New Orleans, the Crescent City

Visiting New Orleans, a city in Louisiana in the United States, has been on my bucket list for a long time. I always imagined sitting in a quiet cafe, listening to smooth jazz while sampling delicious cajun food and sipping a Hurricane, a rum and passion fruit juice cocktail invented by New Orleans’ own Pat O’Brien. But reality didn’t even come close! Quite the contrary actually. The food we ate wasn’t at all that great and NOLA, as New Orleans is often called, is a dilapidated, noisy and boisterous place where party life never seems to end. Talking about having my bubble bursted!

The Vieux Carre

We started our visit to the Vieux Carre or the French Quarter at Jackson Square, the site of the Louisianan Purchase (acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the US from France) in1803. In the middle of the square stood a large statue of Andrew Jackson, the President who saved New Orleans from the British in the War of 1812. The square is surrounded by historical buildings such as the famous and iconic St. Louis Cathedral and the gorgeous Pontalba Apartments, which are the oldest continuously rented in the United States. These days, the dwellings house unique shops and galleries on the ground floor and residences on top.

All around the square artists displayed and sold their paintings, drawings, or crafts. Others showed off their juggling or acting skills but the most enjoyable and entertaining to me were the vibrant street bands. How fun it was to listen to an impromptu curbside concert of jazz, blues, gospel, or rock!

From here, we made our way to Royal Street where antique shops and numerous art galleries dominated the landscape. Walking around here on a Wednesday morning made for people-free streets so it was easy to take lots of pictures of the old houses with the wrought iron balconies adorned by potted hanging plants. While the architecture was unusual and remarkable, many buildings were extremely dilapidated and not well maintained. Honestly, many areas were smelly and plain-out dirty. But then again, I shouldn’t have been that surprised after seeing people shamelessly peeing against facades in broad daylight.

We enjoyed exploring the many galleries and especially admired the works by the French painter Denis Lebecq, whose paintings are inspired by the costal regions in Brittany, France. The simplicity of the paintings and the use of vivid and bright contrasting colors was incredibly beautiful. The red art pieces were definitely my favorite!

It was getting close to lunch time and since the famous Café Du Monde was way too busy, we tried our luck to eat beignets at a place originally named Café Beignet. It was a cute little French- inspired cafe with a small courtyard for outdoor dining. We ordered our beignets and found respite from the burning sun under the gigantic and gorgeous magnolia trees. Bert really fancied the little pastries and while I thought they tasted good, I had to admit that the ones my grandma used to bake were more delectable because they were usually filled with fruits such as apples. Oh the memories…

We continued our exploration through the less touristy streets surrounding the French Quarter in search of the colorful cottages mentioned in Lonely Planet. They were cute and reminded me so much of the houses I have seen in the Caribbean and sure enough, these small dwellings turned out to be heavily influenced by the Creole culture.

Speaking of architectural styles…While in NOLA, we stayed in a brightly colored historical shotgun house. Shotgun houses are one-story houses that were affordable and built for working class families. They are long and narrow and do not have any hallways. Instead, each room leads directly to another so to get to our bedroom in the back, we had to pass through all the other rooms first. That was quite interesting.

Because the front and back door were directly across from each other, it was said that, when a bullet was shot through the front door, it would fly clear through the house and out the back door. Hence the name shotgun house.

The quieter streets led to the Tremé neighborhood and the Louis Armstrong Park, which was named after the famous jazz trumpeter, who was born and raised in New Orleans. Obviously, this lovely park was graced with a large sculpture of this popular musician.

In the southern corner of the park was Congo Square, a place where slaves used to gather on Sundays to sing, dance, and drum in the authentic African style. I read that these celebrations played an important role in the development of jazz.

I particularly loved the sculpture of the cornet player Charles “Buddy” Bolden. The expressive movement in this art piece was incredible! It was almost as if “Buddy” was really playing his cornet.

Meanwhile it was extremely hot outside and we decided to stroll back to the Vieux Carre to indulge in some refreshing drinks. At the French Market, once an open-air market but now a souvenir haven for tourists, we slurped a tasty ice cream daiquiri while enjoying a performance by a local band. What a great way to end our day!

