I KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO MISS N'ORLEANS. Review on Louisiana

We have only been to NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA once. The population, (including the surrounding area) is over 12 million people. It is the largest City in Louisiana, (but not the Capital City, Baton Rouge is).

A small canal divides the main street. On one side of the canal the street names are in English and on the other side the same street has a French Name. We were so confused that the Concierge at the hotel gave us an easy map and showed us the difference. The map was a lifesaver and we could walk to any place we wanted to see.

We were invited to a wedding and we took a few extra days to tour the City. We stayed at the Windsor Arms Hotel that is a few blocks from the port. During the time we were here it was Halloween. At Halloween they have a mini Carnival, (that we thought we would never see).

Our tour took us around the City to see Bourbon Street and the French Quarter, the Voodoo Museum, the largest inland container ship port in the World and a Cemetery. During our tour we experienced the way they City is a blend of architecture, the many cultures, food and music.

You might think it is strange to take a tour of a cemetery but it was quite interesting. New Orleans is built on swamp land and all the people who have died must be buried above the ground. The Cemeteries all have streets and there are 'houses' instead of 'plots' on each street. This poses a big problem for the Jewish Cemetery as our Laws tell us we must be buried below the ground. I asked the Rabbi, (at the wedding), how they got around this. He told me that they sprinkle some dirt over the casket before it is placed in ‘it’s ’house‘.

The Voodoo Museum was very interesting, (it is near the Temple that I didn't want to see).

In the French Quarter, (it's not really French Quarter that you must walk to get the flavor of this area. Each street in the French Quarter has its own character. We stayed away from the seedier streets and enjoyed the older buildings that all had wrought iron balconies and wonderful gardens around them. Bourbon Street is in this area and they party here night and day. This is where the Halloween Carnival was held. People walk around with drinks and stand outside the bars to listen to the jazz bans. On this street there are small reasonable cafes, expensive restaurants, shops, a lot of bars and strip clubs. New Orleans is one of the cities that has doctors who specialize performing a sex change operation. So you will see a lot of people to are in the middle of their change, prostitutes and transvestites in this area.

Royal Street - people still walk around with drinks in their hands, but they're a quieter, as they peruse the antique shops and pop into the cafes and coffee shops along the way. One of the nice surprises for us was finding the gallery of artist George Rodrigue, who is famous for his relentlessly staring ''Blue Dog'' paintings. Very cool!

Decatur Street is where you’ll find the French Market and popular cafes. You can also pick up a horse-drawn carriage here for a nice narrated tour of the area.

The Warehouse District was once a 'red light district'. When we were there it had the best Jazz Club in New Orleans. All the jazz greats use to gather there after midnight. For a $1.00 a drink we went there too. It is now being redeveloped into an 'artsy area. I hope they rebuild the Club.

We rode the St. Charles Streetcar to the Garden District to see the wonderful old estate homes.

I wanted to take a half-day cooking class from the famous chief Emeril Lagasse teaches. The class was fully booked.

The Mall at the Pier was burned and they are repairing it, (I don't know if it's finished yet). We took a half-day Cruise to see the old Mansions. We stopped at one and were allowed to walk inside. I thought they were huge but they homes were so tiny I can't imagine how the 'belle's' with their hooped skirts got inside to dance at the Balls that were held here. Near this Mansion is where the War between the French and English ended. It was a Canadian Army Troup that won the battle that ended the war.

New Orleans has some great Cafes. We ate at beignets at the Café du Monde, The Gumbo Shop, we went to Ruth Crisps for steaks, Mulate’s for Cajun food, and had great pecan pie and bread pudding every where .The only ‘rip off’ was at the famous Brennans Cafe. The brunch was very expensive and the food was terrible.

We bought a few t-shirts to take home to all of our family, I bought an album Lynn Zimmer's Live (With Boots Randoplph) because one of the songs is called 'Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans' on it and I bought a The Times-Picayune, (there Newspaper), Cook Book.

SOME THOUGHTS:

We both loved New Orleans so much we can't wait to go back. If you’re in the area I urge you not to miss seeing this wonderful City. The New Orleans Tourism web site is:

https://crt.state.la.us/crt/general.htm

©LL