Continuing with the events of last week, and picking up where I left off yesterday: I made it to the airport in time for my flight to New Orleans. I was immediately confronted with this book critic who didn’t seem to think much of the new Harry Potter.

That’s the new Harry bunched up at his head

Mrs. Cayenne says he is clearly insane. The new Harry requires non-stop reading. Shortly thereafter, I met a friend in the waiting area who also lives in Atlanta but is also New Orleans native. We hatched plans to hit the town together later that night. New Orleans has a new campaign for natives to visit their hometown as tourists. We agreed to do just that. We met up on Thursday night and announced our expat status at each stop, and we were treated like kings.

Friday morning, I met my mom at the Cafe Du Monde for beignets and cafe au lait, and we did a quick power walking trip around the French Quarter before I had to leave for my flight back to Atlanta. She agreed to join me on a quick literary tour. Right off the bat, we came across a closed books and gift shop that had the Brer Rabbit stories in the window.

Next, we tried to visit the Ignatius J. Reilly statue under the old D.H. Holmes Department Store clock, but we couldn’t find him. The store is now a Sonesta Hotel, so we inquired within. We learned that the statue had been knocked down and was temporarily off display. The clerk couldn’t tell us where Ignatius was or when he would return. Bummer.

Our next stop was the Faulkner House Books store. The store takes its name from the historical fact that Faulkner lived in the building when he wrote his first novel.

Faulkner House books is one of my new favorite “foreign” book stores. It is maybe the size of your kitchen, but it is stacked floor to ceiling with only the best books. Last week I was unable to find a copy of the new James Lee Burke book at other New Orleans book stores. My mom bought a signed copy at Faulkner House. That’s just how they roll. If you go to New Orleans, you can not miss this book store.

As we were finishing our whirlwind tour, we popped into a bank. Helpfully, the bank pointed out that if you plan to vacate your home this hurricane season, you might need a credit card.