My First Two Days in New Orleans (GART - Stop 16)

Long on my list of cities to visit, New Orleans was found in 1718 as a French colony. It was named for Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans, who was Regent of the Kingdom of France at the time. His title came from the French city of Orléans. In 1763, the city was ceded to the Spanish Empire, where it remained under Spanish control until 1801 - reverting back to France. Napoleon then sold Louisiana to the United States in 1803 as part of the Louisiana purchase. As a result, the city is an amalgamation of influences (American, French, Spanish, Creole, and African). New Orleans is famous for its cuisine, music (particularly as the birthplace of jazz), and its annual celebrations and festivals, most notably Mardi Gras, which dates back to French colonial times. Most recently, 80% of the city was flooded by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but the city has rebounded nicely.

I arrived at my accommodations yesterday around midday. Thanks to my brother's largesse, I am staying in his timeshare unit, saving me a ton of money. After checking and settling into my room, I ran out for a quick bite to eat. The concierge convinced me to go to an afternoon sales presentation for possibly purchasing my own timeshare. The incentive for me to go: $150 Amex gift card. I think I can give up 90 minutes of my time for $150. While waiting for the shuttle to take me over to the sales pitch, I met a lovely woman from Texas and a couple of her family members. We bonded over the ridiculous sales pitch and the high sales pressure tactics of the sales reps. We bonded so well that they invited me out to dinner with the rest of their family - very sweet. Eight of us headed out toward Lake Pontchartrain to a seafood restaurant, Deanie's. Being Friday night, we had a 60 minute wait, but it ended up being well worth the wait. The food was incredible! The photo is of my entree - crawfish étouffée. After our lovely dinner, we headed back to our resort where I crashed for the night.

This morning, I woke to beautiful blue skies and mild temperatures. After breakfast at a local restaurant, I was picked up from the resort for a morning city tour. Guided by a New Orleans native, we trekked all over the city. The tour included stops or views of the French Quarter, Jackson Square, St. Louis Cathedral, the French Market, Saint Roches cemetery, the Lower Ninth Ward (which was devastated by Katrina), the City Park, Sculpture Gardens, the ancient dueling oaks, Tulane and Loyola Universities, Audubon Park, and antebellum era mansions in Garden District. There was so much historical information provided. New Orleans is truly an interesting city. The most interesting part of the tour, for me, was seeing the recovery happening in the Katrina ravaged Lower Ninth Ward. Much of the city has recovered but there are still pockets of the city in need of refurbishment. It was also interesting to hear a first person story (our tour guide) of his experience with Katrina and its aftermath.

After returning to the visitor's center at the end of the tour, I decided to go explore the French Quarter in more depth. I started with taking a walk down the infamous Bourbon Street. I can only say this about Bourbon Street - I hated it! It's trashy and vulgar. Also, it's dirty, smelly, and riddled with drunktards. And that was during the day. I cannot even fathom how awful it must be at night. After leaving Bourbon Street, I meandered around several other streets in the Quarter, which were less obnoxious, but were a little too crowded and filled with drunken idiots for my taste. I eventually made my way to the famous Cafe du Monde - hoping that the lines weren't too long so I could get some beignets. Sadly, the lines for table service and take out were both at least 60 minute waits. I just couldn't do it. I'm hoping that sometime in the next two days the crowds will leave and I can get some beignets. 

After walking around the Quarter a little more, I started to feel awful (the pain from pleural effusion has intensified dramatically), so I decided that I would head back to my room for a rest - hoping that once I rested I would feel up to going out. Didn't happen. I just never felt well enough to go do anything. I'm hoping that I will not have to cut this trip short because I've been feeling a little off for about 4 days now.

Check out my first two days in New Orleans photos on my GART photo site. I still have two more day in New Orleans and hopefully will find some fun things to do. I'm thinking of taking a Garden District walking tour and a Ghost Tour.

A private residence in the French Quarter - beautiful!

Current travel stats:

Little Rock odometer mileage: 96,521

Odometer mileage in New Orleans: 96,964

Miles driven to New Orleans: 443

Total miles driven to date: 3,975

States driven through: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, back to Louisiana