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fresh paint and regular side walk cleaning. During Mardi Gras, Bourbon Street is definitely the place to be if you want to be a part of the biggest annual block party in the city.

Turning Left on St. Louis, Antoine's Restaurant beckons for a delicious lunch. Wait for your meal with a sip or two of one of the popular wines available. This middle 1800's family owned restaurant has a great interior to watch the people inside and on the street. A nice remoulade salad or other specialty will set you up for the continuing journey.

When you've finished a meal and had a great drink, walk out and make your way South and take a right down Royal Street. Walk the four blocks to Canal Street. Canal Street is outside of the French Quarter, but the interest of the city doesn't stop. As the city winds whip through your hair, wait for the next Street car going South down St. Charles Avenue. Don't be afraid to ask a local, as they are known for hospitality. Ride the dollar twenty-five streetcar all the way to Audubon Park. Listen along the way to the locals make plans and observe the majestic mansions and hotels that line historical Saint Charles Avenue.

This 30 minute streetcar journey will take you next to Tulane and Loyola Universities. Both have art galleries with rotating exhibits worth seeing. There is also the option to stroll around the paved pathway of Audubon Park. The 260 acre park is beautiful any time of the year because of the oak trees. People with allergies might want to skip the park and walk around the Loyola New Orleans campus and across to Tulane's campus to pick up an afternoon cup of coffee at one of the local coffee shops. When it's time to make your way back to the street car, see if the Catholic church on Loyola's campus is open for viewing some beautiful stain glassed windows.

Rest up on the street car ride back to Canal Boulevard. Walk Northeast down Royal Street again for about eight blocks and the Beauregard Keyes House beckons. An afternoon tour before 3 p.m. gives a sense of perspective on life in New Orleans for former tenants like Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant and author Frances Parkinson Keyes.

Once the tour is done and you're ready to walk back to your un-zoned parking spot down Ursulines Avenue, stop in to the Royal Street Pharmacy to get a coke or into one of the many bars to start a different walk that goes on through the night.

Learn more about this author, Sarah Schmitt.
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