The drive from Houston to New Orleans was pretty tiring, it took about seven hours all up and we left at 7am. It was a smooth ride until we were about 4 miles out of New Orleans, where we simultaneously hit a freeway closure and our GPS decided to direct us around in circles while we searched for our car return. Although our comfy car was air-conditioned, the sun was beating down and we were hungry, sustaining on a bag of trail mix and water - the very thought of another stop at a fast food restaurant turned my stomach (and it really is fried chicken, shrimp, crawfish over here, you get over it after you have eaten it... once). We managed to hold it together but were fairly out of words by the time we managed to return our car at New Orleans airport!
The cab ride from the airport to our accommodation was great because in New Orleans it's a flat rate! Our cab driver was also very helpful and let us prebook our ride back to the airport on Wednesday, boxes were already ticked there. We decided to stay in a Bed and Breakfast in New Orleans and made an excellent choice in a restored Southern-style house called Ashtons. We immediately felt better than right at home, with cake and cookies waiting for us, along with two friendly cats (Boots and Leon) and pretty much the best shower I have ever had!
Our room, which was called 'Jazz Festival' - check out the bed!We had an antique bed that I had to climb up a little step to get into, and finally, a blessing for us both - a room with a ceiling fan for us to sleep under! The friendly advice of our host Patrick (along with amazing breakfasts) ensured we packed as much as possible into our three day stay.
It's true that New Orleans is really special, I didn't arrive expecting anything (hmm I'm a bit stuck for adjectives) but it's sort of like a melding of Brunswick Street (Melbourne), Byron Bay and Newtown - all the best bits of course!
The weather was about 31-34 degrees and it was definitely beer and margarita heat! We spent a great deal of our time walking around the French Quarter, which was pretty rowdy on the first day we arrived (a Sunday) as the New Orleans Saints were playing a game. One of many good things about New Orleans is there doesn't seem to be such a separation between locals and tourists. It's more that they are inviting you into their world a little, and you can go ahead and enjoy how you please.
New Orleans is colourful and musical and boozy and sure at times can be a little tacky, but there is a strange sense of earthiness and community and acceptance as well. It's definitely the place I would live if I were stuck in my 21 year old body, it's cheeky and idealistic and slightly melodramatic! I would love to visit regularly if I lived in LA or San Francisco, anywhere in the USA actually, there is just a sense of real here, the brand names and chain stores are missing and there is a live band playing in practically every bar along Bourbon Street, even midweek daytime, promise!
So we spent one of our days doing a self-guided walk through the 'Garden District' and Magazine Street where we walked around gawking at huge Southern Mansions, including those of John Goodman (bought from Trent Reznor!), Anne Rice and Nicholas Cage. We beat the heat by having ice cream at Sucre and greeting the local pussycats who were sunning themselves outside of local houses and stores.
Honey Island Swamp.
Today we did another walk in our local (more 'Creole') area up 'The Esplanade' past the Degas House to the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) then rushed back home to go on a Honey Island Swamp Tour. Who'd ever think we would be so excited about watching some alligators? It was great learning about the local wildlife and 'swamp life' - there are still people living along the swamp crabbing for a living and getting on with ahem, a pretty redneck type of existence! We also learned a few things first hand about Hurricane Katrina which was fairly confronting. There certainly is a resilience amongst the people here and most we have came into contact with have bounced back fairly well.
We finished off our stay with trashy cable TV in bed ('Extreme Couponing!') and cups of tea after a final shower in the best shower in the world. Our early flight means a 5am start and we are not looking forward to it!
Now back to LA for the long journey home...
