Day Two, Sunday

Made it to sleep at 1AM last night. We have the upper floor to ourselves. Two bathrooms, lots of beds. But of course all the popular kids are in one room and that does not include me.

Sunday, we need to orientate ourselves to the city. Find a grocery store and be at the museum for 11am. After that we are free to our own wonderings. The plan is to pack a bag lunch and stop at Cafe de Monde for a snack.

Easy navigating around town, with GPS. Feeling lucky to be in shorts and t-shirts. We spent the day gearing up for volunteer work by being total tourists. We drove to the French Quarter and spent five hours wondering around Jackson Square. 

1st stop was the museum exhibit, KATRINA, Hurricanes and Beyond. Highly impactful. 

2nd there was free time to wonder, listen, see, smell, taste. No one made it far before a street artist captured our attention.

3rd we split up. One group walked the sea wall at the Mississippi River, the other group found alligator jerky.

4th. We found each other at the Cafe de Monde and got a table and 15 beignets to share.

www.cafedumonde.com/

5th we had a picnic lunch after our donat dessert. Then everyone was free to explore for anther 60 minutes.

Thought of the day? Privilege. 

The privilege of living in a warm climate vs Montreal

The privilege of traveling for spring break

The privilege of entering the museum for free

We also listen to Street performers, a family of young children working for donations, living out the back of a van with Tenasse licence plates. What privileges do they have? What do I think about child labor? 

We can see the poverty, the people, the neighbourhoods, the infrastructure. But the tourist industry is upscale. A contrast between two economic and social realities.

Chicken and baked potatoes in the oven for dinner, early to bed. Tomorrow the real vacations starts, volunteer orientation at 8:30am, with Saint Bernard Project.