Quick Trip to the Big Easy

Chris and I celebrated the twelfth anniversary of our very first date (March 12, 2004) with a weekend trip to New Orleans. We left James with family (thanks again, you guys!) and flew off for some fun!
We stayed at the Q & C Hotel, which we LOVED! They had a great bar in the lobby where Chris proceeded to repeatedly kick my ass at Connect Four, and our room had exposed brick walls, a sliding barn door to the bathroom, and giant windows looking out over the city. The location was close enough to the French Quarter to easily walk there, but far enough away that we avoided the non-stop party noise and subsequent morning messes. 
Found this cool building front just around the corner from our hotel. Wonder where the rest of it went…
One of the things we love to do when we travel is to just wander through the streets and see what we see. New Orleans is a great city for this and we enjoyed strolling through the French Quarter (aside from some terrible smells reminding us of the party previously enjoyed by others) and the Garden District where many old mansions remain. After coming across a St. Patrick’s Day Parade being held on Magazine Street, we ducked into Sucré for some delicious treats and to wait out the chaos a little bit. Word of advice on strolling in New Orleans- keep your eyes somewhat on the sidewalks. They are terribly uneven and cracked and I was completely convinced that I was going to really trip and end up flat on my face eventually (I didn’t, but there were some close calls).
Enjoying the lovely architecture of the French Quarter. Those balconies are just gorgeous!
Taking an obligatory stroll down Bourbon Street to check it out. It was not really our scene.
Jackson Square on a gray day. It was supposed to be terribly rainy and wasn’t, so we remained grateful to be dry.
I may have been enjoying the breeze blowing off the Mississippi, but I appear less than pleased at having my picture taken.
Very cool riverboat heading down the mighty Mississippi River.
Saturday night, we went out to Frenchmen Street to hear some great live music, enjoying jazz and blues at a couple different clubs. It was really fun and I loved all the different types of music available there!
Club selfie at Bamboula’s. Try not to notice the creepy-eyed zombie girl behind us. 
Sunday was an absolutely beautiful day! We started the day with beignets and coffee from Cafe Du Monde (of course!), grabbing ours to go and enjoying them in Jackson Square across the street. 
Can you see how happy we are at the knowledge of our impending delicious breakfast??
That giant beard caught a lot of powdered sugar!
Our only non-selfie couple picture of the weekend! Thanks to the stranger who took it!
St. Louis Cathedral against a bright blue sky.
I would like to sit on that balcony reading and watching the world go by.
One of my favorite parts of the whole weekend was strolling through the French Quarter on Sunday afternoon listening to all the street musicians. They were so amazing! I love listening to live music and was blown away by the talent we saw just playing for tips in the street. 
This couple was awesome. The woman wailed and the man played the tuba and drums
at the same time!  
This was a great jazz group! Just after this a group of drunk guys came up and started dancing in the streets, which was pretty entertaining.