N’awlins – The Big Easy

Thanks to the big red double-decker HOHO (Hop-On-Hop-Off) buses, we were able to hit all the highlights of New Orleans in a single day.  Surprisingly, the city is still recovering from hurricane Katrina in 2005.  Everywhere you look there are large redevelopment projects and some sky scrapers near the river (Mississippi) are still vacant.  We saw several multi-block sized construction projects building mixed income housing complexes.  Because cities expand, any city this old would eventually be forced to start tearing down old structures from the “inner city” and rebuilding – Katrina just removed the issue of what to do with historic buildings.

On a walking tour, we strolled through the French Quarter.   This is probably what most people envision when they think of New Orleans.  The streets are very narrow, but the architecture is amazing.  We learned that French and Spanish influence is mixed throughout the area.  The history of the City is quite interesting,  but I’ll leave that for your own study.  The one fact I found interesting is the Battle of New Orleans and Andrew Jackson’s victory.  (Linda is standing in front of Jackson Park and a statue in his honor).  This battle was the only one that the New Orleans forces won and it occurred AFTER the war was over,  but they hadn’t been informed.

Food is always a big part of our ad venture, and New Orleans leaves a lot of room for exploring in that arena.  We started with beignets and coffee au lait at the famous Cafe Du Monde then had gumbo and po-boys in the French Quarter for lunch.  Our afternoon tour guide gave us a lengthy (!) explanation of the difference between Creole and  Cajun cooking and also the difference between  gumbo and  jambalaya.  I didn’t understand it and after doing some research on Google, it’s my firm opinion that NOBODY can give a definitive description of either.  For those that may not know what a  beignet is (I was in that group until today) it is a “french donuts” – basically a puffy pastry covered (as in buried) with powered sugar.

The French Market was one of the places we especially wanted to see.  It was interesting, but anyone from Seattle that has wandered through Pikes Street Market will find it a bit anti-climatic.  Of course, there’s a lot of really hot spices at nearly every booth, but that’s a requirement for Cajun cooking – or was it Creole?

In the town you’ll find a unique graveyard with the tombs above ground (ground level is very close to or below sea level).  Two features make this grave yard a tourist attraction.  First, the famous voodoo queen, Marie Laveau, is buried here and the cemetery also holds the tomb of Nicholas Cage.  No, you didn;t miss a recent newes story.  Mr. Cage has not yet occupied the tomb, only had it built for his use when his time comes.  The grave site is a pyramid in Egyptian style bearing the enscription “Omnia ab uno” meaning “From All – One” or “Everything from One”.  Our short walk through the cemetery was a nice diversion.

And now, off to the Alamo!