'From Sin City to the Big Easy

After a five-hour flight with a 'layover' in Houston (where do the Americans get these terms from?), we arrived in New Orleans (NO - or "Nawlins" as the locals pronounce it).

On the banks of the Mississipi - where Daren's sneakers drew some attention!

To be honest, NO was a bit of a culture shock after Vegas and I was a little hesitant about whether I was going to like it here. In many ways, it is the exact opposite to Vegas: We have gone from bright, modern, new, clean, safe, and very dry; to dark, historic, old, sometimes dirty, sometimes dangerous and humid. Vegas lacked soul: New Orleans the soul of the 'south'.

Anyway, we ventured out into the French Quarter last night for dinner and that was all I needed to change my mind about this place. The hotel we are staying at (Hotel Monteleone) is amazing - it is on the historic hotel register of America. Our room, like the French Quarter in general, is very small but charming. Anyway - dinner. We dined at a local oyster bar - New Orlean's oysters done three ways, a craw fish salad, a blackened scallop salad with walnuts, blue cheese and cranberries, a few JD mint juleps, and key lime pie to end. And you get change for all this from $60. NO is one of those places where you regret that there are only three meal times  a day.

Lunch in the French Quarter -
the jazz singers behind Logan were worth every cent of the $2 we tipped them

Today we set out to explore the French Quarter a little more. As I walked around all I could think was thank God I didn't come here with my Aunty Sue and Mum - we wouldn't have made it out of the first street (Royal Street in the French Quarter has one of the largest collections of antique shops in the whole USA). The French Quarter is a shopper's paradise, regardless of what your interest - galleries, knick-knacks, gourmet food depots and clothes. And when it all gets too much, you simply slide up to one of the whole-in-the-wall bars and order a "Hurricane"(like a Long Island iced tea, but more potent), a frozen margarita, or a mint julep to go, find a seat in the shade in a park, and tip the very talented buskers a $1 while you listen to some toe-tapping jazz.

We also found a great place down the road from the hotel that does washing - we dropped off all our dirty clothes from the past six days and returned three hours later to collect them washed and folded for $20 plus a tip. 

Jackson Square in the French Quarter

The people really do have a certain Southern charm. For example, we met a great bloke this morning called Eddie. Eddie is a local travel agent (we booked our swamp tour tomorrow and plantation home tour on Sunday through him). After five minutes in his shop, we knew he had been married four times, had recently been featured on the cover of the NO Senior Citizen's magazine (he is 68 but could pass for 20 years younger),  is a retired school teacher, and sends all his ex-wives flowers on Mother's Day. He even gave us his mobile number in case we get lost while we are here, and some tips on some great free things to do while we are in town. And he wouldn't even accept a tip when we made the tour booking. A real charmer.

That's not to say that the city doesn't have a grittier side: Daren got a bit nervous earlier today when we were walking along the banks of the Mississippi and two black dudes openly admired his sneakers! But generally speaking, if you stick to the well-lit and populated tourist areas it feels pretty safe.

One of the many beautiful streets to explore in the French Quarter

This afternoon we are off to a cooking class, so I will have more to tell you about that tomorrow I expect. But for now, I am going to sign off, finish my cocktail, and join the boys in the roof-top swimming pool.

PS - A huge congratulations to my sister Michelle and brother-in-law Jim on the safe arrival of my new niece Gracie Jade yesterday.