Blogs from New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, North America - page 43

Jambalya- it's a word from Scrubs that didn't mean much until we got here. It's a local dish here in New Orleans. Haven't had much access to the internet because it's not free here like it has been in all the other hotels we have stayed in, but i decided to suck it up and pay for it. A lot of people on the flights we have been on have been ill, so consequently both Lozzie and I were sick while we were in Cancun, and I haven't quite recovered yet. The 3 flights we took to get from Cancun to N.0 got me pretty congested and yucky, so on the first morning we got here I got up really early and went out in search of a chemist. AND IT WAS SNOWING! It hasn't snowed ... read more

New Orleans is a party city, at the same time there is an incredible amount of poverty. The cab driver that dropped me at the hostel told me “It’s a great place to visit but a bad place to live”. He also told me that the only safe place I town was the famous French Quarter. Everywhere else he recommended not risking it. Unfortunately for me, the India House Hostel I was staying in is about 2 miles from the French Quarter. The only real safe and cheap way to get between the two is by streetcar (really old trams like the one at the Beamish Museum in Durham). Although the neighborhood was bad, the hostel was good fun. It’s made up of about five small wooden buildings facing onto a courtyard and swimming pool there ... read more

Feb. 15 - We left Chattanooga at 7 A.M. The morning was beautiful. Old Lookout Mt. showed up in all his glory. We passed through the grass regions of Tenn. Most of the country of Geo. and Miss. was very poor. We saw our last patch of snow about 100 mi. out of Chattanooga. About 50 mi. south of that we saw the first cotton field & from that on there were many, although not such large fields as I expected to see. We saw oxen and windowless houses, just shutters. Much of the country has a rundown appearance. As the train was several hours late, we did not see much of Louisiana. We reached New Orleans at 11 P.M., too late to see the Mardi Gras parade. The Cosmopolitan was anything but nice, rates were ... read more

For more travel mascot journals, see: www.wherethewildthingis.com TRAVEL JOURNAL Where: New Orleans, LA When: August 11th-16th 2008 Who: Elise LeBlanc & Jim May - Indianapolis, IN Guest Starring: Carmelina Pizzi & Kris Mills, a dog, Zoltar, a few statues Key Places: French Quarter, Cafe du Monde, St. Charles Streetcar, Audubon Zoo, Riverwalk, Camellia Grill, Pat O’Briens, Bourbon Street, Magazine Street, St. Louis Hotel, Commander’s Palace Highlight/s: Beignets + chocolate milk at Cafe du Monde, muffalettas at Central Grocery, reopening of $1.25 St. Charles Streetcar, getting fortune told Lowlight: Missing connecting flight in Houston, TX True Story: Walked 50 miles in five days, resulting in debilitating thigh chafe... read more

New Orleans After a long but very comfortable train ride we arrived in the Big Easy. We stayed the night with John & Abigail (CS) in the garden district. We ended up having Abby’s apartment to ourselves while they slept at John’s down the road. We did go out for a quick drink and bite to eat with our hosts as they wanted to partake in a celebratory birthday drink for one of their friends. The next day was spent exploring the French Quarter including Bourbon Street, Jackson Square and beignets (donut-like delights) at Café Du Monde. We partook in a walking tour around the streets enjoyed with a ‘to go’ Daiquiri. Unfortunately that was all we got to do in New Orleans as a mandatory evacuation was announced due to hurricane Gustaf. The Amtrak and ... read more