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This past year I’ve spent a number of weeks
exploring New Orleans, and although I’d been there in the past, albeit for fleeting, and work related visits this year I wanted to make a concerted effort to spend time and really discover the city and get a feel for its soul.
Not only is it a home to Mardi Gras, Jazz, Bourbon Street and the world renowned French Quarter, it has a deeply passionate, fiercely loyal and eclectic local community. A fact that surprised me was that New Orleans has one of the fastest growing populations in North America, with the vast majority of new inhabitants being under 40. It's in the middle of a major rejuvenation with lots of jobs, reasonably priced housing and a completely redeveloped infrastructure. It's a happening place!
Like all large urban centres it has its
good measure of suburban sprawl, but I made my home base adjacent to downtown,
hired a car and toured around exploring the various neighbourhoods, uncovering
amazing little places to eat (yes, mostly eat because New Orleans has some of
the most interesting food combinations and tastes in North America). A veritable explosion of tastes…and that’s
just in one bite!
As you know my favorite time of the day is
sunrise and sunset, so I’m sure it comes as no surprise that I was always up
before dawn so I could catch the beauty of the sun as it rose and painted the
sky. Of course after that I was
completely famished and so found always found an amazing place for breakfast.
Indelible Tip #1: For the
best breakfast experience in New Orleans – The
Camellia Grill (626 S Carrollton Ave), although you’ll need to take either
the streetcar (St Charles Ave streetcar – west to the turn at S Carrollton),
taxi or hire a car for the 20 min commute from the French Quarter. Not only is the breakfast amazing, but the décor and the staff are throwbacks to the original diner experience of the
1940’s. Trust me – it’s worth the trip!
Strangely, many of my experiences center
around eating…yes, just figuring that out now as I reflect on my trips to New
Orleans - I guess I'll need to keep running and exercising! J
The other great, and off the beaten track
experience I had was lunch at the Parkway Bakery & Tavern (538 Hagen Avenue), originally opened in 1911 it's been
the cornerstone of the local community ever since. I have to say that I had the best Po’boy
sandwich in the city, try the Golden Fried Shrimp. This local haunt is a definite “must
see” on your trip!
One thing that struck me was the beautiful
architecture and grandeur of the homes in the Garden District. This part of town is west of the French
Quarter and as the name suggests is the most scenic
and picturesque part of the city. Take the St Charles Ave streetcar, get off at Washington Avenue.
In fact, one of the highlights of my visits
was to go check out the cemeteries…yes, okay that does sound a little macabre
now that I say it out loud to myself as I write, but as with most cities you
can uncover some of the soul of the city by walking the rows of headstones, or
in the case of New Orleans the mausoleums that line the paths. A lot of history is captured and often some
unique and unusual memorials help shape your mental picture of the city,
especially like New Orleans because of its rich and diverse background and
history.
I can hear you asking why mausoleums and not regular graves...great question! Actually, it's because the city of New Orleans should be under water. The watertable is just inches below the surface of the ground and therefore impossible to dig a grave without finding yourself in a man-made pond.
Indelible Tip #2: After getting off the streetcar at St Charles and Washington check out the Lafayette Cemetery No.1 (1400 Washington Ave) located south of St Charles Avenue. This
treasure was established in 1833 and has some amazing architecture and
mausoleum designs, and best part is that just by walking and reading it’s like walking
through history of this mysterious and sultry city.
Like with many cities I visit, I tend to
shy away from the touristy parts of the city and look for the authentic
experiences that make the city or location unique although I must admit the
French Quarter has its charm, particularly the architecture!
Indelible Tip #3: One of the other cool places I discovered was
Algiers. No, not the one in North
Africa, although it is on my list of places I’d like to explore. Algiers is the community directly across the
Mississippi river from the city of New Orleans, a mere 10-minute ferry ride
from the foot of Canal Street for the cost of $1.00. For those history buffs out there, the
Algiers ferry is the longest continuously operating ferry service in North
America and has been in operation since 1827…
Algiers has a long and storied past,
established in 1719, which makes it one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city
of New Orleans it’s been a number of things over the almost three hundreds
years including a major slave trading depot, original home for the Cajuns when
that were expelled from Nova Scotia by the British, a Powder magazine for the local militia and the main slaughterhouse to feed the population of New Orleans.
These days it’s a quiet and quaint neighborhood that
is in the middle of rejuvenation with little gift shops, galleries and
boutiques sprouting up. When talking to
one of the shopkeepers it’s clear that they have a strong and vibrant local
culture and are proud to call Algiers home. Check out the cool architecture of the Courthouse adjacent to the Ferry terminal.
It was wonderful to escape the hustle and
bustle of the downtown area to sit by the river and contemplate
life. Although it was a little
disconcerting to watch the large container ships pass by within 100 meters of you as they
chugged by, and throwing up some serious wake.
Over the course of my three visits to New
Orleans I toured much of the city, and uncovered a host of
amazing gems that locals had either told me about or I discovered as I
explored. If you’d like to get more
information about some other sites and discoveries I made in New Orleans email
me at terence@indelible-adventures.com with the subject line - "New Orleans tell me more".
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“Hanoi Posting”
A series of micro-stories by Terence Wallis
Episode 19: Restless
Mai seemed preoccupied, even a little more than normal but and Anh was low on patience for her lover. One moment Mai would want to kiss and caress Anh’s naked and quivering body, the next she’d be flitting out the door to meet another suitor. It always seemed to be a tale of extremes, which added to the level of frustration for Anh as she had never become accustomed to feeling second best.
Anh had fallen for Mai from the moment she saw her at the first Reunification day celebrations at their school. There was something about Mai’s beauty and confidence even in those days that drew her in, and although their first furtive kiss had been pure ecstasy for Anh she could also sense Mai’s free spirit which drew her in even more.
Much had passed since those early days, but the unwavering love Anh had for Mai was evident in every gesture, glance and moment together.
It was Anh who broke the silence as they sat watching the sunset, “Is everything okay, you seem distracted?” she asked hesitantly. Mai turned to look at her, a serious look in her eyes. “Yes, actually I need your advice” Mai faltered. Remember I told you about the Australian journalist I met at the embassy ball, the one I challenged to find me. “The dark and brooding one” Anh shot back. “The same” Mai said smiling, before it slowly faded.
There was a long pause before Mai went on, well, he was a better detective than I could have ever imagined. I invited him over to get better acquainted… Anh now knew where this was going; she’d seen it all before. “And…?” pressed Anh. Well, that was almost a week ago and he hasn’t contacted me since. Anh laughed, “but isn’t that what you wanted, a quick conquest with no strings?”
You could always tell when Mai was angry, her eyes flashed and her nostrils flared at Anh’s flippant remark. “Fuck you” she spat as she got up and walked into the house.
Now it was Anh’s turn to be angry, she quickly followed Mai into the house and grabbed her by the arm spinning her around, Anh’s anger dissipated immediately when she saw the tears spilling down Mai’s cheeks, her lower lip quivering as Anh reached to embrace her.
“Mai, what’s going on?” she asked anxiously
Next week: Episode 20: Uncle Duong
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