Sweets from a Sweetie

As I mentioned in my last blog entry, the people here are really friendly and charming.  I didn't mention that the guidebooks and guides don't hesitate to tell me that New Orleans is rated the 2nd highest state for crime in America. They warn me to be attentive to my environment and cautious with my belongings. So I'm feeling a little bit cautious as John and I stroll through the streets of the Garden District looking at the architecture and, of course, for a sweet shop mentioned in the guidebooks, appropriately called "Sucre".

We did finally find Sucre and settled down for a delicious brownie and a cup of coffee. But the highlight of my search for sweets came from a spunky, older black woman who strolled up to John and I and offered us drugs. Immediately my tourist instincts kicked in and I wrestled in my mind on how to handle this potentially dangerous scenario. She strolled along with us and offered us drugs several times. She was holding out her clenched fist before us and I waited for her to open it and reveal a joint or a pill or (God forbid) a fistful of crack. Slowly she opened her hand and there in her palm was a red and white wrapped peppermint.  

Of course, now I'm wondering whether it was laced with drugs. But as she walked along with us, she chatted about the festive gents she saw on Bourbon St at Christmas whose dates had overindulged and how they picked the women up and carried them on their shoulders and held their legs so they wouldn't fall over. Then she talked about the benefits of dark chocolate and how her doctor had prescribed it for her and after that she loved to freeze dark chocolate kisses and carry them along with her so they wouldn't melt too quickly. We chatted about the cold weather in Maine and the warm weather in New Orleans. She was warm and friendly and full of grace. She wins the sweet vote from me this time around.

Unfortunately, I only took a picture of the colorful macaroons at Sucre and not the colorful character I met on the street today.