The Big Easy

Beignets at Café du Monde

It’s the perfect name for the place.

The air is so full of life and joy that just breathing in makes you feel fortunate to be there, fortunate to be alive.  People sit down next to you on the streetcar or the park bench and strike up conversations.  Folks who should be too busy to talk give you their attention.  Bellhops, doormen, and waiters make you feel like you’re the only customer they’ve had today.

Café du Monde on a Wednesday

No place is perfect, but from a tourist’s perspective, the faults of New Orleans drown in a sea of beautiful architecture, history, music, food, and southern hospitality at its best.

 The first day we explored French Quarter and had beignets at Cafe du Monde.  If you’ve never had these, think of a cross between doughnuts and funnel cakes, with a slightly crunchy outside.  Add a cup of smooth dark coffee with cream and sugar and you have sugary caffeinated bliss.

 Jackson Square, with Saint Louis Cathedral in the background, is a beautiful scene.  On the city block that surrounds it there are hundreds of artists selling paintings and creating performance art, and perhaps a half dozen palm and tarot card readers.

Adjacent to the cathedral runs Pirate Alley, from Chartres St. to Royal St.  The cobblestone alley still bears the shallow gutters to carry away rain water.  People congregate there in pirate costume, and hang out at Absinthe House or the Pirate Alley Cafe.

And then there’s the music.  In New Orleans will you find streetcorner musicians putting on concert-worthy  performances, from five-piece jazz bands and tap-dancing hustlers to guitar wielding bluesmen and all-star jug bands.  Why buy a ticket or pay a cover charge when you drop a buck in somebody’s coffee can? 

Spanish Moss on a Cypress tree

Although it’s a little touristy, you have to take the shuttle bus out to the swamp and enjoy an airboat tour.  Just seeing the Spanish moss hanging in the cypress trees alone makes the trip worthwhile.

Karen before the swamp tour

Of course, no vacation is complete without somebody you love.  Fortunately I had that base covered.

Before day #2 was even complete I was fantasizing about my next visit.  Although the wife wasn’t as enthusiastic as I was, I don’t think it would take much cajoling to get her on the plane again someday.