New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS TRIP _OCTOBER

BUFFALO, N. Y.-FRIDAY-10/4

We left Buffalo International Airport, on an American Airlines flight headed for New Orleans, by way of Chicago's O'Hare Field. Accompanying us, were Don and Nancy Seel. After a brief layover at O'Hare, we arrived at New Orleans Airport, at 8:40 P.M. , C. S. Time. Our elapsed travel time was five hours. Enroute from Chicago to New Orleans, we were treated to a magnificent sunset. The air was clear of clouds and it seemed as if the entire western horizon was rimmed in red, like a molten lava flow. Above the Horizon, as the light refracted through the spectrum, appeared a green mist. It was much like you see at oceanside, the instant before the sun sets into the sea. At 35,000 feet, the effect lasted for twenty minutes.It was a beautiful sight. The New Orleans Airport was nearly empty. We retrieved our luggage with little difficulty and hailed a cab for downtown. The ride in took 30 minutes.

Our hotel was a newly renovated period piece, on 316 Rue De Chartre, in the French Quarter (HOTEL DE LA POSTE). It has a central court area with swimming pool, continental breakfast served daily and very cold air conditioning. We were two blocks away from Bourbon St. and only a few blocks more from Jackson Square and the waterfront. It is an ideal location for walking. All the streets in the quarter have plaques detailing their original Spanish name, as well as their current French name. This reflects the two countries' ownership of the City.

After checking in, we unpacked, settled in and prepared to go out for a few drinks. Peter Rittling and AnneMarie O'Shea, law students and former Buffalo residents, met up with us. Down the street, one block away on Chartre, was the "Chart Room Cafe." It is a corner bar, with all the doors and windows open for circulation. It is of brick construction, like many we were to stop in, and reminded me of "Sloppy Joe's in Key West, Florida. We had a beer and proceeded to walk the two blocks over to Bourbon St. This is a street like no other. It runs for about ten blocks, from Canal to Rue St. Phillip. It is blocked off to traffic throughout its length. Bars and restaurants, of all types, compete with strip joints, lady wrestlers, dirty book stores and people from everywhere. It is a miniature Mardi Gras, every night of the year.

Jazz musicians play night and day. You can find them either in "Jazz Joints,” noted for their music, or in doorways along the side streets. You can drink from plastic containers in the streets. Little kiosks hawk Dixie beer, in 16 OZ. glasses, for $1.50. People in tuxedos and formal gowns walk alongside drugstore cowboys and tourists from all over. The aura is one of anything goes. Most visitors fall quickly into the swing of things. You can stop in "Pat O'Brian's" for a "Hurricane,” or visit "Chris Owens Strip Joint" for a show. Along the way, "Sammy's Steak House " looked elegant . The "Old Absinthe House" reeked of age and local color. It is the oldest bar in the city. As an aside, there are no closing times for bars in New Orleans. Some have reputedly not had to close their doors in fifty years of around the clock service. It is Broadway, the Place Pigalle and Times Square wrapped in mint julep and corn pone. We loved it.

Next, we walked up toward Jackson Square and along Decatur St.. We stopped in "Maspero's Cafe" for a beer and a sandwich. It was airy, spacious and old. French doors lined the outside walls. Service was slow. We tried "Muffalettos.” They are a local variation on the Hero Sandwich, and had a Dixie beer to wash it down with. It was near midnight and we were tired. We walked back to the hotel, waved Peter and Annie off and retired for the evening.

NEW ORLEANS-SAT.-10/5

We got started about 8:30 a.m., with coffee and Danish in the hotel's inner court. The day was going to be hot. We walked along Rue De Chartre (the locals call it Charter St.) to Jackson Square. This is the center of the French Quarter. A small park, with a statue of Andrew Jackson at its center. The square is surrounded by the old cathedral, the Louisiana State Museum, the Cafe' Madelaine and several shops. The entrance to the "Moonwalk" (riverwalk named for former mayor Moon Landreu) is also nearby. At one corner of the square is the famous "Cafe' Du Monde.” It is open 24 hrs. a day. They sell cafe' au lait and beignets, the fried doughnut holes, sprinkled with powdered sugar. They are very good, but heavy as a rock.

At various times during the day, street performers of all types entertain the crowd. They expect spare change from the tourists. One side of the square harbors sketch artists and painters. For a fee, they will draw your likeness. Some were very good.

