requirements for trip:
warmer, not colder
great food + things to do
not too much travel to get there
destination result = New Orleans!!!
we're making a habit of going away for Christmas,
and we did it again this year 🎄
some flight changes the day before
had us going through DC with a 3hr layover...
...which the more time-optimistic half of our duo
(not me!) decided was quite enough time to
dash into town & take a gander at the National Museum of Art
so we did! & were able to see (quickly)
a photography exhibit of Dorothea Lange's work
(you'll probably recognize one of these)
here's the one you'll probably recognize...
& here's that same mother in an image you probably won't...
& here's me and Dorothea Lange
& one of the serene interior gardens,
so familiar from my many childhood visits to this museum
as we dashed out of the museum to catch our next flight,
i spied this pair of portraits & just HAD to do this:
our next flight was directly to New Orleans with an arrival time
that meant we could make a Christmas concert
in St. Louis Cathedral
before checking into our Airbnb; however.....
just as we were circling...and circling...and circling
the New Orleans airport,
our flight was suddenly detoured to Baton Rouge! Oh-no!
turns out, a plane and some large birds had an encounter
on the NOLA runway,
and all their runways were closed due to airplane + bird debris
so....we landed in Baton Rouge & sat-sat-sat on the runway
before finally returning to the New Orleans airport
though we arrived too late for the concert,
we had an informative ride
into the city via public transportation at quitting time,
riding a bus that MANY folks were taking home from their jobs
(we were the ONLY tourists on this very slow bus)
~ ~ ~
we transferred to a second bus
at the Cemeteries Transit Center,
(which was a little spooky & empty)
to get us to our Airbnb
after a quick settle, we walked around the corner
to the neighborhood bar (Parasol's) for dinner,
which was cozy, Christmassy, and just right
after a day of travel
the next day, we wandered nearby for breakfast
& a walk through the Garden District
before catching the St. Charles Street Car
into the French Quarter
our Airbnb was in a neighborhood called
the Irish Channel, which was
full of small duplex cottages
many of which were FULLY DECKED OUT
for Christmas like this one, below!
this (below) appeared to be a community garden
we had quite a pick of great places to eat
within walking distance of our place
& selected DeVille Creperie this morning...
we were not disappointed!
(& the service was good, too,
regardless of their wall art)
we were headed for the iconic
St. Charles Street Car
& made our winding way there
through the very pretty Garden District,
full of gated mansions
these houses had very reserved decorations
compared to the confetti explosions in "our" neighborhood
the live oaks were lovely,
covered in ferns growing from
their curving branches
beautiful ironwork locking up these mansions
(this one with corn stalks was unique -
though we, later, saw one in the French Quarter, too)
this poinsettia (below) was in a front garden
where they* had just watered
(we exclusively used public transportation or our own legs,
and this was the one route filled primarily with tourists)
we got off near Canal Street, on the west side
of the French Quarter, & wandered to get the flavor
of this very unique city
several of the older hotels had amazing Christmas decorations
(this was the Roosevelt, and it was quite the photo shoot location)
& we popped into a nearby Catholic church,
(reminiscent of our time in Italy last year)
it lacked the heady incense that permeates Italian churches,
as well as all of the side chapels - but is beautiful, nonetheless
from there, we wandered down to the Mississippi River!
& found the beautiful Monument of the Immigrant,
which I would have appreciated regardless...
but knowing the sculptor is the cousin-in-law
of a UNC OT friend was a bonus!
from there we, of course, finally
dove into the French Quarter,
which was sunny & bright in the light of day
over the days, we saw that this was a prime corner
for music buskers
as was the area at Jackson Square
in front of the St. Louis Cathedral
we stepped into the St. Louis Cathedral,
on Jackson Square,
where we had hoped to hear a concert
the night before (but were thwarted
due to the flight detour to Baton Rouge)
from there, we dove into the Quarter!
there were a few buskers ~
this pair was the most interesting to us
then we popped back to Jackson Square,
with the statue of Andrew Jackson on horse
silhouetted in front of St. Louis Cathedral
we popped into one more well-decorated hotel
on our way back to our place that evening
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
we wanted to explore, during the day,
the Marigny neighborhood (to the west of the Quarter),
so headed to Horn's Eatery for our breakfast
seeing beauty in different forms along the way
& enjoying a scrumptious repast,
especially the amazing pancakes!
