Jun 18

N’orlins

by in Places we've been, Things we've seen

Yeah right!

Southwest Airlines worked – no engine failures no windows blowing out no passengers out windows and it was on time AND our luggage arrived with us.

So we’ve arrived at one of those places that’s been on our bucket list for ever – New Orleans Lousiana US of A. Jazz, creole, Cajun, Jumbalaya, Mardi Gras, Mighty Mississippi, slaves, plantations, sugar, cotton, river boats et al. Plus of course the “French quarter”.

Lets start by saying ‘ Katrina did N’orlins no favours’. Eleven years on and there is still significant damage. The whole place looks and feels run down. We took a bus tour which covered areas still showing serious damage but there is evidence everywhere of the effects of cyclone Katrina. As was pointed out to us it wasn’t the cyclone directly but the subsequent flooding when the levies around the city failed. A  lot of N’orlins is below the level of the river and the lake and the built in the late 1800’s drainage/pumping system fed all of the rain water into the lake. When the levies broke the water all came back. Most of the city was 2 feet at least underwater with some as much as 12 feet deep….

The graveyards have tombs all above ground cos as the bus driver explained “when you bury Bob you don’t want him bobbing up when the water gets to Bob’s level”. All tombs carry a supposed maximum of two bodies in a two year period but you can drop the bones of the earliest in a bag and drop the bag in a pit under the tomb and put the next body in year on year. (The temperature is such that the body decomposes in the year). Some of these tombs carry dozens of people…..

 

and there a thousands of these tombs in various cemetaries all around NO.

Footpaths are all unlevel, road surfaces are still damaged and the place just feels ‘grotty’.

However we still had fun. On Saturday night we caught a parade in Canal St (the main drag!!!!)…..

I think even the horse was gay (well happy anyway).This went on for an hour or so with loud music and huge crowds all wearing some rainbow ID. We felt positively queer!!!

This was at least to me to be a food taste test. Jude is not terribly adventurous on this front as we all know but I’m always up for a bit of a lark so we tried several different places – none of them lived up to my expectations and all of them were bloody expensive for what they really offered eg a rabbit ragout for about $30 aus which really was mostly pasta and perhaps as much rabbit as one could fit into a matchbox, or a blackened chicken jambalaya at about $30 which was nothing more than a paella. Didn’t try it, can at home, but a ‘decent’ steak listed out at usually around $60.00 (and you want sides with that sir?) Everything was bland – I expected spicy, hot, tasty (the best experience so far foodwise was roadside tortillas in Mexico – they had a bit of bite). However the jazz was good – its everywhere…

(The kids tap dancing to music in his own head)

There were bodies on the streets everywhere – I don’t know how they put up with the noise and the crowds.

There are trams everywhere but ya gotta be a bit of a genius to work out the system. It does sorta work!..

Theres more yet -WWII museum (brilliant from a yanks point of view), Whitney Plantation (from a slaves point of view) and the Creole Riverboat cruise (from Judes point of view)

 

2 Responses to “N’orlins”

  1. From linda:

    I laughed at the gay pride “queer” feeling. I think I remember the risqué bars with the jazz at night. I do not remember the food so it must not have impressed me. The tourist pricing is no surprise as they need to make money to do clean up 11 years later. This is a state known for their lack of ambition in terms of an honest days work. I would have enjoyed the river cruise as well. Sounds like you had a good time and that is a good thing.

    Posted on 19 June 2018 at 12:19 pm #
  2. From Robyn:

    Oh dear, oh dear and oh dear. What an experience!

    Posted on 21 June 2018 at 4:12 pm #

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