Easter in "The Big Easy"

We arrived at our hotel in New Orleans after only a slight snafu with the GPS. (Someone had programmed the wrong address in. Oh wait! That was me...) I had read about the Prince Conti Hotel (pictured right) online, and I was more than a little suspicious that a hotel with such rave reviews as this one could be so affordable. But it was all true! The Prince Conti was everything you would imagine an upscale hotel located in the heart of the New Orleans French Quarter to be. The rooms were beautifully appointed, the staff friendly, and the entire hotel smelled of fresh-cut flowers. Plus, they had valet parking in an internal parking lot with a 24-hour guard, so there was little worry about break-in.

What can I say about New Orleans? It's fun and filthy! The architecture is neat, and the sewer really stinks! Easter Sunday is a great day to be there. There are parades and costumes, but the streets are nowhere near as crowded as Mardi Gras. New Orleans happens to be the only city I know with a Gay Easter Parade! Just imagine, if you will, these queens in their taffida gowns, enormous plumed hats, and dainty parasoles. What a riot. Somehow I didn't have my camera with me, so I'm sorry I don't have any pics of that.

We spent the afternoon and evening strolling the French Quarter. It truly is beautiful, and we were once again blessed with agreeable weather. Michael and I were both only expecting the French Quarter to be one, maybe two streets long, but it goes on and on for blocks. It's also a very adult-oriented place. Michael and I were a little shocked to turn the corner and come face-to-face with Larry Flynn's Barely Legal Mens Club. But the blues music was blasting and the evening warm, so we ordered drinks from a sidewalk stand and wandered.