We made it to New Orleans!

At approximately 3:30 yesterday afternoon, we rolled into our hotel, the W. When we touched down at the airport, we had no faith that our luggage would be there, but amazingly, it was in the lost luggage room, staring at us through the glass.

Unfortunately, the office itself was closed, but once we got someone to open it, all our troubles melted away and off we went! The folks at our hotel were so gracious--they welcomed us with huge smiles and listened to our woes and even refunded the night we weren't there and gave us $125 worth of credits for dinner and drinks! Oh, and did I mention that there are doors that open automatically when you come in, and then a set of curtains that part automatically as you enter the lobby proper? Super chic. Also, Eric noticed that on the floor of the elevator is a mat saying, "Good morning," "Good afternoon" or "Good evening" depending on the time of day.

New Orleans made Las Vegas look like a Buddhist monastery last night because there was an Ole Miss vs. LSU game, but we still managed to procure some beignets and a frozen cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde (thanks to everyone who recommended that), wander around the French Quarter and Jackson Square, peek into some voodoo shops, reprise our first dance in the middle of Bourbon Street because we could hear people singing it inside a karaoke bar, and check out the cathedral on Jackson Square (there's a free concert tonight, so I think we're going to go back--hey, Matt, Kat, and Erica: Eric wanted to know what all the flags hanging from the cathedral were about and I said, "You know, I don't know, but I'd bet they're all the flags that have hung over the state of Louisiana, like at the Alamo and 6 Flags," and I was totally right! Yeah San Antonio 2010!).

Then we got dressed up and went to dinner at Galatoire's where I had poisson meuniere amandine (really good, but Julie, ours was better) and Eric had a red fish sauteed with mushrooms and crabmeat that was really amazing! We shared turtle soup as an appetizer that, well, was really made with turtle but tasted like beef, and the whole thing kind of disturbed me (especially when the waitress described them grinding the turtle) but it did taste really good. (Thanks to Delaine, Rick, Michelle, Sandy, and Larry, btw, for our dinner!)

I cannot describe how welcome and at home we felt when we arrived at the W. It's like we were finally able to take a deep breath and relax. So, to commemorate the occasion, we penned yet another set of lyrics to a first dance reject. Here is the song, accompanied by, of course, a link:

Broken Tarmac

We set out on a honeymoon many hours ago
Hoping we would find smooth travels from Boston to NOLA
Our bags got lost a time or two; stuck in DC, we did push through
We couldn’t see how every delay pointed straight to you.

And every long lost plane
Led us to where you are
Airlines that broke our hearts,
They were like southern stars
Pointing us on our way,
Into your loving arms
This much we know is true:
That God blessed the broken road that led us to the W.

We think about the day we spent
Just passing through
We’d like to have the day we lost and spend it here with you
But you just smile and take our bags
Give us a bed to sleep off jetlag
So we can spend our honeymoon, happily here with you!

And every long lost plane
Led us to where you are
Airlines that broke our hearts,
They were like southern stars
Pointing us on our way,
Into your loving arms
This much we know is true:
That God blessed the broken road that led us to the W.

We’re now finally walking in
Into our hotel room,
This much we know is true:
That God blessed the broken road that led us to the W!