"when i needed you most"
for the most part, the cemeteries in the heart of New Orleans
are now gated & locked (sadly, due to vandalism)
- only available through a scheduled, paid tour -
but we did find one that was occasionally open,
from there, we walked to
and were definitely not disappointed!
photos weren't allowed until the very end,
as we sat and enjoyed some impromptu jazz piano
by the son of one of the other tourists
(that's Al Jackson, the proprietor, on the far right)
just as our tour of the museum
was wrapping up, another tour came into the museum
led by Kelly Lee Blackwell,
who shared a bit about her father, Bumps Blackwell
(this is a YouTube interview)
"Bumps" Blackwell was a manager, band leader, songwriter,
arranger, & record producer who, at one point, worked
out of a recording studio in New Orleans
(which we visited later in its current iteration as a laundromat)
on the way to the laundromat, we walked a bit
through the famous Treme neighborhood
the history of New Orleans is complex
& includes the devastating impact of slavery,
as well as a long history of free people of color
we made our way to the laundromat
(former site of Cosimo Matassa's
now called The Lost Sock
i did not photograph much of the art,
which led me to think surely only adults
should be in this particular laundromat - oh, my!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
the next day...
we did a very eclectic walking tour
of the French Quarter
largely dictated by which bus we caught
from our Irish Channel digs
& where it dropped us off near the Quarter
so, this time, we were near Banksy's Umbrella Girl!
here's that other cornstalk ironwork fence;
this time, with the corn painted gold
(the link takes you to the 'legend' behind the corn)
then we popped into the free Historic New Orleans Collection
(didn't have much time, so i didn't take many photos,
but this one stood out to me...)
during a previous restoration, they removed the lace collar
(thinking it not feasible on the dress of a free woman of color
...how wrong they were!)
a more recent restoration uncovered the delicate lace collar,
returning it to its rightful place
we strolled as dusk fell & the restaurants
geared up for the evening
& the hot dog vendors, too!
Bourbon Street as evening descends
we popped into a very fancy restaurant (Arnaud's)
in search of a free exhibit of Mardi Gras costumes
from Germaine Wells,
Queen of the Mardi Gras balls
from the 30's to the 50's
our TRUE focus of this day
was going to Kermit's Treme'
for a night of NOLA funky music!
we ventured up to the edge of Treme'
for an early start (arriving before dark)
& ended up hanging out with
Kermit Ruffins, his friends, & his family
for a couple of hours before the music started
we sat at the bar, admired the Christmas tree,
and watched an insanely violent movie
with little dialogue and mostly grunting & shooting.
finally, the movie ended, and
Kermit changed it to an image of
the Charlie Brown Christmas movie
and soundtrack, to which Kermit Ruffins
occasionally played along on his trumpet
while lounging at the far end of the bar!
it was a night to remember, no doubt!
"Have a Crazy Cool Christmas!"
the backyard of the lounge featured
a stage-like barber shop
& the band's stage against the back of the lounge (house)
the band, setting up...didn't get all the names
(& not all matched the earlier advert)
but - second from left is Irvin Mayfield &
Jamal Baptiste is standing to the right of the drummer
(& would be the drummer for most of the evening)
Kermit Ruffins / Silent Night
Kermit Ruffins / If I Only Had a Brain
(p.s. in this video, you can see Cyril Neville on the right)
Kermit Ruffins, feat. happy drunk woman
in green jacket & from, it turned out, Nova Scotia
(no wonder she was so happy...it's cold up there!)
