uscity.net news: NOLA - Great Fun, Great Food, Great People

I am just back from a spur of the moment trip to New Orleans I took with my husband, who was seeing about an out of state job. We had a terrific time. We ate red beans and rice, jambalaya, muffalatos, po'boys, seafood and of course, beignets (a fried French pastry we ate at the world famous Café Du Mond). Food is a very important part of New Orleans (also something I am way to fond of!) and we tried our best to taste all we could in the three days we were there. To visit some of the websites of the many restaurants in New Orleans, click here. We rode the streetcars everywhere and it was FREEZING. We walked along the Mississippi, hung out in Jackson Square (photo above) and window shopped in the antique/gift/voodoo stores. They have great old bookstores too.

One of the really cool things about this trip was how the streetcars took us everywhere we wanted to go. This is me all bundled up on the streetcar.

I loved the live music - jazz, blues, rock, rap, opera - you name it, they got it - would you believe that the only type of music I did not hear was zydeco! I just now realized it. But we did meet a true blue French Creole who played the 'frottoir' which is a washboard with no wooden frame and two straps that go on your shoulders, you strum it either with thimbles on your fingers, just your fingers or sometimes a whisk broom.

We were just walking down the street and listening to all the bands - sometimes dancing in the street (mostly me dancing, and George holding me - LOL) and we did stop in one blues bar on our last night there - before we could get to our seats, the singer grabbed me and started whirling me around the dance floor while he sang to me, George didn't even know and he kept on walking to his seat, it was really funny. After their set, the bass player came over and sat with us for a while and we heard his Katrina and the aftermath story. Sadly, he had lost an uncle, the uncle who started him out playing his music. Our hearts went out to him and to all these people affected by Katrina and its’ aftermath and we felt honored to meet them, share their memories with them and learn their stories.

My favorite part of New Orleans was the people we met -- almost all of them had been through Katrina and they were so upbeat about their lives, it made me ashamed. No "poor pitiful me" for them, they were happy to be home (even if there was no physical home) and ready to re-build - their lives and their community. We met one guy who had seen dead bodies floating down the street next to the hotel where we stayed and one whose neighborhood was entirely wiped out. They are a lively, patient, spiritual bunch.

Hurricane Katrina took over 1800 lives and displaced almost one million people,

many residents of lower-income areas like the 9th Ward, are permanently displaced because they have no money to rebuild. Some of these people had homeowners insurance, but because of loopholes and laws which allowed insurance companies to NOT pay them, they will not be able to rebuild and some not even able to come “home”.

According to those we met, the French Quarter was up and running very soon after the storm and the people we met, most of whom had either rebuilt or lost their home, understood that the area needed to put money into tourism because that would be the best way to bring money back to their area. The businesses on Bourbon Street and around Jackson Square were the first to open.

We also visited Audubon Park in the Garden District

and walked around, enjoying the live oaks and swans. On our way to New Orleans, we stopped in Biloxi and went into our first casino. We liked the Hard Rock the best. We stayed across the street and lost $6.00, gambling, decided to go get some snacks at the bar in the hotel and I found $50.00 on the floor. So I guess I will take my luck where I find it. Lucky is what I feel for getting to know the good people of New Orleans and I wish for them only the best and hope that we get a chance to meet again.

On the way home, we stopped in Mississippi at a state park