Jazz Fest Trip - Day 13

We went to  Cafe DuMonde in the French Quarter for coffee and begneits before going back to The National WW II Museum to see what we missed yesterday.

Jackson Square and Breakfast at Cafe DuMonde







We spent another two hours at the museum.   It was definitely worth it go back and we still didn't quite see everything there is to see.  This a 2-day place to visit if you are interested in military history and WW II. They are also in the process of a $300 million expansion project that will extend their collections into four new adjoining buildings, the first of which will open in 2012.  It might be worth a return visit when the expansion is complete.

National WW II Museum



 

We then headed back to the French Quarter for lunch at the Central Grocery, the original home of the muffaletta sandwich - Italian lunch meat, cheese, and an olive spread on a roll.  There was a long wait as the place is very popular, but we split a sandwich and ate it outside while sitting on a bench in a the French Market Park, just off of the main street, Decatur Street.

Lunch at Central Grocery Co.- Muffaletta

After lunch we passed a building that housed the headquarters of the New Orleans Jazz - National Historical Park.  We didn't know they had such a thing, so we went in to check it out. The park itself is basically a series of historical spots around town that commemorate the history of jazz in New Orleans. A walking brochure has been developed and a series of audio files are available at the park website for download.  As you visit each site, you can play the file on an iPod/MP 3 player to get a narrative description of each site.

The park headquarters is very small and is essentially designed as a performance venue.  There is a  stage and a small seating area.  As we came in, a local jazz group was setting-up to give a performance.  The park service regularly brings in groups (one or two a day) to highlight the extensive jazz heritage in New Orleans and they are open to the public at no charge. Also, most of the audience at the performance appeared to be locals.

The group was the University of New Orleans Guitar Ensemble.  The group had six electric guitars, A stand-up base, and a drummer.  They were excellent.  The University of New Orleans apparently has a world-class jazz studies program and this jazz ensemble is one of eight that performs professionally.  In fact, they played at the Jazz Fest last weekend.  They played for an hour and we stayed for the whole performance.  It was a nice introduction to the upcoming weekend of music at the Jazz Fest.

New Orleans Jazz - National Historical Park

After the performance we walked to nearby Jackson Square, checked out a small local book store housed in William Faulkner's old house in Pirate's Alley behind St. Louis Cathedral.

Jackson Square and Faulkner Book Store



We then squeezed in a short visit to the Louisiana State Museum in the square to view a retrospective exhibit of the Katrina disaster and its aftermath.  It is a very good multi-media exhibit that describes the event from a number of different perspectives.

Louisiana State Museum - Katrina Exhibit

Fats Domino's piano, which was removed from his flooded home in the Lower Ninth Ward.

After the museum, we found a grocery store, got a few things we needed, and returned to the RV.

The Jazz Fest starts tomorrow and we will travel to and from the venue (fairgrounds) a few miles away by a shuttle bus provided by the RV park.  There are 12 different stages with performances all going on at the same time.  There are also cultural displays, vendors, food booths, and daily Mardi Gras-style parades.  It should be an interesting adventure.

Jazz Fest Trip - Day 12

After breakfast at the RV, we drove to the nearby National World War II Museum.  We had visited the museum last year on our Mardi Gras tour but we didn't get to see everything there and we wanted to go back if we ever got the chance. 

The museum originally started out as a D-Day museum under the leadership of the author Steven Ambrose who lived in the New Orleans area.  It has since expanded and is now a first-class museum telling the story of WW II through exhibits, personal memorabilia, and recorded oral and video histories of many people who directly participated in the war. There is also a spectacular 4-D film, "Beyond All Boundaries," narrated by Tom Hanks.  The fourth "D" is smoke, lights, seats that rock, etc., and a host of other video and audio effects in an Imax format.  New Orleans was also home to the manufacturer of "Higgins Boats" during WW II.  The Higgins company produced most of the landing craft used in the war and played a huge part in the national war effort.  This local connection to the war effort was also instrumental in the establishment and growth of the museum.   

The National World War II Museum

 

After watching the Tom Hanks movie and touring some of the exhibits, we ate lunch at the restaurant in the museum, "The American Sector".  The restaurant  chef is John Besh, a local chef of some renown, a former marine, and a cookbook author.  The food was excellent, presented well, and reasonably priced.  The quality was not what you might expect at a museum restaurant and is a nice addition to the museum complex.



Lunch at the Museum - "The American Sector" restaurant



We continued touring the museum after lunch and still didn't finish it all before it closed at 5:00 pm.  The place is a treasure trove of history from the build-up to the war to its aftermath and the birth of the atomic age.  It is a unique presentation of history that essentially tells the story of the era through the eyes of those who were directly involved and impacted by the war.  It is a legacy for "the Greatest Generation" that should be be seen and appreciated by all.

More Museum



We relaxed back at the RV for awhile then went out to dinner at a famous French Quarter restaurant, K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen.  The restaurant is owned by the famous chef and cookbook author, Paul Prudhomme, who is still actively involved in the operation of the restaurant. The food was excellent .

We are going to continue touring in the area tomorrow and go back to the WW II museum to finish-up what we didn't see today.  The Jazz Fest starts on Thursday and will continue through the weekend.

Dinner at K-Paul's Restaurant