One of the things that makes falling for New Orleans so easy is the incredible array of things going on in the city. From cultural events to it’s world famous music scene there is always something to mark on the calender. This past weekend John and I took the street car downtown and meandered around until we ended up on Frenchman St. There was a book fair going on in this bohemian street that day and we were eager to check it out. True to the city’s style the book fair had a life of it’s own with the booths being set up up and down the street and into favorite watering holes complete with live jazz and blues. We met several independent authors, watched as a seemingly random second line jazz parade erupted down the street, and found out that this book fair had a definite edge as the closing ceremony was to be a burlesque show! Much to John’s disappointment we couldn’t hang around until the burlesque show but on the way back uptown we did run into some friends and watched a performing arts group put on a Tableaux on the trendy Julia St. Here is part one of our photo essay from just one day in the Big Easy. Sit back, grab a drink, and maybe even turn on that funky jazz channel and follow us along on a walk about in the Big Easy.

Waiting For One Of Our Fav Modes Of Transport, The Historic St. Charles Streetcar

I think I found my next “traveling” hat!

Part Two: Book Fair, Indie Authors, Second Line Parade, and Tableaux are will be up in the next day or so!

 New Orleans. Always under appreciated and overly notorious. The city that drowned, and not in booze this time. A place where cobble stone streets and giant weeping willows frame century old homes. The city that offers drive through daiquiris and beads for bare breasts. The look and the smell, our favorite city in the U.S.

 What we love about New Orleans is that it is so completely unique from any other city or place in the U.S. And they are proud of it. The city and its people thrive on their inherit sense of history and continue to add to this tapestry. Everyone has heard of Mardi Gras, but that is only a small fraction of what this city has to offer. In fact in the Spring, there is the French Quarter Fest and Jazz Fest. I would recommend visiting the city for either one of these festivals before I would recommend squeezing your self through Mardi Gras. Everyone should walk down Bourbon Street atleast once, but do it during the night. Trust me, it is not a pretty sight during the day, not to mention its notorious smell. Just imagine stale alcohol mixed with every type of human odor possible. The charm of New Orleans lies a few block away. Stroll down Frenchman Street and enjoy all of the activities while being able to appreciate the historic buildings and Jackson Square. For even more local flavor, hop on the trolley and head down historic St. Charles Street. There you will find century old mansions still occupied and looking sharp. Grab a shrimp po-boy and have a picnic at the Audubon Park. Get back in the trolley and head back to town, just this time head towards the River Front. Here you can grab a Café au lait and watch the old timey ferries along with all of the other river traffic go up and down the mighty Mississippi River. You can’t call it a night then though. You are in New Orleans after all. The “other” city of sin! You could bar hop in the Frenchman Quarter all night and never run out of new places to duck into. In fact if you would like to drink where the local go just check out this site- www.neworleansdrinkspecials.com.

We spent five days in New Orleans, staying with Scott, John’s college era roommate and buddy. He was cool enough to let us stay at his place, an awesome condo right smack down town. We are so grateful he let us stay, specially since it was a one bedroom and we took up his living room. Thanks Scott! By the way, the above website I mentioned was built by him so please check it out when you are in town.

On our first day there French Quarter Fest was in full swing along the River Front area. Our friends from Hattiesburg had given us a ride down and we all hung out in the French Quarter. The next couple of days were hectic trying to wrap up last min stuff but we managed to get amazing po-boys and drive around the neighborhoods. There is still damaged areas and half empty areas but slowly and surly the city is getting back on its feet. Don’t even get me started on Katrina and the aftermath! John and I are playing around with the idea that if and when we get back to the States that we would like to live in New Orleans, thus the ‘gran tour de neighborhoods. On the last day before we were to fly out we headed out towards the swamp lands looking to kayak with the alligators. Unfortunately the place was only open on the weekends. While we were standing around thinking up our next plan by the water’s edge we spied a set of eyes moving straight towards us. It was an alligator roughly three feet long. It can right up in front of us and sat at the edge of the water. It was a thrill but I have a feeling this alligator was used to people throwing food from the picnic tables near by and looked disappointed when we had nothing to offer.

It had taken us three weeks while we traveled through America, but we were finally at our destination for this leg of the trip. Bright and early (around 10am) the next morning we bid farewell to Scott and New Orleans and checked in for our one-way flight to Grenada.