On day two our intrepid explorers set out to see the sights of the French Quarter and get a better understanding of the history behind the cultural mixing pot that makes New Orleans so unique. With the threat of Hurricane Nate looming on the horizon and temperatures above 30 degrees we set off, leaving the safety of our 12th floor hotel room – and it’s rather stunning view!

We made a pass of Bourbon Street whilst on our way out for dinner last night, and in daylight hours the somewhat interesting smell of the street remained, along with the surprise at the vast array of establishments catering for men in need of companionship!

In all honesty Bourbon Street has come a long way from the romantic ideals of jazz music playing from every bar and filling the street, we found that most bars were playing hip hop or other more modern styles, which is why we chose to spend the evening at Frenchmen Street – apparently this is how Bourbon Street used to be, each bar had a live band playing, the street was filled with the sounds of clarinets, saxophones and double basses, backing up some excellent singers.

The rest of the French Quarter was quite the experience, we from worked from Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral, to the French Market and back through the colonial back streets that make up the heart of the French Quarter. New Orleans has done exceptionally well to keep the soul of this part of the city intact, even with the huge skyscrapers of the central business district tower overhead.

Here’s a quick upload of some of the photos from this morning around the Garden District of New Orleans before we had to escape the heat and retreat to the hotel!