Magical places

Neil and I decided to have lunch out today since we were the only ones in the lab. On the way to Jipang, we stopped by the Clock and Watch Shop because Neil had to have the batteries in his watch replaced. We'd passed by this store a countless number of times. Each time we'd pass by, we'd say "we should go in there sometime," but we never did, until today. The minute we stepped inside the store, it was as if we had stepped into a different country. The shop was huge, and full of beautiful things. There was a whole assortment of pocket watches, really fancy wall clocks (complete with pendulums and spinning parts), and even a few grandfather clocks. But the most wonderful part of the store was a wall completely covered with cuckoo clocks. They were all set at different times so that you would hear at least one of them cuckoo and sing while you were in the store.

While waiting, I read a little news story, mounted on the wall, about the owner of the store. It turns out, he's an Austrian watch maker who now lives right above the store. He said in the article that he loves running the store. It feels like he's back in Austria.

Who would've thought that such a wonderful, magical place would be in the middle of the New Orleans central business district? I guess it just goes to show you that magic can be found anywhere, if you just find the time to stop and see it.