(of the Neville Brothers)
after a long, dark, fast walk back down & through
the French Quarter, we caught the street car back home
night scene on Canal Street
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Christmas Eve
promised to be a wash-out
so our only outings were to grab brunch
to-go at a nearby, recommended restaurant
(the Turkey and the Wolf)
morning scene
we scurried back home
through the rain drops,
ate our yummy brunch,
& enjoyed a lazy day
before doing another dash to a Christmas Eve service
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Merry Christmas!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
on Christmas day, we took the street car
up to Tulane / Loyola for a wander
on our way up to St. Charles, we walked by
the gated & locked Lafayette Cemetery
we took the street car just about to it's northwestern end point,
getting off & walking towards Tulane
through a neighborhood where bananas grow in front yards!
we passed St. Mary's Cemetery
then strolled through Tulane's campus,
finding a trio of metal 'trees' draped with
Mardi Gras beads & medallions
we had heard about Mahogany Jazz Hall
from Kelly Lee Blackwell, who recommended
their Christmas Day evening festivities,
so we headed that way after dinner
we had seats tucked around a corner
and, progressively, people stood in front of us -
so visibility was limited
(but we still had fun!)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
we did some more geographically non-sensical
wandering the day after Christmas,
with no particular plans - hopping on a bus
to its end point...to find yet another cemetery
closed & locked :(
but our breakfast was yummy
at nearby District Donuts!
(& there were some beautiful
BLUE morning glories on the way)
was super pleased to get this next photo!
King Cake donut / Milk & Cookies donut
at the yummy & nearby District Donuts
& we rarely pass up a good selfie opportunity
i've always liked Miro -
this was on the side of a building
on Magazine Street
& i've always loved SPARKLE!
these decorations were supreme!
so, yes, we took the bus out to Metairie Cemetery...
which was, unsurprisingly, CLOSED...gated...locked...no entry
we walked the fence perimeter & gazed inside
with no particular agenda, we took a bus to Freret Street
to find dinner...and found a little place
called Sarita's Grill that fit the bill
we hopped on another bus back down to Magazine Street,
which let us off near Peaches Records
we both quickly recognized it as a former
Woolworth's store...
and they mention - of course - Greensboro!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
day 7 was a FULL day
we took a 2.5-hr tour of Marigny,
took a bus to/from the Lower Ninth Ward,
walked in Bywater (which was...
as you might suspect...by the water),
& saw a tremendous sunset!
statue of you-know-who in Lafayette Square
beautiful ironwork railings & trim
near the French Quarter
greenery is hanging in there...
we did an 'official' architectural tour of
the Marigny neighborhood - highly recommend!
most of it did NOT look like this...
we had a great tour guide (Guy)
who has lived in the neighborhood for 30 years
(though took a hiatus after Katrina)
there are still houses waiting for new owners,
but i got the impression they are quite expensive now
this neighborhood was made of lots sold by Bernard de Marigny
(who had developed extensive debt
due to loving the game of craps)
after the Haitian revolution resulted in many French Haitians
fleeing Haiti & landing in the next closest French city,
New Orleans
a good majority of the creole* cottages
looked like this one (below)
(*creole initially described a person born in the new world
but whose parents were born in the old world)
after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Americans
(whom the New Orleans residents of 1800 were NOT)
began moving to New Orleans & tensions developed
as the economic class system embraced
by New Orleans creoles & free people of color
was challenged by the racial class system
brought by the Americans
(there were slaves in New Orleans...but there were, also, many
free people of color who enjoyed economic parity, such as
Bernard de Marigny's half-sister, Eulalie de Mandeville)
...that said...
the free people of color did not have political parity
&, from what i know (which is limited)
were children of creole men whose parents were European
(French or Spanish, primarily) &
enslaved women, free women of color, or native women...and...
under the custom of placage, there was not a marriage
but an economic contract to protect the woman and children
born of this relationship
(as Al Jackson at the Treme' Petit Jazz Museum said,
"Put a HOUSE on it.")
the ones above & below are the oldest in the neighborhood,
with the one on the lower left dating to the very early 1800's
in any case, the history of New Orleans
is quite a winding road,
& i found the brief glimpse of it very interesting!
our tour wrapped up, and we considered our options
with some interest in traveling into the Lower Ninth Ward,
so impacted by Hurricane Katrina
we ended up getting on a bus that would take us
there & loop back into Bywater.