Party Time!

We started our morning on the banks of the mighty Mississippi, the second largest river in North America. It flows no less than 2350 miles (3782 km) from Lake Itasca in Minnesota to The Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana.

As we strolled along the riverfront, we saw freighters and long strings of barges navigating the waters. Not surprising as Louisiana has some of the largest and busiest ports in the US. From the banks it was also very obvious why New Orleans is nicknamed the Crescent City. The Mississippi bends here so the land curves forming a semicircle.

Suddenly we were startled by the sound of a loud steam whistle. It announced the departure of the paddlewheel’s cruise on the Mississippi. Immediately I was transported to the world of Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, the American author who penned the famous book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Twain started out as a steamboat pilot. Actually, his pen name “Mark Twain” is a riverboat term. “Mark” comes from the measuring of two fathoms or twelve feet in depth and “Twain”, stands for the number two of the measurement . Once upon a time I learned all this during a visit to Hannibal, Missouri when I visited Twain’s childhood home.

We planned to have lunch at the Musical Legends Park, a tiny park on Bourbon Street, featuring life-sized statues of famous NOLA musicians. But before we walked over there, we had to cross the railroad tracks. I couldn’t believe that a miles long freight train rumbled through the middle of the city! So we just sat there, waiting, counting carriages for about 20 minutes! That was crazy!

At the park we were lucky to be able to grab a table so we could rest our tired feet and enjoy a delicious sandwich and beignets all while listening to life jazz music. What more could we ask for?

Now that we had made it to the most iconic street of New Orleans, Bourbon Street, we needed to sample some of the classic cocktails such as the Hurricane or the Hand Grenade. The latter is served frozen, consists of 4 different liquors, is very strong, and is only sold through 5 licensed bars. Everywhere I looked, people were walking around with that hand grenade shaped cup. Talking about it being a popular drink!

Bourbon Street, named after the French Royal House of Bourbon and not the drink, was littered with bars whose windows and doors were flung open wide to attract the wandering crowd. And because consuming alcohol in the street was perfectly legal in New Orleans, there was no need to gulp down our drink. We simply took our famous, in NOLA invented plastic “go-cup” with us, and kept on sipping while strolling around.

Partying never seemed to stop here so it was no wonder that this street reeked of urine and trash and that we encountered several unruly drunks. Here and there an unconscious drunkard lay in a doorway sleeping off the booze consumed after a night of binge drinking.

If you imagined Bourbon Street filled with cheesy entertainment, drinking crowds standing on balconies, women lifting up their shirts to flash their boobs while guys throw beads at them as a reward, then you imagined correctly. It was madness and too much for us on a Saturday afternoon! I couldn’t imagine how rowdy and crazy the atmosphere must turn at night, considering it was already very rambunctious at this time of the day.

Below Sea Level

About 300 years ago, French settlers built New Orleans on naturally elevated land along the Mississippi River. Everything beyond was swamp and marsh land. As the city grew, more habitable land was needed and settlers learned how to drain the swamp, which literally resulted in sinking the city below sea level.

The water table in and around the city is so high that it makes interment of the deceased impossible. That’s why the dead are laid to rest in above ground mausoleums. Naturally we wanted to visit at least one of the famous cemeteries but unfortunately, most are closed to the public because they are being vandalized. Therefore we had to drive a bit outside the city to St. Roch-Campo Santo. Seeing these elevated tombs adorned with sculptures and crypts that are laid out in a street pattern, was unlike something I have ever seen before. It was a bit creepy actually.

A city below sea level does not only cause problems for burials, it also makes it very difficult to protect people during huge storms and large surges. We are all too familiar with the catastrophic images of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

We drove to the main site where the levee gave way during the hurricane in 2005 and when we saw the area where residences are built below the level of the canal, we immediacy understood that major flooding easily could happened here. In the distance we saw the flood walls and giant drain pumps on which the city is dependent. It was quite a piece of engineering.

According to a sign, the Hurricane Katrina tragedy in which many people lost their lives, could have been prevented if the levees would not have suffered from a bad engineering structural design. The sad part is that the agency responsible for the design flaw can financially not be held liable. That’s unimaginable and atrocious!