Ambling along Decatur St.,Which parallels the river, we stopped in various shops and watched the crowd. We came at last upon the "French Market.” It is a combination of a large outdoor produce market and an all purpose flea market that sells everything. The most curious item we found was alligator meat on a stick. Walking back along Decatur, we stopped at the Cafe' Du Monde . It was very crowded. We managed to get cafe au lait and warm beignets to go. We sat up on the riverwalk, along the Mississippi, watching the river meander on by. It was a beautiful visage on a lazy summer day.

For lunch, we walked back along Chartre Street to the Cafe' Napoleon. It was reputedly built for its namesake, if he could but be rescued from exile. He never made it. The place is old, airy and charming. We had muffolettos and Creole gumbo. It was very good. In the background, selections of Schumann and Revelle played softly. It was a good choice. After lunch, we signed up for a 3 hour city bus tour. It picked us up at the hotel. We toured St. Charles St., in the "Garden District,” with its' beautiful antebellum homes. Then, we visited the central business district, with its hotels and office complexes. Next, we rode up along Lake Pontchartrain, with its 24 mile causeway and 24 ft. depth. We stopped to see St. Louis Cemetery and had a brief respite in the city park. There, they have canoeing in the lake and stream. Live oaks, some over 400 years old , dotted this park and nearby Audubon Park. Both lie across the road from Tulane University. An interesting curiosity, are the cemeteries and causeways. All graves are above ground, because most of the city lies eight feet below sea level. Each corpse is interred in a wooded coffin that lies in a stone vault, for a year and a day. The intense heat (93 in Oct.) causes a furnace like effect, that incinerates the remains. What is left, is swept up and placed in an urn in the family vault. It much resembled "Cimeterie Montmarte" in Paris.

The causeways or canals are all part of an engineering marvel. There is a large system of drainage canals in New Orleans. The city has a network of nineteen pumping stations that literally pump out the city after the frequent torrential rains. Without this system and the levees along the Mississippi, most of New Orleans would return to the cypress swamp from which it was reclaimed.

At tours end, we were dragging a bit. We stopped for a beer at "Pierre Masperro's Slave Market" , on Chartre St. It is an airy and newly renovated bar and cafe'. Previously , it had been an actual slave market, where people were bought and sold by auction.

At this time of day, particularly in the heat, Ozzie Nelson is my mentor. We repaired to the hotel for a two hour nap. The air conditioning was great. While we were there, the temperature was in the 90's and the humidity likewise. You survived, by darting from air-conditioned venue to air conditioned venue. Heatstroke was a definite possibility.

Annemarie and Peter picked us up around 8:00 p.m. .We went to a neighborhood restaurant, in their area of the city for dinner. It was called "Mandina's. . The place didn't have much in the way of atmosphere but the food was terrific. We had delicious soft-shelled crabs, breaded pudding & Dixie Beer.

After Dinner, we took a drive through the City, and then headed back into the French quarter. Parking in the quarter is very difficult. We parked on the other side of Canal St. and walked in to "Flaherty's Irish Pub" on St. Phillip St. There we had a pint of Guiness and listened to Irish music. It is a nice place. It was nearing midnight, so we headed back towards the hotel. We stopped at a great little Tavern called the "Aft Deck,” on Royal St. It is dark, cool and relaxing. It is adjacent to the Hotel Monteleone and serves food as well. We called it a night, said good-bye to Anne and Peter and retired for the evening.

NEW ORLEANS- Sun.-10/6

Again, we started with coffee & Danish in the hotel courtyard. Then, we walked over to Canal St., to catch the St.Charles Streetcar. It is an old, authentic streetcar . It rides along tracks, through the historic Garden district. It was crowded even at this hour of the morning with many tourists like us. Others riders were locals heading to and from work. The ride was slow and airless . The homes along St.Charles St. are beautiful. We exited a few miles out from the Quarter and walked through the neighborhood. There are many great examples of ante-bellum architecture on these streets. Some were shuttered, some pillared with large entrance foyers, studded with leaded glass. Many were mansions that could be used on movie sets. It was very hot. We hopped the return car back to the quarter, looking for some air conditioning. We encountered an interesting housing style called the "shotgun.” It is a long narrow house, with all the rooms in line, so that a shotgun could be fired from the rear to the front, without hitting anything. Two such edifices next to each other, were called a "double Shotgun." The Lord only knows why you would fire a shotgun through your house, but that is the origin of the term.

