Cue serious Blues music.......New Orleans..

We have arrived. Oh yeah now Babe ~ oh yeah. We are smack bang in the middle of the French Quarter in New Orleans. Right so whats the Fab take on it all? Hmmmm bit kind of in need of a wash but it kind of all seems to fade away as sights and sounds bombard you from every direction. Our first stop was the Hotel and up to the room as we both had serious serious pounding headaches from flying with United Airlines. Yep they are United ~ United in making your journey across the great country of the United States of America ...as dreadful and time consuming and staggeringly awful as they possibly can. And yes Fab Readers ~ all with a smarmy smirk on their self righteous faces. Ohhhhhh I am so cross with that company I cannot begin to tell you. I have however told THEM in a note. Going by the level of non service we received I would say they would either bin it or use it as a joke email to send to each other.........Or as a Training Aid in their Staff Incentive Course : How To Be The Worst Airline On The Planet.
Rude United Employee #1: Hey man didya see the email from that stoopid Aussie?
Ruder United Employee # 2: Yeah thats the one I kept telling her with no inflection or caring that it was SHE who missed the flight NOT the fact the plane sat on the tarmac for 30 minutes and we made her run maybe a mile?
Even Ruder and More Non Give A Shit United Employee #3: No way ~ that was the one I told in my most BEST bored voice she could try and make her flight but we wouldnt hold it
Do you get the drift dear readers? Dear god these people just dont care at all.!!! We actually were a little staggered as to HOW incredibly bad they are??? Keep in mind we are Australian so our expectations are not all that high to begin with!!!! NEVER NEVER FLY UNITED AIRLINES AMERICA FOLKS ~ If you listen to me at all...DONT. To be fair ~ we initially thought the first lot of Cluster flights was a one time thing but ohhhh no ~ it wasnt.
My personal favourite ~ bless her ~ was the woman at United Customer Service *rolls on ground kicking legs in air larfing @ "United Customer Service"* She actually smirked at me and then raised her eyebrow waiting for me to THANK her for checking the replacement flights were done????????????? Seriously??????????? Anyway ~ I digress as I do constantly so onward to the Fabulous Town of New Orleans!!!!!!

 WOW!!! Its noise noise and more noise. Old cobbled footpaths mixed with new ones, color oh my so much color!!! A never ending stream of noise and color. We walked up Daphine Street to Bourbon then down to Canal Street. Mr Fab decided he wanted to try an American hotdog from a vendor. The vendor had a ciggie hanging out of his mouth and mumbled something which sounded like $6. I thought ~ No way is a bloody single hotdog in a bun with sauce $6.....WRONG. Yep it was $6 so we have had an American $6 hotdog from a vendor....our lifes work is complete. *cough* Moving on. I had the camera out as there was interesting things happening every couple of feet. The kids on the corners can get a bit annoying and a little nerve wracking as well. On one street corner they literally take up the entire corner and play drums, tubas and other instruments. A couple of the lads walk around with big cardboard boxes which you are expected to put money in and the other guys play.

There were also 2 young kids with Taps on the bottom of their sneakers. They would stand in front of couples walking and start tapping frantically. The sad part is they were not that much better than me. Mr Fab reckons I think I am Ginger Rogers but seriously the kids just tap away till the couple give them money. There are also people just leaning against the shops asking for money. We are also pretty sure after our short walk that they do love to be a bit naughty here in New Orleans. Sex shops and Naughty shops every couple of feet along with the normal T shirt and souvenir shops. Everything looks incredibly old which I spose comes from Katrina and the damage that was done then. We are both still shaking off these blasted flus so we have come back to the room to relax and plan the day tomorrow. (Travel Lesson: Get a flu shot prior to leaving)

We are leaning toward a Cruise or a tour of a plantation. Not sure which but I reckon I am safe in saying we will bloody well pay for it!!! It seems New Orleans is not the place to go on a budget!!! We have our map of the city and some info on tours etc so we will settle down and figure out what to do. A good nights sleep and a hot shower (which we have already had) and start a fresh day in this hectic madcap city of life!!!!