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Published: July 24th 2011
We got an early ferry across from from Algiers point to Canal St, in the heart of New Orleans, only getting slightly lost trying to find the ferry port (all the road names seem to have gone around here, whether due to hurricanes or theft I'm not sure). Just as we came in to land (or is it 'dock'? not sure) a massive thunderstorm hit. I'm not sure I've ever seen so much rain in one go. We had to shelter in the ferry terminal for a while, so played another game of Balliol 20 questions to pass the time.
We the headed towards the French district which is the oldest part of the city (and has some of the oldest buildings in the whole of the US, although a lot of it burnt down and was rebuilt by the Spanish). We started by going to the Historic New Orleans Collection because it was free and recommended by the guide book as a good intro to the history of the city. It was a bit rubbish though (I think maybe part was shut off for renovation) since once you've seen one painting of a Spanish military general you've probably seen
Baignets!
Yes, that is all icing sugar. Om nom nom...them all. We also quickly realised that the US definition of 'old' is very different to our own; the Cathedral of St Louis (the oldest cathedral in the US) was equally disappointing since it just looked like a newer/less ornate version of any catholic church in Europe. A New Orleans specialty that we really enjoyed, however, were the beignets at Cafe du Monde (see photo). Incredibly sickly, but also v yummy in a guilty kind of way.
In the afternoon we wandered into the north of the French quarter and found the Voodoo temple, a deeply disturbing building which we quickly left. After the guy in the Old US Mint told us we has to pay to get in, we made a speedy exit (after using the loos, of course) and headed for the Flea Market to look at tourist tat and hide from the sun. We the walked along the 'Moonwalk' beside the Mississippi back to the ferry.
Once reunited with the car we drove over the river and found (after getting lost A LOT) the Upper and Lower 9th wards. These were some of the poorest parts of the city before Hurricane Katrina hit, and they're
Voodoo massage chair
This was in the Voodoo temple, on the throne thing. I'm pretty sure it's the same model that Judith has in college though... pretty eerie now. A third of the New Orleans population still hasn't returned even after 6 years (most took the compensation money and moved to Houston, which is above sea level) and almost every other house is abandoned. If you drive around over the bumpy roads (still not re-surfaced), interspersed amongst these derelict houses are brand new shiny ones, many built by charities such as the Brad Pitt Foundation. You have to wonder how much fun it is living in a semi-dead neigbourhood though.
For dinner we ordered in a New Orleans favourite: Po-boy sandwiches. These are basically glorified subways: french bread stuffed to bursting. Very yummy, but also very filling.
In the evening we got the ferry back over to the French quarter and went over to jazz club to celebrate Alice getting a 1st. New Orleans is meant to have invented the concept of a cocktail and there were certainly a lot to choose from. We had a hurricane - lots of rum and fruit juice. Bourbon St was crammed with people having a good time/getting drunk which actually gave it a really nice atmosphere, compared with when we tried to go out in Austin and
Princess Diana...
...with dollar bills stuffed down her cleavage. Obviously. it was just dead. The most memorable/bizarre sight had to be a semi-naked man in thong trying to redirect traffic. A tiring but interesting day.
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