From Canal St., we walked past the new Aquarium. It had long lines of tourists waiting to get in. Then, along the Riverwalk to the French Market, where we had visited yesterday. The Riverwalk is lined with benches and a few music Pavillions for concerts. It has a beautiful view of the River. Three excursion Steamboats and the Algiers car Ferry motored lazily in the heat. We again perused the French Market and environs before meandering through the three stories of the Jackson Mall. It is filled with upscale boutiques and a few restaurants.

For lunch, we chose the French Market Cafe', on Decatur St. It is of the Brick, French door lined variety. It was mercifully air-conditioned. We again had Gumbo & Muffolettos. They were very good.

Afterwards, we walked back to the Riverwalk and met up with Don & Nancy Seel, for a ride on the Steamboat "Natchez." It was two hours in duration. It is a beautiful old three-decked steamboat, that could hold 1600 passengers. It was full up this trip. We sat along the prow of the main deck. From here, we watched the river traffic in the port of New Orleans and the activities along the banks. People fished from the levees, but mostly the area appeared to be reserved for industrial usage and ship related facilities.

Even on board a ship in the middle of the River, it was hot. We went into the roomy, air-conditioned cabin area and settled in for a beer. A Dixie land band was playing and lunch was being served, buffet style. We enjoyed the view and passed away the hours nicely. There are other longer tours. They will take you upriver to old plantations and the bayous. But, you need all day and a great deal of patience.

From the " Natchez,” we walked along the Riverwalk to the Riverwalk mall. It is enormous. The Mall is crowded with upscale shops and appears to stretch forever along the Mississippi. We walked through it for a time, before bailing out past Canal St. . We walked back through the Central Business District to Chartre St . and the Hotel. We were a little tired from the day. Ozzie Nelson’s image again prevailed and we took a two hour nap.

At 8:00 P.M., we met the Seels and walked down Rue D' Chartre to an old and colorful local restaurant named Miss Ruby's. It didn't look like much and they didn't serve alcohol, but the food was very good. I had cajun snapper and we all had chocolate pie. It was very good. All meals are cooked to order. The restaurant will prepare anything on the menu, the way you like it.

After dinner, we opted for one more walk down Bourbon St. The same party appeared to be going on from the other night. Music, crowds, neon, action and a lively atmosphere prevailed. It must be a Mecca for every Yahoo within a hundred miles. We again stopped at the "Aft Deck" on Royal St. for a night cap. Across the St., in a doorway,a street musician was wailing away on her saxophone. A crowd of passersby had gathered. We relaxed, with one more Dixie Beer, headed for the Hotel, again tired with the day.

NEW ORLEANS - Mon. 10/7.

We arose early at 6:30 A.M. . We wanted to get an early start, for one last walk through the Quarter. We stopped, for croissants and coffee au lait, at the Cafe' Madelaine , on Jackson Square. It is very French and very good. We walked along the Riverwalk and browsed for souvenirs in some of the shops that opened early. Even at this hour, the heat and humidity were oppressive. We returned to the hotel, for our second shower in three hours. We packed, summoned a taxi for the airport and started the journey home.

The airport was crowded for a Monday. We boarded a U. S. Air flight that stopped over in Nashville and Cleveland. We arrived at Buffalo International, some five hours later. We retrieved Don Seel's car from the overnight and drove home, arriving about 6:00 P.M. E. S. T

I M P R E S S I O N S

New Orleans is a great tourist city. There is a lot to see and the party seems to go on all the time. The French Quarter is the center of it all and where you want to stay. The hotels are quaint, comfortable and much cheaper than those in the business district. We researched the history of the area and read up on the attractions in the FODOR'S guide. I would recommend it. Otherwise you will miss much of the local color.

The City is very French in appearance, but you don't have to worry about the language barrier. I didn't hear French spoken once. Take the bus tour and a steamboat ride. They give you a good overview of the area. The "fine" restaurants (ARNAUD'S,BRENNANS,COMMANDER'S PALACE ) are very nice and very expensive. Sample the local fare in the more modest cafe's and you will get more of the flavor of New Orleans. Don't go to New Orleans between May and Oct. unless you can stand heat and high humidity. It is unpleasant. Although we didn't experience Mardi Gras, from the stories we heard, it is a once in a lifetime experience and not for the faint of heart.

Lastly, this is a great place for a three or four day tripwith friends. There is a lot to see and do. Do your research, bring the right clothes, be careful on the streets and it will be a trip you will long remember.

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Joseph Xavier Martin