Monday 13th March 2017
Our body clocks are struggling to get used to the changes and our sleep patterns are all out of whack. We missed breakfast again today, but also worked out that our watches were wrong as well. We did however make the 2pm paddle steamer tour on the Mississippi River. Going downstream as far as the Chalmette Battlefield. We had an amazing guide who recounted plenty of history of New Orleans over the past 200 years and then took us on a guided tour of the Chalmette battlefield.
The last land battle ever fought on American soil between the United States and a foreign enemy took place on January 8, 1815 at Chalmette. The Battle of New Orleans, which actually occurred nearly two weeks after the treaty was signed that ended the War of 1812, kept the British from capturing New Orleans and made a national hero out of Andrew Jackson. He commanded ragtag army of backwoods sharpshooters, free men of color, swashbuckling buccaneers and other non-professional soldiers, many of whom volunteered at the last minute, the victorious Jackson went on to become the seventh president of the United States.
On our journey back up the river our guide recounted the terrifying events of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 and the chaos that descended upon the city as officials failed miserably to cope with the disaster. More than 1200 died and damages mounting to an estimated US$108 billion were incurred.
We were tempted by a local delicacy – beignets (pronounced bin-yay) – like a doughnut, but coated in icing sugar – one serving is more than enough.
