Children's French Quartour

After an extended game of hide and seek on the river walk in New Orleans because we'd arrived early, B's tour guide arrived wearing, incongruously, the undergarments a woman might have worn 150 years ago. Actually, I can't remember whether she had pantaloons on but she did wear a petticoat and top as well as a bustle. She immediately engaged the children with activities and games. Even the parents got involved! Over the next hour, we moved through a small area of New Orleans' French Quarter, including Jackson Square. We learned about the layout of the city, its growth, exports and imports, the Mississippi, the lake, the city's colonial past, pirates, privies and latrines and chamber pots, street design, houses and architectural design. All in an hour, all in a format that the kids were able to get interested in and involved in. The "treasure map" was an excellent part of the tour. The guide got some of her information about Jean Lafitte wrong - she mixed him up with Pierre Lafitte, Jean's brother. I wouldn't have known that except that my aunt, a former schoolteacher, had given me some studying material the previous night about the pirate brothers, one of whom, Jean, having also helped save New Orleans from a British takeover. B and I had a most excellent time - except when it came time to head back to the hotel. "Do we have to walk?" B whined. "It takes less than ten minutes to walk back - it's less time than to walk to the playground back home!" His shoulders slumped. "I want a taxi."