bar.

I’ve almost finished my quilt, I’m just waiting for the batting I ordered to arrive and then I can sew it on the back. I’ve had an alright week, mainly recovering from the party, hanging out with friends and going to the cinema. It turns out that Raven did have swine flu and, even though we had all been hanging out with her, none of us caught it.

Yesterday, we went for a slap-up lunch at Plan 9. They make amazing smoothies with names like berry-go-round, cardio angel and acai dream. Tamara Beckwith was there drinking one too. It turns out that lots of stars live near us, including Jude Law, Natalie Imbruglia, Bjork, Kiera Knightly and Sienna Miller.

Tom’s brother Jack has come to stay, so we picked him up from the station and went to see our friend, Ashxyz play at the Good Ship. Amy, who was one of my friends in high school was there, so it was fun catching up after years and years and sharing Vegetarian cafe tips (note to self: got to check out Pogo Cafe for banana, honey & rice milk shakes).

I also bought some new Tatty Devine jewelry in the sale with my birthday money – a huge zip brooch and a heart-shaped glasses necklace.