NOLA journal entry 4 - 3/1/22 or "Lil Pumpian"

So now  I sit in the airport. It is sunny and a few rows in front of me, waiting is a beautiful woman and her young son. Im trying to avoid looking at her which is proving to be difficult. I didn’t get to report one of my days so I’ll attempt to do so here, briefly. The morning of the day I didn’t report I drover to the French Quarter to go to Loretta’s which is in the French Market, that lil cool terminal bazaar thing I was telling you about. I made it on time, for some reason, according to Google they were closing @ 3pm so I made sure to be in line around 2:30pm. I feel like google was wrong though–it would’ve been strange to close so early when it was so busy and bustling. The line had grown long behind me and no one at Loretta’s had tried to shut it down, further evidence that Google was wrong. There was a standing bouquet of flowers to the right of me which I had overheard from the lady behind me had to’ve been dedicated to Loretta, who she said passed away last week. I hadn’t known. I got my mom a ½ dozen box of authentic pralines, would’ve gotten half of them rum but they were out. I got myself some beignets as they had a poster which had a convincing quote from somebody that they had the best beignets. I liked them but I liked Cafe Du Monde’s better due to their similarity to funnel cakes. Got myself a slice of king cake too, which came with a black babie in the bag. It was just a cinnamon cake with icing on it–I liked it. I went back to the arts + crafts jewelry store–still dont remember the goddamn name after going there 3 times. This was my second trip there and the more eventful one as I purchased two single earrings–one for [redacted] and one for [redacted]--an ordeal which took me so long that is embarrassing. There were so many cool pieces to choose from. This zombiehead person is absolutely, incredibly talented. Next I went to the zoo, not to see the animals but to get the Roman Candy. I was guided there by an adorable zoo attendant who was afraid of peacocks. I asked her what her favorite flavor was and got it for her, the least I could do as she got me a discount (on what actually was an extremel affordable price). She told me to come back some time “to actually see the animals” she joked. I said I would. The Roman taffy was very thin and very sticky–I too liked vanilla the best (I got all 3 flavors, vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate). Overall I probably wouldn’t get it again but it was nice to try. The mule actually wasn’t even at the cart which was disappointing. Lowkey I think that potential photo opportunity was the primary reason I wanted to go to the Roman Candy man. I gave some to Lorn and Justin and I believe I took a nice long nap soon after. Yesterday I got to try blackened alligator which was good, chickeny, and kind of sinew-y, like sausage. It was good lightly dipped in tartar sauce too. I had shrimp and sausage gumbo in a cup and I had jambalaya (should got move), and red beans + rice. Speaking of food Popeyes down here tastes no different than in Baltimore, DMV. Customer service however is Shakespearean while up north its Lil Pumpian. Never had I ever heard such charm and hospitality and sweetness and genuine care (and jokes + hearty laughs) over a drive thru intercom.