First things first, I have not heard a single word of French in "La Nouvelle Orleans". Sure, they are trying to keep a certain French flavor. Hope it is not only for business purpose, but we are in the USA after all. I will not comment on the food either, except to say that it is worrying that this place is supposed to have the best food in the USA. What is really ironic about the French influence is that, on the other side of the Mississippi river, the main town is called... Alger.
The French Quarter is very lively, with the highlight being all these bars and clubs with live music bands playing all types of songs. I happened to be there just before "Mardi Gras" and they had a dress rehearsal of the floats and parade. Floats were making jokes at Sarah Palin, the Republicans, BP, airport controls, Wikileaks, etc. In-between floats, bands were playing. From the balconies over looking the parade, spectators were throwing down cheap neklace at passerbys. Got mine as well.
The architecture is indeed latin, with a mix of French and Spanish influence. Lots of patios for example. Indeed it is an old town which will soon celebrate its 300 years anniversary. They also have the oldest tramways (it is seems they have not changed it since...). Further, I did a tour of the garden district and its cemeteries - you cannot imagine all the problems encountered to bury the dead in this swamp area. Suffice to say that nice smelling trees such as magnolia and sweet olives were favored to cover the bad smell.
My last tour took me to the swamps. The temperature started to be warm enough for turtles, water snakes and alligators to come out of their hiding places and to enjoy the sun. I even managed to catch one!
Finally, I must admit that during these three days, I did not see any scars left by Hurricane Kathrina. It might be that I did not go to the right neighborhood, but I would tend to believe that the authorities have done a good job at rehabilitating the city. Still, the 2010 census shows that the city's population has dropped compared to 2000.
First things first, I have not heard a single word of French in "La Nouvelle Orleans". Sure, they are trying to keep a certain French flavor. Hope it is not only for business purpose, but we are in the USA after all. I will not comment on the food either, except to say that it is worrying that this place is supposed to have the best food in the USA. What is really ironic about the French influence is that, on the other side of the Mississippi river, the main town is called... Alger.
The French Quarter is very lively, with the highlight being all these bars and clubs with live music bands playing all types of songs. I happened to be there just before "Mardi Gras" and they had a dress rehearsal of the floats and parade. Floats were making jokes at Sarah Palin, the Republicans, BP, airport controls, Wikileaks, etc. In-between floats, bands were playing. From the balconies over looking the parade, spectators were throwing down cheap neklace at passerbys. Got mine as well.
The architecture is indeed latin, with a mix of French and Spanish influence. Lots of patios for example. Indeed it is an old town which will soon celebrate its 300 years anniversary. They also have the oldest tramways (it is seems they have not changed it since...). Further, I did a tour of the garden district and its cemeteries - you cannot imagine all the problems encountered to bury the dead in this swamp area. Suffice to say that nice smelling trees such as magnolia and sweet olives were favored to cover the bad smell.
My last tour took me to the swamps. The temperature started to be warm enough for turtles, water snakes and alligators to come out of their hiding places and to enjoy the sun. I even managed to catch one!
Finally, I must admit that during these three days, I did not see any scars left by Hurricane Kathrina. It might be that I did not go to the right neighborhood, but I would tend to believe that the authorities have done a good job at rehabilitating the city. Still, the 2010 census shows that the city's population has dropped compared to 2000.
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