LOUISIANA: NEW ORLEANS CUISINE

 November 6-10, 2019 

You know, it just seems WRONG to write a post on food that my husband was not there to eat with me.  Usually I rely on his food photos, at least in part, for my blog because he is so much more obsessive about taking pictures of food than I am. I didn't have that option this time, and I can tell. My food pictures are a little sparse. 

As I mentioned in a previous post, I ate all of my meals away from the hotel--well, except for the very last one. It was my goal to 1) eat local dishes and 2) not gain ten pounds. The goal first was easy, the second was hard. The criteria for my choices of dining establishments were that they had to be within walking distance of my conference and they had to get at least four stars on Yelp. Olde Nola Cookery looked like a good place to begin.

I ordered redfish etouffée, which the menu defined as "Fresh Gulf redfish blackened then topped with crawfish etouffée. Served with vegetables and red beans."  My vegetable was collard greens. Delicious.

LOUISIANA: NEW ORLEANS, Part 2 - National World War II Museum and New Orleans Museum of Art

November 6-10, 2019 

I visited two really good museums while I was in New Orleans: The National World War II Museum and the New Orleans Museum of Art.

1. The National World War II Museum

At the end of a long day of conferencing, I grabbed a taxi (Uber was SUPER slow in New Orleans, but a cab was always waiting at the hotel) and headed to what Congress designated in 2003 as America's official National World War II Museum. The museum's website states, "The National WWII Museum tells the story of the American experience in the war that changed the world--why it was fought, how it was won, and what it means today--so that all generations will understand the price of freedom and be inspired by what they learn."

Originally called the D-Day Museum, the museum opened (appropriately) on June 6, 2000. It is affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution and is worth much more time than I was able to give to it. Since its opening it has had many expansions and added many new exhibits. It is a must-see museum, whether your are a war buff or history aficionado or neither. Just go.

I started in the European theater section, and was reminded that the United States lost far fewer of its service members than its enemies did.

The war was also NOT a popular cause in the early years.

LOUISIANA: NEW ORLEANS, Part I - Bourbon Street, Two Churches, and Four Books

 November 6-10, 2019

As part of my job as the coordinator of a community college honors program, I have the option of attending a national conference every year. In 2019, that conference was in New Orleans.

Heck yes, I'll go!

The conference was great, and I LOVED the location. It was my second visit to New Orleans, but my first visit had been brief and about fifteen or sixteen years earlier.

The conference was held in the Sheraton Hotel on Canal Street, just blocks from the French Quarter, and so that is also where I stayed.

Even the hotel décor screams "NEW ORLEANS!"

Here is the view of Canal Street--the Champs d'Elysee of New Orleans--from my room. One interesting fact about this street is that with three lanes going each direction, it is supposed to be the widest thoroughfare in the United States called a "street" instead of an "avenue" or "boulevard."

Same view at night:

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Of course, being close to the French Quarter can be, um, shall we say "enlightening"? 

CANADA: TORONTO TEMPLE, SKYLINE, AND KENSINGTON

September 29-20, 2018

One of the things I like to do as we travel is visit LDS Temples. Currently there are 168 around the world, with 24 under construction and 39 announced that haven't begun construction yet. That is a lot of temples, and I'm not likely to see them all, but it is fun to see one when I can.

The Toronto Ontario Temple was completed and dedicated in 1990.

Like every LDS Temple I have ever visited, the grounds are exquisite.

CANADA: ONTARIO'S BRUCE PENINSULA NATIONAL PARK

 September 29, 2018

On our second day in Ontario we drove along the Bruce Peninsula. Toronto, our starting point (marked with a red oval below), is on the shores of Lake Ontario. The Bruce Peninsula (the red pin on the map) pokes out into the Canadian portion of Lake Huron, almost dividing that lake into two parts.

At the far northern end of the peninsula lies Bruce Peninsula National Park, shown on the map from Wikipedia below. Covering 60 square miles, it forms the core of UNESCO's Niagara Escarpment World Biosphere Reserve. (That's a totally new UNESCO category for me.)

But first, we had a drive of about 290 miles to get there, and like just about every road trip we've ever taken, there was a lot to see along the way.

This was a definite first for us. We've never seen a turtle crossing sign before.

CANADA: TORONTO, THE TRINITY COLLEGE NEIGHBORHOOD

September 28, 2018

(NOTE: The only advantage of not being able to travel because of the COVID pandemic is that it gives me some space to go back and catch up on recording some of our previous travels that I had not been able to get to. This is one such trip.)

In September 2018 Bob had a Friday business meeting in Toronto, Canada. I wanted to go along, so we decided to add an extra day, then fly home on Sunday. We took a red-eye flight from LAX to Toronto, arriving at 6:46 am. We had time to check into our hotel and shower before heading to Bob's meeting, which was held at Trinity College, part of the University of Toronto.

While Bob was in his meeting, I had a couple of hours to wander around. I started by going off the campus to see what was nearby. 

1. The Church of the Redeemer is an Anglican Church that was built in 1879. Sadly, the church administration had to sell of some of its land in the 1980s, and a massive Four Seasons Hotel was built on the property. However, the money from the sale allowed the church to remain solvent and to complete necessary renovations.

It doesn't have a particularly spectacular interior, but it does have some really beautiful stained glass windows. They were gifts to the church during the early 20th century.

The central window behind the altar depicts Christ on the Road to Emmaus.

These are the windows on either side of the above window. They show scenes from the life of Christ and parables: Christ and the children, Christ in the house of Mary and Martha, and the Good Samaritan.

FAREWELL, MEXICO!

March 19, 2018

Well, all good things trips do actually have to come to an end, and we were at the end of a glorious Mexican viaje. On our last morning in Mexico City, we had time to eat one more incredible breakfast, this time at Casino Español. I can't get enough of the chocolate milk in Mexico, and the fruit plate was fresh and yummy (even the papaya, which I am trying to make myself like, wasn't too bad).

I had an egg, beef steak, nopales (cactus), and beans:

Bob had red chilaquiles with a beef steak: