Sights from NOLA

Just had the opportunity to spend a few days in New Orleans to work at our office booth at ACUHO-I , the Association of College and University Housing Officers.   I was especially impressed with the keynote speaker, Professor Roland Fryer, a Harvard professor who collaborated with the authors of Freakonomics.  He spoke about his involvement in the NYC Opportunity Project which is studying how students in low performing schools respond to financial incentives.  It was a very inspirational speech with some very interesting ideas about how people and children are motivated.  I certainly will be borrowing Freakanomics from Bart when I get home to check out some more of these insightful ideas about human nature.

The other benefits of the attending the conference: enjoying the charmingly scaled architecture of the French Quarter, eating  New Orleans cuisine, and sampling beignets at Café Du Monde!

St. Louis Cathedral

Gold scuppers!

Loved this freestanding facade

Each building has it's own distict look and color

A storm is coming!

I always have to make a stop here when I'm in town- so good!

Yum!

Grabbed some dinner at Mr. B's

Belated China Shout-outs

So.   As I have settled back into American culture (how else to do that but to enjoy a relaxed fourth of July weekend filled with BBQs, chasing cows at Bart’s family farm, a trip to Bass Pro and shooting guns) and returned to the craziness that is my life, there are still so many highlights of the trip that will not stop running through my mind.   Even as I am constantly juggling work deadlines, travelling for conferences, and returning to my studying schedule for my much dreaded (but almost completed) Architectural Registration Exams (ARE), I can’t help but stop and laugh to myself about what an incredible experience this trip was for me.  And so I would like to complete my travelogue with an appropriate quote and some shout outs to the people, places, and things that made our trip so memorable and fantastic.

What better for settling back into Midwestern culture than some good old fashioned fun with fireworks?  We found that the “Sky Rippers” were quite good for blowing all sorts of things up…Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!

“Ones destination is never a place rather a new way of looking at things.”  -Henry Miller

Can't get over how adorable this little boy at the dirt market was!

 Oh the split pants...I got a great shot of this one!

I will never travel without my Belle by Sigerson Morrison heels ever again!

I wore them all over China and danced all over Hongy Kong into the wee hours

of the night and they never hurt my feet AND they are fabulous!

Thanks to the Wagyu crew for the fun nights out in Hong Kong!

Thanks to Fodor's for keeping us on the path of the

sophisticated traveler, Jenn never left home without it!

 Stay tuned, next week I'll be in New Orleans for work, so I'm hoping to have some more pictures from my travels!