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I love N'Awlins.

The people, the food, the music, the smells ...

Talking with people here, while the French Quarter and tourist districts are all functioning normally, some 2 plus years post Katrina there is still some serious work that needs to be done. Some areas - Ponchartrain Park was mentioned to me - still have cars stacked up one on top of the other.

One lady had a foot of water in her house, another had four feet of it! One family traveled to Houston - they traveled in a seven car convoy, and the usual 6 hour trip too fifteen hours, such was the traffic. Then they needed to relocate when Rita hit Houston!

Jobs are available here, but there's a shortage of workers, because there's a shortage of accommodation.

And a taxi driver last evening asked me about the cricket. Yes, he was originally from India.

TV .... I find the ads on tv for mail order stuff rather amusing.

For instance, some guy is advertising a series of something like 50 lessons - by mail order - on how to use the computer. The first lesson he offers is on how to use ... eBay!

Like, you need lessons for that?

So there's another guy shouting at you, extolling the virtues of some garden product he's offering. It doesn't make a cup of coffee, but it does do just about everything else.

But it doesn't order itself for you either - you need to get "instructions on how to order", which are given at the end of the ad.

Perhaps I should start marketing a mail-order course on how to order mail order products that I've seen advertised on the TV? I'll bet there's some people that would buy that.

Today - Friday - I'll head out to the fairgrounds. I'm told there's a jazz festival on. Tomorrow night, after Jazzfest, there's a street party somewhere along the street that my hotel is located on. Life's tough!

gstark wrote: Life's tough!

Yeah.... and I'm sending you every sympathetic vibe you deserve. *

* May or may not be a number less than one.

Here's a couple of images from the Big Easy.


St Patrick's




Irvin Mayfield, along with one of the Marsalis boys, in the Lousiana Music Factory.




NOFD. Anyone wanna t-shirt?




Cafe Du Monde - paying the bill.
Coffee is all of $2, including taxes. But it's good, and they're open 24/7 with no Sunday or late night surcharges.

Gary,

Shot #2 in the Louisiana Music Factory reminds me of Preservation Hall. I wonder what happened to it, post Katrina.

Magic place. It was an old, old building dating back a couple of hundred years. Very limited seating and performances by local musicians on acoustic instruments at close quarters. fabulous.

If it's open, go.

Wait. It has a website and the hall is still standing and open! Shows are on each night, and it's like $15 a seat.

Michael

Had no idea you were over there you lucky, lucky man...

Take it EASY! (see what I did there?)

Gary, glad to hear you're enjoying yourself. As for me, I'm off to Escondido today... then tomorrow it's Fresno and the only place I could find open last night was Dennys...

Oh well, I can always head on up to Bakersfield....

ozimax wrote:Gary, glad to hear you're enjoying yourself. As for me, I'm off to Escondido today... then tomorrow it's Fresno and the only place I could find open last night was Dennys...

Oh well, I can always head on up to Bakersfield....

Fresno ... Bakersfield ... they're both armpits, but the In'n'Out burgers aren't too bad.

As to Denny's ... I grabbed a meal at one in SD, and realised that I am now eligible to order from their (discounted) seniors menu selection. I'm a feelin' old.

Just landed in Dallas. There were heavy storms in Houston, meaning that almost all flights out of Houston were delayed, including the one that became my flight from New Orleans into Houston, which ended up landing in Houston almost an hour and a half late.

Note that I said almost all of the flights out of Houston were running late. One that was not was my connection from Houston to Dallas, which left Houston promptly at about the same time as my flight from New Orleans was hitting the gate.

Of course, rescheduling was easy, and especially so when the resheduled flight ... was running a half hour late!

Ate dinner last night at Mother's in N'Awlins.

Mother's is actually one of the best amongst a whole city full of good eatin' 'stablishments. The locals line up there for biscuits'n'gravy for breakfast. I was satisfied with debris for dinner. Who else here has eaten "debris" ?

photohiker wrote:Shot #2 in the Louisiana Music Factory reminds me of Preservation Hall

Michael,

I've been there many times, and enjoyed listing to the music, often played by musicians who seem to be even older than the building. It's yet another place with a personality and charm all of its own, but of course N'Awlins is just filled wth so many places like that.

Quite a contrast with Dallas, which has little charm, and probably even less for the typical tourist. There's the 6th Floor Museum in the West End, which is an absolute must see, and the DMA, which has just started it's Thursday night jazz series, and to which I've managed to snag an invite. I guess that means stubbies and things are out!

I just can't imagine flights being delayed in the US of A!

SOCAL is not overly renowned for eating establishments, so I have eaten Mexican for the last 5 days straight...home cooked stuff yesterday was delicious.

ozimax wrote:I just can't imagine flights being delayed in the US of A!

SOCAL is not overly renowned for eating establishments, so I have eaten Mexican for the last 5 days straight...home cooked stuff yesterday was delicious.

Yesterday was certainly the day for it: Cinco De Mayo. El Chico even had a Mariachi Trio wandering through the place.