Good morning to a warm and damp New Orleans! Maybe the “Big Guy’s” way of washing away the city’s transgressions of the night before. We were keen to tackle a hearty breakfast, which we found in a three minute walk to the Ruby Slipper on Magazine Street. Nice visit with lots of hot coffee and breakfast with a homemade feel. Eggs Benny and sweet potato pancakes were our fare of choice. All proved top notch. It seems to be a very popular local chain as we met a short line-up at the 7:00 AM opening.
Then, once again, to our session meeting room for a full day of IB professional development. I’m enjoying the flow of the training, as we’ve now begun to use the “nuts and bolts” from Day 1 activities to scaffold thinking around larger issues of how IB is integrated at the school level and where our particular schools are on the continuum. Productive morning/afternoon with time embedded to actually have several conversations. Canada, US, Australia and Kazakhstan were represented at my table!
With our sessions ending at 4:00 PM we bolted for the evenings supper pick… The Gumbo Shop. We’d passed its doors several times, only to be discouraged by long lines and not enough patience. This trip was golden and we walked in to order up some of the most authentic creole cooking New Orleans has to offer. Once again we mixed it up tasting from each other’s plates…. Shrimp Creole, Jambalaya, Crawfish Etouffee, Chicken Gumbo, Rice and Alligator! A swarm of flavour. Wonderful service, traditional ambiance and tasteful product.
Post-lunch nap in order! We hunkered down for an hour of nothing… No TV, no phones, no noise! Nothing. Much needed recharge of the batteries. We rested up only to hit the streets in search of the “illusive” New Orleans Po’Boy. Snuggled in to the back of the Erin Rose Bar we sampled a first rate sandwich… From Killer Po’Boy. Great visit, including mandatory Guinness and Irish Coffee. Nice… And the sandwich was, in short, delicious! We had a Dark & Stormy… excellent rum/ginger glaze flavours that were unique in my books. Thumbs up and a suburb complement to the free flowing ales!
After settling up we boogied for a second visit to Café du Monde… Off peak timing there is real important. Lines can get down right nasty when this city is on the move. It’s quintessential New Orleans, southern chicory roast coffee and a regional take on the donut, or beignet! Sugar powdered, messy, and a delightfully New Orleans treat. We splurged for under $10 bucks and were happy to do so! Seems like the highlights of the day were based in eateries across the town… Nothing wrong with comfort food on a rainy day.