Well, checked Orbitz & Hotwire and got a fancy room for a not awful price through Hotwire: a night at the InterContinental Hotel for about $90, including tax. (When I went to the InterContinental web site, the cheapest room was $199, before tax.) I'd never used Hotwire before, but astro's son recommended it just the other day, so gave it a look. Orbitz had comparable prices for 3-star, rather than 4-star hotels. (Not that we need 4 stars, but if the price is the same, why not!)

The location (which they don't reveal until you book!) looks good: St. Charles Ave. just north of Poydras, so not in the French Quarter itself, but pretty darn close.

After arriving at 4 pm, I suspect we'll take a taxi to the hotel, get clean (after sitting on the train for two days!), then wander the French Quarter for dinner and the evening. Then crash, have a very early room service breakfast, and head to the train station for our 7:10 am train.

We'll have to get beignets at Cafe du Monde sometime; probably diner-style seafood for supper.

Researching as I write, it looks as though Mulate's, in the warehouse district, has cajun music all the time... not French Quarter proper, but relatively close, too... I'd like to pay less than $14+ for an oyster po-boy, though -- is that possible in the tourist zone of town??

~ B in T