we couldn't see much out of the bus windows
due to plastered advertisements
- and it's been almost 20 years -
we never got off in the Lower 9th to explore,
although most of the bus riders did get off,
going home, going to work, going shopping.
we took the bus back across the Claiborne Avenue bridge
& got off to walk down to the Mississippi
near the Rusty Rainbow Bridge
where you can look across to downtown New Orleans
we ate our late lunch on a park bench
(Mike had a muffuletta, & i had some spicy pizza)
then wandered down Royal Street
to explore the Bywater neighborhood
(as was recommended by our Marigny tour guide)
his recommendation was a great one!
looking at the next few photos that i took,
it appears i like the color BLUE!
pretty houses in Bywater
further down Royal Street, we happened upon
some fabulous graffiti art along the street,
then Mike realized we were near StudioBE
there was more polished street art nearby
including one of Homer Plessy,
who was arrested nearby
in an act of civil disobedience
that resulted (unfortunately)
in the 'separate but equal' doctrine
that reinforced segregation until 1954
(he was a free person of color)
i was in awe of this mural
& commenting on it when
Mike realized we were at StudioBE.
we ended up paying the admission
& being thoroughly amazed at the art.
so glad we decided to stop!
"Surviving is the True Magic"
i found the amazing girl inside, as well
they were hosting a Kwanzaa celebration in the space, as well
back outside
we meandered back through Marigny & up Esplanade,
making for a bus near Louis* Armstrong Park,
where we viewed a stunning sunset over the city
(*we learned, during this visit, that locals pronounce the S
in Louis Armstrong...who knew?!?)
pretty red passion flower & a bright blue bicycle
every now & then, there was a surprise in the windows!
we hung out in Congo Square a bit
& were rewarded by this amazing sunset
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
after such a full day, we went low-key
for the next one...which was our last day in NOLA
the two places to which we returned
during this trip were, as follows:
(yep, it's a convenience store, but
they have AMAZING fried chicken)
(to which we returned on our last night)
but, first, we had a yummy breakfast
at Slim Goodies (nearby)
& Mike bravely tried the local favorite,
the Creole Slammer
featuring a crawfish etouffee
(which he determined seemed a better dinner
than breakfast option for his non-NOLA palate)
i had the much less adventurous Contractor's Combo,
which yielded a second meal + more
then we made like snakes & lazed about in our cozy Airbnb
on Laurel Street (between 1st & 2nd Street),
gearing up for a long day of travel tomorrow
but we did go out for one last evening of jazz,
arriving early enough (this time)
to nab the last two seats in the main section!
the trumpet player, Kevin Louis,
frequently plays at Preservation Hall
& the drummer is Gerald French,
who also plays at Preservation Hall
they were having a lot of fun,
which made the show so engaging!
a second group came on at 8 o'clock,
and they were much more serious
(though the bass & drummer tried to liven things up)
we stayed for a few songs, then called it a night
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
our trip home involved a loooooong
6-hour layover in Miami -
which we COULD have changed
but decided not to...
surely, if we could go into DC on a 3-hr layover,
we could do something in Miami on a 6-hr one!
well, we did it! barely.
we found the 17th Street Lifeguard Tower
great looking beach - i can see the appeal,
but NC is still better :)
okay, the ocean here might be a smidge more appealing
someone left behind some beach art
we made a quick trek down Collins Avenue
to admire the art deco buildings
turns out, my mother used to come here as a young child,
on her family's annual vacation (from Ohio)
to visit my grandfather's brother
we needed a quick dinner before we caught the bus
back to the airport, and Playa Café seemed perfect!
little did we know, they would cook our empanada
right after we ordered it...delicious, but lengthy!
we saw the bus just as we walked out...
and ran three blocks after it!
we caught it around the corner at a very busy bus stop,
and joined the throngs of international tourists
& their super-humongous luggage
(we functioned with only a backpack each for this trip)
we made it back to the airport
in time for our flight home.
phew!
