Straightaway off the airplane, I inquired at this hotel’s front desk about where, within fairly close proximity, I could get my first meal in New Orleans.

“Palace Cafe. Order the turtle soup.”

And so I did, walking just one block from St. Charles Ave. over to Canal Street and stepping in for a light dinner–the soup and a Werlein salad (named after the building where Palace is located) with fried oysters.

That would have been enough–it was ***** good, but with a stroke of coincidence, a couple of my Syracuse colleagues happened to be walking in, so they joined me for dinner, conversation, and so on.

Early tomorrow: down St. Charles Ave. on a photo-errand and then over to the Hilton for–if I am wide-awake and on time–the opening general session and Glenn’s keynote.