Close by to the party island of Mykonos is the spiritual island of Delos. We were able to take a day trip there.
Delos is famous for being the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. It was for a long time important for both being a religious center and for commerce (in part because of slave trade). Now it just serves as good reminder of a part of Greek history.
Stairway to highest point on Island.
It is customary to stack stones at the top.
New Orleans is a wonderful city. I used to get my fix almost yearly when I would visit for Jazz Fest. Now it seems hard to fit in a Jazz Fest trip with all my other travel plans. My last visits have been limited to visiting my friend who lives close by the city and to attend a New Orleans wedding.
After a romantic proposal in the city, my friends S1 and S2 decided to get married there. It was a dream of S2 to get married in the beautiful Saint Louis Cathedral. Luckily there were both Catholic and able to do so.
We started the trip with some fun on the town. We hung out on Bourbon Street. Somehow I always seem to end up there even though those bars are not my favorite and I really want to make it down to Frenchman Street someday.
The night is started at Pat O’Briens and hurricanes must be had with good friends.
We then headed down to a couple dance clubs. One of which a couple in the group got to ride a mechanical bull (sorry no good pictures of this). The other was with this dude who hit on everything and would not leave anyone alone.
We got to do some of the normal tourist things on this trip. A walk around the French quarter exposed many talented street musicians.
We were also there close to the superbowl the year New Orleans Saints made it for the first time. There was a wonderful street parade to commemorate it. I have pictures from that in a separate post.
The main event was the wedding at Saint Louis Cathedral. The ceremony was beautiful. It was charming to have an old school Catholic priest to tell them that good Catholics should have many children.
The surprise for all the quests to participate in a Second Line immediately following the ceremony.
It was a cold January day so the second line was cut short and brought indoors to continue the party.
Following the second line party, we continued into the ballroom in the Bourbon Orleans Hotel to finish the reception.
So much fun the reception was that I forgot to take some good pictures. But trust me it was a blast.
The next day we once more visited our new favorite breakfast place The Old Coffee Pot.
Of course I do not make a trip to New Orleans without partaking in a bloody mary. This beautiful one was from Stanley Restaurant in Jackson square. New Orleans is one of the few places that utilizes the green bean as part of the bloody mary. Garnishes really make the mary.
Some other sightseeing goodies….
Also on the trip Carlos and I did a voodoo and cemetery tour, but I will save that for another post later.
Love New Orleans!!!
During our trip to Brazil we made a stop to the amazing Iguazú Falls. The water from the falls flows into the Iguazu river which at some point touches Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay in the same place.
We stayed at the economical and clean Paudimar Hostel that had private rooms. The hostel was able to arrange a tour for us that included a raft ride into the river to get a great view of the falls. Additionally we got to view the falls from both the Argentinian and Brazilian sides.
While viewing the falls we met up with a cool group of fellow travelers and spent most of the day viewing with our new friends.
And some very brave butterflies.
The best part is when the sun hit the falls just right and produced some beautiful rainbows.
The falls were a sight to remember. If you get a chance, you must visit.
They did it. The tomatoes survived. They survived some freezes and the survived neglect while we were in India.
We came home from a vacation to this bounty. So far we have used them for salads, lentils, and spaghetti sauce.
The biggest problem is that we cannot eat them fast enough!!!
Some fresh herbs as well.
My second favorite market in Spain is La Boqueria in Barcelona. While it did not have all the late night drinking options that the Mercado de San Miguel had in Madrid, one could still pick up a sandwich, fruit bowl, and juice there. I enjoyed looking over all the food options. I wish we had a market this big where I live.
Growing With Leala 