Nawlins.

I should also mention that one of the reasons it took me forever to start posting again was that the day after I got my cast off I left for New Orleans for a week. It was a work trip, so most of my days were spent in training, but we got to explore in the evenings, and a bit on the weekend. Man, oh man, do I like that city! We stayed in the Central Business District, which was convenient for our conference, but also within walking distance of the French Quarter. If you get past the neon signs and drunken frat boys on Bourbon Street (which you really do have to see at least once in your life), New Orleans has some of the loveliest architecture I have ever seen. And, the food! My goodness.

I became addicted to coffee and chickory cafe au'laits and beignets about the second day there, and have been going through withdraw since I returned. For those of you who have not experienced the heavenly deliciousness that is a beignet (sounds like ben-yay), it's like a funnel cake, except in big fried squares instead of squiggles. At Cafe du Monde, you can get a plate of three of them (covered in more powdered sugar than you should probably eat in a year) for $1.82. You can see why they were hard to leave. Too hard, actually - I brought home a box of mix to try at home. We'll see what happens.

I tried to be a little adventurous in my eating while I was there. I'm a picky eater at my core, but have been forcing myself to get a life during the past year, and try different things - especially when travelling. Last year in Boston I ate clam chowder, even though the thought of clams make me dry heave...and it was good. So for my New Orleans visit I went for a local delicacy: crawfish. I couldn't bring myself to eat them just straight up, so I tried the much more subdued crawfish cakes at Felix's. That was the way to go for me: lots of cake, little crawfish. Once again my brain proved to be wrong and my belly right - they were awesome. Sal, ever the brave one, learned how to peel and eat them from a cook on the street.

More awe inspiring food from New Orleans that we tried: jambalaya, muffulettas from Central Grocery (the man who waited on us didn't bat an eye when I asked for one with no meat - he simply said "Don'tah worry. I take care of you."), hurricanes at Pat O'Brien's, red beans and rice, pain perdu, white chocolate bread pudding, and catfish po'boys. Twice.

While we were there we also got to catch some jazz at Preservation Hall, take in the St. Patrick's

Day parade where they throw cabbage and potatoes, as well as other festive junk. Don't worry - the veggies don't go to waste. There were a bunch of ladies hauling that stuff away by the bagful. Irish Stew...yum.

There is something about New Orleans that I haven't been able to shake, and I can't exactly put my finger on it. It started the first night I was there, when I couldn't sleep. I thought it might be just a first night adjustment; staying in a strange hotel and all, but no - it was every night. It was kind of like when I'm in Vegas - here is the whole city, alive and awake and I'm missing it. And now I'm here, and it's there. Maybe that's it. At least I brought back the beignets.