Garden District, New Orleans

Today was supposed to be museum day in New Orleans for me. Before I started that, I decided that I'd take the trolley out to the ritzy neighborhood in the Garden District, just to see how the other half lives.

Little did I know that it would take up most of the day. Luckily, the first trolley, or street car as they all them, operator convinced me I needed a day pass, which was only $3. OK, I figured she knew best and she certainly did. It's not just one trolley that goes everywhere, but you have to transfer to other trolleys along the way. Then, in the ritzy neighborhood, they were redoing the track, so all riders transferred to the regular bus service - gratis.

The homes in this area were massive, ornate with leaded beveled glass doors and some with stained glass windows. Huge old sprawling live oak trees with Spanish moss lined the streets and yards were well maintained behind the pointed iron fences. A few of the larger ones had been converted to apartments, but most of them looked like single family residences.

It was so convenient to have the pass. When I got hungry for lunch I just got off, had lunch and then continued on where I left off, taking another trolley. I could tell there were other tourists on the trolleys that were just riding for the fun of it, I kept seeing the same ones and overheard that comment a few times. It sure was nice to have someone else doing the driving so I could concentrate on the sightseeing.

By the time I got back to the station I had left that morning, I had just enough time for a quick visit to one of the museums on my list. Tomorrow I have 4 more places to go, so I plan to get an earlier start than I did today. I have already had to extend my stay for tomorrow, and may extend for the next day. It's really nice to be able to reschedule when the mood strikes.