I can't help but feel that so much of New Orleans, at least the parts that I saw, need to be seen to really be understood. So, this post will be mostly pictures. Enjoy!


Friday, June 24
The sweet potato fries at the diner I ate at on Friday night. I chose this place because it looked well-lit and like there weren't any drunk people there, and I was tired of drunk guys hitting on me. I also had a perfect Reuben--no pics because it was too delicious and I had to eat it immediately!

The well-lit diner. The Food Network was on the TV, so I didn't even have to feel weird eating by myself, since I had a TV to watch!


Hotel room. I stayed at the Chateau Le Moyne in the French Quarter, and it was wonderful to be right in the historic district so I could do some exploring on foot.


Swag from the first night of the conference. The exhibit hall was huge and filled with people who wanted nothing more than to give away their merch! I love free things.

Saturday, June 25

I spent most of Saturday in the exhibit hall (not many pictures, unfortunately!). As I started, I had a grand plan to walk by every exhibit (mainly because I wanted to get a billion free things). I may have been delusional. I made it about a third of the way through before my swag bag became almost too heavy to lift. But wait! The ALA made arrangements for USPS to have a temporary post office right there in the exhibit hall!


 A line of librarians who are cranky because there were only two registers in the entire "post office." I'm certain the line was at least this long at every point during the hours the post office was open. They were only offering Priority Mail shipping, which made the line go a little faster. This was taken the first time I went to the post office to mail myself stuff. I went three more times during the conference.





Sushi-grade tuna stuffed with crab cakes and covered with a crayfish etoufee, and jambalaya. It was amazing. If you're ever in New Orleans, you should visit Oceana in the French Quarter.



The St. Louis Cathedral, which is the oldest Catholic cathedral in the U.S. Isn't it pretty?



Many of the row houses had tons of plants hanging from the second floor. I love the way it looks.



The view from the front porch of the Beauregard-Keyes House, which was built in 1826. 














More French Quarter homes.


This lady had a pet goat on a leash. So cute!


View of the river.








The New Orleans Wax Museum was cheesy and awesome. Check out the gore in these!




Dinner. Some shrimp thing and then a seafood salad. Yum!