NEW ORLEANS - The French Quarter

Le Richelieu Hotel is the perfect place to stay to experience the French Quarter.

Becky Vincent hands us our room key.

Some interesting characters in the French Quarter

NEW ORLEANS - IT'S ALL ABOUT THE FOOD

The New Orleans School of Cooking recipe for Red Beans & Rice

Kevin Belton taught us how to make pralines and pecan tarts.

Waiter Noonie Guichet and The Cooking Ladies at Tujague's where they serve their dishes in traditional Creole style. We had the best beef brisket with Creole sauce here.

For soul food we went to the Praline Connection, an interesting eating place on Frenchmen Street

We stood in line to sample the po'boy sandwiches at Mother's, a famous restaurant downtown.

Irene of Irene's Restaurant with The Cooking Ladies

Boiled Crawfish near the French Market

NEW ORLEANS' FAMOUS BEIGNETS

Our before and after pictures!

The secret ingredient is powdered sugar.

Here's the guy who makes those beignets so tasty.

And here's the guy who delivered them to us. Isn't he cute?

BEADS GONE WILD after Mardi Gras in New Orleans

This sign says that there is $1000 fine for littering.














We assume this does not apply to the beads in the trees.

There were so many beads in this tree that it was difficult to see the house.

Cozumel, Mexico

Cozumel is an island that is 33 miles long and 11 miles wide. Jacques Cousteau called it one of the greatest diving destinations in the world. To many people Cozumel means SHOPPING for souveniers.

Some of us are energized by shopping and others just want to have a little sleep.

Belize City, Belize

Belize is an English speaking country on the Caribbean coast of Central America borded on the north by Mexico, and the west and south by Guatemala.



















Lunch and Mayan Temple beer at the Wet Lizard restaurant.







Our guide took us on a bus for a quick tour of Belize City before we headed an hour out of town over a narrow bumpy road to the ancient Mayan city of Altun Ha (Mayan for Rock Stone Water)

See the face in the stone?

See the croc?

John Gentle (on the left) creates wonderful walking sticks.

Santo Tomas De Castilla, Guatemala

We travelled in small covered panga-type boats for a scenic cruise along the Rio Dulce to Ak'Tenamit, a community dedicated to empowering indigenous people through grass root programs in health, education and family income generation.

School children were making corn torillas for lunch.

Next stop was Livingston, the centre of the Garifuna culture where we had a snack and watched a Garifuna show at the Villa Caribe Hotel.

Lamont had a little siesta in a hammock under a coconut palm.

In Livingston, boys were arranging dried salted fish on the dock.