A Constant Race Against The Rain

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Unlike Houston, which seemed like the safest American city we have ever been to (despite the Texans' love of guns), New Orleans has got quite a different reputation. I was therefore on strict instructions that there were to be no early morning photography outings.

One of the specialities here is a spiced rice and meat dish called Jambalaya. It was on the menu, but I really didn’t feel that it was something that I wanted to have for breakfast. My wife gave it a go though.

We thought we would start the day by heading down to Jackson Square and then to the French Market. The French Quarter is actually more compact than we thought and it did not take long to walk there at all, which involved crossing over the now considerably more subdued Bourbon Street. It had started to rain from the moment we left the hotel, but not too hard. However, after a short stroll around the square and debating whether we should have a tarot reading or not, followed by a quick look at the Mississippi River to watch the steamboat leaving, the heavens opened. We headed straight to the shelter of what we thought was the French Market and made it there just in time.

The market seemed more like a series of shops rather than a market in the traditional sense, but we were quite drawn to some New Orleans coasters in one of the shops (not to mention a teabag holder, tea-towel, some postcards and Christmas tree bauble). It was nice to take our time looking round whilst all hell was breaking loose outside - thunder, lightning and torrential rain. We later discovered that that was in fact NOT the French Market so we will need to head back that way again tomorrow. We still enjoyed the shopping though.

Once it had calmed down, we left the shop and it was cooler outside but a lot more humid. It was actually more uncomfortable than it had been before the rain. We walked along Royal Street, which had lots beautiful buildings in the typical New Orleans architecture. There were lots had strings of beads hanging from the balconies, but I'm not sure what that's all about. The end of Royal Street was at the end of the French Quarter and at that point the architecture completely changed. Gone was the traditional, low-rise European buildings with their ornate balconies, and in came the grander more American architecture, along the side of a wide boulevard (let's pretend it's still French) with a tramline running down the middle of it.

The tram is part of the New Orleans experience so we jumped on the first one available without a clue where it would be taking us. We actually ended up at the New Orleans City Park, which is also home to the New Orleans Museum of Art. We debated going to the museum for short while, but then settled on a short walk alongside one of the bayous (lakes) before getting the tram back to the side of the French Quarter.

The driver stopped the tram at one point to pop out to a nearby coffee shop. It's very relaxed here!

We didn’t see any of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, so they have either done an amazing job of clearing up what looked like astronomical damage from what I remember seeing on TV or this part of the city was not so badly impacted.

On the way back, we walked past one of the many historical cemeteries (St Louis Cemetery #1), where people were 'buried' above ground in elaborate mausoleums. We understand that they are all above ground as this part of the city is below sea-level so, apparently, no digging was permitted. You are only allowed in to the cemetery as part of an organised tour, so we had a quick look through the entrance, had a quick chat with the guy on the gate and then moved on. Apparently, the actor Nicolas Cage has already built a mausoleum there ready for when he needs it.

We were going to go to Louis Armstrong Gardens (as in the famous Jazz player) but the clouds started to turn very a very ominous colour, so we walked quickly to get back to our hotel and, again, we made it just in time before the rain came lashing down.

When we headed out in the evening it had cooled down considerably and seemed a lot less humid. It was actually quite comfortable. We walked along Bourbon Street again to take it all in and went for something to eat. Whilst walking we overheard a tour guide telling her tour group, "This is Bourbon Street, where it is very difficult to get into trouble!" I.e. anything goes.

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Photos

Jackson Square
The St Louis Cathedral on the side of Jackson Square.

Canal Street Tram
The tram moving along the more modern, more American Canal Street.

New Orleans Architecture
One of the buildings along Royal Street.

Mississippi Steamboat
The steamboat leaving (we're booked on this tomorrow).

New Orleans City Park
A short walk in the park before getting the tram back.

St Louis Cemetery #1
A sneaky picture over the wall.

More Voodoo
Overlooking Bourbon Street.