Thursday 8th and Friday 9th – Too many hurricanes

I’ve spent the past two days wandering New Orleans, my feet hurt, i’m a bit sunburnt, but i’ve had a brilliant time!

After getting woken up by torrential rain at 5am on Thursday morning (my body thought it was 11am) I couldn’t sleep, so I had an early start hitting the sights.

I walked to the end of my street and into the Riverside Mall where I got my first glimpse of the Mississippi which is very big and very brown. I then walked along the river through Woldenberg Park to the French Quarter where they were setting up for the annual French Quarter Festival – the worlds biggest jazz brunch apparently. I then walked through the French Quarter to Fauberg Marigney with its brightly painted creole houses (including the house where A Streetcar Named Desire was set).

I wandered back to the French Quarter for a coffee and a listen to some jazz. Reading the 1938 WPA Guide to New Orleans it’s quite suprising how little has apparently changed with most of the sights and a lot of the restaurants the same as those in the Time Out Guide. In 1938 the city was just getting over the Great Depression and had seen a lot of public works money in improving the French District (there are still plaques on a lot of buildings that were restored).


A lot has changed in terms of attitudes though - segregation between black and white people is very clear in the book with sections on “Negro Recreational Facilities” and “Negro Night Clubs” where “white persons are admitted at any time”. Also, cockfighing is listed under the Recreation Facilities chapter between baseball and racing.

I spent a couple of good hours sauntering through the French quarter taking in the lovely architecture and after lunch (a crawfish and catfish po-dog – which is basically a big bap) I went to the Cabildo where I found out about the history of Crescent City.

After thought it would be a good idea to go over the Louis Armstrong Park for a bit of a sit down and then explore the Treme district, which is the setting for a new drama series by the guy who created the Wire. The park was shut and the Treme was a bit scary.

By this time I was getting a bit thirsty so I headed back to Bourbon Street and the Lafitte Blacksmith Shop for a beer. I then went to Pat O’Brians to try out one of their legendary hurricane cocktails. I got talking to an ex New York cop and his girlfriend, then a newly wed couple from Wisconsin called Steve and Joan. Steve and Joan were already pretty smashed and I spent the next couple of hours with them drinking more Hurricanes and singing and dancing in the piano bar where I convinced the pianist to play Queen and Tom Jones. Happy days.

Didn’t feel so good on Friday and tried to shake the headache off with a really long walk through the lovely Garden District and Uptown areas. Spent a lot of time wondering if I was going to be sick, the deep fried oyster po-boy I had for brunch didn’t help matters. I spent a lot of time walking down Magazine Street which is apparently like New Orleans version of Islington in that its seen a lot of regeneration in recent times (lots of coffee shops and a massive Wholefoods Organic Supermarket. Quite a bit different from the Treme.

I caught the St Charles Avenue Street Car back and spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the music, food and sun at the French Quarter Festival. Definitely a good weekend to be in New Orleans.

Wed 7th April 2010 – Oysters, Alligator and Grits - Bonjour the Big Easy

I’ve arrived. After a couple of months of getting very excited I touched down at New Orleans International at 7.15pm. Flying in I got an impression of some of the geography of the place. It’s surrounded by swamps, marshes and a lot of water which was of course the big problem when Katrina hit in 2005.

It was a long old flight which gave me a chance to have a read of my guide books. Sian at work gave me The WPA Guide to New Orleans, published in 1938 and provides an amazing picture of what the city was like then. A Streetcar Named Desire was showing on the plane.

I had to go through the pain of US immigration in Houston Texas (where I also got my first glimpse of some genuine American rednecks). The border guard man was quite nice (which makes a change) and asked me what I was doing in New Orleans. I told him I was going to a town planning conference (not sure he understood what I was on about); his response was “pretty dumb place to put a city”. This is apparently the view of a lot Americans, including congressman who after Katrina gave serious consideration to abandoning the city. I am looking forward to seeing this week whether this is a valid point of view.

I got the airport shuttle to my hotel and got my first glimpse of downtown New Orleans. In front of the high-rise CBD skyline, the first recognisable structure I see is the enormous UFO like Superdrome which became infamous as a place of refuge during Katrina. The bus dropped off a lot of guests to hotels in the French Quarter which is as pretty and crumbling as the guidebook suggests. I’m staying in the Marriott Courtyard, right by the Morial Convention Center where the APA conference is taking place, so pretty convenient. So far the only possible sign that the place was hit by a devastating hurricane were the adverts on the freeway for “Weatherisation” Programs to help people storm proof their homes. The place is heaving with people and all the bars I saw were packed with people on the lash. It’s a Wednesday night. New Orleans is definitely a party town.

I was pretty knackered by the time I checked in and sorted myself out, so went looking for food. Cochon, apparently one of the best creole restaurants in town, is a couple of blocks away so I headed straight there and took a seat at the bar (the restaurant was heaving). Everything on the menu sounded good, but I plumped for wood fired oyster roast (massive smokey oysters), fried alligator with chilli garlic aioli (a bit like chicken) and a side of creamy grits (which is apparently corn based and a bit like mash potato mixed with semolina). Best meal I’ve had for a long time.

I’m going to like the Big Easy.