The Big Easy

When you think of New Orleans, what comes to mind?  The history, beautiful architecture, Marti Gras and music.  Well us to.  What we did not expect were tall buildings.  We were picturing what you normally see on tv.  Bourbon Street with it’s crazy shops, bars and music.  Two, maybe three story buildings.  Not this.  When we rounded the final turn on I-10, there they are.  Tall buildings.  Interesting.

Another thing we did not expect.  The smell.  I don’t know if this odor is normal, but for us non-city folk, it was quite pungent.  It smelled like a combination of beer, barf, and horse manure.  Be thankful that the internet does not have smell-a-vision.

All in all, it was a nice place to visit though.  However both David and I feel that there really is no need to go back there.  Been there, done that kind of feeling.  I really would not want to be here during Marti Gras.  I can imagine this town turns into a giant frat party.  Not my idea of fun.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some very beautiful places in town too.  The architecture was magnificent.  The history is all around you.  When you turn some corners, you feel like you could have stepped back in time.  The gas lanterns on the buildings instead of modern lights.  The iron railings surrounding the porches.  The horse and buggy going down the street.  Oops…there’s the horse smell.  Watch were you step at all times.

Not an easy town to drive around in.  I recommend walking.  Tight narrow streets.  Tourists all over the streets.  Popping out into the streets to take pictures.  Guilty, I’ve done that.  If we do find ourselves in the area again, we’d probably stay outside of town.  And tour the plantations around town, and not go into town.  BTW, take a look at the picture below of our rv park we stayed at.  What you don’t see is to the left of us is the I-10 overpass.  However, it’s the only place to stay within walking distance of anything and everything.  Any other rv park was a drive away, no walking.  But that’s what you get when you stay in the city, literally.  As you can see, we are parked right below a billboard.  I looked up and took that as a sign we should buy a lottery ticket.  David disagreed.  I guess we’ll never know what could have been.