The National World War II Museum

Today we planned a visit to the National World War II Museum. I found it rather strange that the largest WWII museum in the USA was located in New Orleans. It didn’t take me long to find out why! It is because the famous Higgins boats used during the amphibious landing in Normandy were designed, built, and tested in New Orleans. Who knew?

We started our visit inside an old fashioned stationary train where videos and sound recordings exposed us to the emotions the American service men and women going off to war experienced. It was pretty neatly done.

As we moved through the many different rooms, we learned all about the global scale of WWII, why the war was fought, and how it was won. I especially enjoyed that the museum touched on events happening all over the world. It provided me with a very comprehensive image.

To me, the exhibit Road to Tokyo was most educational especially because I learned a lot about the strategies and the continuous battles against the relentless Japanese forces in Asia and the Pacific. It was interesting to learn about the logistical challenges and the extreme conditions the Allied Forces were confronted with. Being from Europe, I obviously knew a lot about the battles fought on this continent but was rather lacking the knowledge of what had happened in the Pacific. Not anymore!

Lastly, we visited the US Freedom Pavilion, which showcased several iconic WWII planes. To get up close to the gigantic bomber and flying fortress, the B-17, and the most capable, long-range P-51 Mustang, we had to brave the sky-high catwalks. Yikes! I only made it to the second level and anxiously skipped the highest one. I swear I felt that walkway swaying! Nevertheless though, this display was impressive and astounding!

We both thoroughly enjoyed our visit to this incredible museum and we spend no less than 5 hours here!

We ended our day with a dinner of deliciously grilled oysters. Yum!

A Visit to Beauvoir

Beauvoir, the property and the last residence of the president of the Confederate States, Jefferson Davis, is located in Biloxi, Mississippi and is only a one and a half hour drive from New Orleans. We thought it was worth checking it out.

Beauvoir, meaning beautiful view, honored its name as the main house looked out over the white sandy beaches and sparkling water of the Gulf of Mexico. In 1877, Jefferson Davis wrote:

“The sea is immediately in front and an extensive orange orchard is near. Beyond that is one of those clear brooks common to the pine woods, its banks lined with a tangled wood of sweet bay, wild olives and vines.
By night I hear the murmur of the sea rolling onto the beach, by day a short walk brings one to where the winds sigh through the pines, a sad yet soothing sound. ”

I couldn’t have provided a better description of the domain!

We started our visit with a guided tour of the cottage. Well, I found it more to be a mansion instead of a cottage! The house dates from the mid 1800’s and was built by a prosperous planter who fancied a summer seaside home for his family. The house was raised and was built on massive pillars to allow flood waters to flow through without destroying the living quarters. But the elevation also functioned as an airconditioner. Cold air collected underneath the house and was released throughout the house by use of chimney looking circulation vents. It was quite ingenious, really.

Another thing that struck me were the massive doors. They were made out of cypress wood, a wood readily available in the swamp. It was hardy and didn’t rot in this humid environment but it didn't exactly show off the wealth of the owner. So he came up with a creative idea to make them look like oak. By using a feather, the oak’s grain was imitated on the cypress wood. I could not even tell the difference!

This original owner was all about being frugal while keeping up appearances. Instead of using crown moldings and wallpaper as was customary during that time, he had his ceilings and walls fresco painted. From a distance we coudnt’t tell the difference. It looked amazing!

One of the small cottages on the property was offered to Jefferson Davis when he returned to America after he had been exiled after the Civil War. He eagerly accepted and it was here that he wrote his memoirs. Later, after the owner passed away, Davis and his family moved into the main house.

After Davis died, his wife moved to New York City and sold the property to the United Sons of the Confederate Veterans. She stipulated that veterans and their widows would always find a home at Beauvoir. For that purpose, barracks were erected on the property. None are left today but there is still a Confederate Cemetery on the property. It was quite large and it was the first time seeing one for us.

We also visited the museum that has exhibits on Jefferson Davis’s life, the Civil War, and the property itself. The death mask on display was pretty macabre if you ask me.

We enjoyed out little visit to this unique and controversial place.