New Orleans/ Nawlins/ NOLA

Whichever way you prefer to say it, not even a hurricane of devastating proportions can kill the soul of this city. New Orleans to the rest of the world; Nawlins to the Southerners; and NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana (LA)) to the locals.

I found people in New Orleans to be extremely kind and hospitable. Of course, this is a generalisation. There were a few people that convinced Larry through their attitudes that they decided to stay for the hurricane. But, on the whole, Perhaps that was God's favour?

For what might come across as polished in most cases and metro with all the skylines, the fact that the pantsuits of the men don't even match are just little hints that you are in the Big Easy.

We set out on our journey on Wednesday morning with my boss and his wife as they were kind enough to let Larry and I stay in their condominium during our stay. In return they asked us to drive their car back on the Sunday. They were to take the train, City of New Orleans, to Chicago for Christmas shopping at Macy's, etc. and fly back to Pensacola on Sunday.

We arrived two and a half hours later (record time really) with a half an hour traffic jam. At this point I was a little stressed because of my pending appointment later that afternoon with immigration for biometrics. I had been to the Birmingham, AL office in 2005 and the visit was horrendous. It is an appointment with immigration officers where they take electronic fingerprints, find out your hair and eye colour and also your weight and height. I never weigh or measure myself so that was all guesswork. To my delight everyone that worked at the New Orleans office was friendly, helpful and fast.

Our trip consisted mainly of taste and sights. Every meal we ate at a different place. We went to Cafe Beignet for Beignets and Coffee - a square donut with powdered sugar. No New Orleans experience is complete without it. I even tried raw oysters!!!!

I was quite surprised to see that the New Orleans Police Department abbreviated the name as "N.O.P.D." - No Police Department.

Another true New Orleans experience was that of the Street Cars. We took the one that ran right out in front of the condo on St. Charles Ave all the way to Canal Street and then walked across the road into the French Quarter. It is so convenient and costs a $1.25 to take - but you must have exact change because it goes into a machine that takes a dollar bill and a quarter or five quarters.

The cars are old electric cars with wooden benches and an operator that pulls a bunch of levers and cranks. My question was "What do you do when you are driving and a Street Car comes up behind you?" and Mr. Reeves said that at firs you get a fright because it looks like the car will hit you, but they do stop.

Sitting in the car is also quite an experience. The different things that people occupy their time with as well as what some are wearing. The car has a compressor for the breaks that starts up right after the car has come to a stop and will run for a while and suddenly cut off again. For the inexperienced and non-technical visitor it might seem as if the car died. There are also lines that run lengthwise down the interior of the car that you yank on to signal your upcoming stop. Many times the car runs so close to other cars that I was sure we would hit someone at some point. But, looks can be deceiving.

There is an inexplicable charm about the place. You will either love or hate New Orleans. It can be a little dirty - but most bigger cities are. Then there are the eerie noises in the midnight hours. Some nights we would awake to hear odd chants coming from the otherwise silent streets below. The thought 'voodoo' inescapably rings in your head. Let's just hope no one has a doll...

Bourbon Street is one big Bar Avenue. Every Friday night Bourbon Street is closed off to traffic and the police are in close vicinity. The next morning the sidewalks are being washed and swept and bartenders are only closing up at 8 am. Some "people" are still sitting on the sidewalks holding what must be a stale beer as the sunlight creeps in and ferments the stench of the streets.

The French Quarter is absolutely beautiful with all the old buildings that have been preserved and most not. Larry and I walked around a little but did not really shop. We decided it would be a culinary experience and it definitely was!

At the Flea Market I bought myself some earrings. The lady selling them insisted that green is my colour and Larry thought that I look kind of cute in big earrings. So, big green ones made the pick.

One thing that Larry and I found rather annoying was the amount of guys asking if they could shine your shoes. One such incident occurred at the River Walk when a black guy dressed quite decently confronted Larry and was "shining" Larry's shoes before he really could say anything. I think his line went something like this: "I bet you a shoe shine I can guess where you got your shoes" so Larry didn't argue. He answered his question: "On your feet" and started putting what I think is liquid soap on Larry's feet and then wanted $10.00. Larry told him in no uncertain terms that he didn't care how many children the guy had he only had $1.00 and that is all he was giving. Larry later had to wash his shoes because it truly was hand soap.

Our other adventures were to the Audobon Zoo and Aquarium and also the Art Museum. At the Art Museum's Dutch and Flemish Rooms I learned that paintings during the Golden Age containing cherubs and people in the clouds related to people and infants that have passed on.

The Art Museum also had the most amazing near- life-size portrait of King Louis XIV in his full royal regalia - a painting he commissioned as a gift to someone of nobility (can't remember all of it). The colours are still very bright and the painting seems to be in the original frame. At the top the frame comes together in the shape of a crown with the inscription from the King to Mr. X of nobility. I was highly impressed by this.

Larry, on the other hand, fully enjoyed the Post-Katrina exhibit done by an artist who took several scenes of New Orleans right after Katrina and put them together in a series of paintings. The stories accompanying the paintings really aided us as to their meaning.

Our favourite restaurants were Gulf Stream and La Vita. Gulf Stream is a couple of blocks from the condo and thus in walking distance. They have live jazz each night and absolutely raving super service. We even did the straw wrapper test and it was collected from our table within 20 seconds by the waiter. The ketchup came in a little silver dish instead of a bottle.

I would say that the best items on the menu had to be the Blackened Fish Fillet Sandwich consisting of a sesame seed bun with a yummy fish fillet on there, served open-faced with a coleslaw mixed with Thousand Island Dressing. The fries accompanying the food are shredded shoestring fries.

The one that Larry likes is the Oyster Boat with a bun, fried breaded oysters, a full salad on the other half of the bun - including avo! - and the same fries. Simply amazing food.

La Vita is Italian Restaurant in Mid-City which doesn't look like much on the first glance. However, their menu had me occupied for at least fifteen to twenty minutes. I decided on a classic Italian Sandwich. I have never made love to a sandwich before, but there is always a first for everything.

Larry had magnifique Lasagna that didn't taste the least bit oily which is a always a common problem with restaurants using cheap meat.

For dessert we had Tiramisu which was to die for. The picture says enough.

All in all, I suppose you could say that the money was well spent on food that I will never forget and always dream of and pictures that will write stories of their own in my memory.

P.S.: For my photo albums of this trip please go to:

New Orleans Pictures and Audobon Aquarium
Audobon Zoo