The Doran Family: A little N'awlins and Jazz Fest... Never been to Louisiana before

Something that Andrew has been raving about since we first met is Jazz Fest in New Orleans. He is a huge fan of this event because it brings together many of his favorite muscians all in one place. It is held annually in New Orleans at the Fairgrounds Race Course. We had a wonderful trip and planned it simultaneously with our friends Kristin and Casey. We stayed in a beautiful bed and breakfast mansion in the Garden District called the Magnolia Mansion. This gorgeous home is owned by a Tina Turner impersonator who travels all over doing an impersonation show and she owns a home in Las Vegas, ironically.

New Orleans is certainly a unique and different place with an entirely different culture unlike anywhere else in the United States. I am sure we'll be back to enjoy Jazz Fest again! It was a blast.

We stopped in to the "Avenue Pub" on our first night in New Orleans for a little bit of local action... we attempted to blend in with the crowd to take in a little local scene.

I loved leaving a little soulful and FULL from all of the food. I was surprised at how different the Louisiana cuisine is, but enjoyed all of the different types of food we ate ... I'll have to say that my favorite "new" food that I tried was the turtle soup from Commanders Palace!

I don't have a picture of the lovely carriage ride Andrew, Kristin, Casey and I took through the quarter, but we did do a little sight seeing. This is Andrew and I in front of the St. Louis Cathedral.

At Jazz Fest there was an area where the Louisiana Native Tribes gathered and we enjoyed watching some traditional dancing. It was exciting for me to see some Choctaw pottery and jewelry at the fest.

We stayed in the Garden District in a magnificent mansion that was absolutely gorgeous. The owner of the Magnolia Mansion, where we stayed, actually is a Tina Turner impersonator who owns a home in Las Vegas! It was such a coincidence! The home was just beautiful and perfect location for us to be able to easily take the trolley anywhere.

Dinner on Sunday night at the restaurant, August, was very fun with Kristin and Casey and our friend Lila, also. In the middle of dinner Casey got a text from his brother about Osama Bin Laden being killed... you could hear other guests cheering throughout the restaurant when they heard the news!

Lila, Heather and Kristin: Junior League friends!

One of the most important moments of our trip was going down to the Lower Ninth Ward to see what remained of the awful devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Lila, a friend from Junior League who relocated back to Louisiana, works with FEMA and took us on a tour of the area. You can see in these pictures that very little has changed and it literally looks like a 3rd World country in these parts. My heart hurts that the devastation continues to rot with little improvement for a variety of reasons.

This is a newer home that has been built up on a lot. So cute... but, sits among completely abandoned homes that have never been returned to since Katrina.

As most people know, Brad Pitt has been a visible advocate in New Orleans. These are a few pictures of the beautiful homes he has built in the Lower Ninth Ward that certainly stick out like a sore thumb! They are built with energy efficiency and sustainability in mind and are apparently relatively affordable. More info can be found here www.makeitrightnola.org.

On our last day in New Orleans, Andrew and I toured the WWII Museum. It is new and beautiful and very well done with interactive stations, videos and testimonials throughout the museum. I was very impressed with this museum!