Thoughts on New Orleans
French Quarter
Okay, well, the French Quarter is cool because it's the French Quarter. That's about all it has going for it. Other than that, it's a 12x7 block section of New Orleans that is full of buildings that are falling apart and haven't gotten a coat of paint for what looks like 25 years. The streets are really narrow so it's kind of hard to appreciate the architecture because you can't get a good view of it. However, there are a lot of cool things in the French Quarter so I guess that's enough to keep people coming back.
Hotel
We started out staying in the Holiday Inn - French Quarter. It was kind of crappy. The room was nothing like we expected and neither was the location. We had a courtyard (read: big cement block that had six hotel room doors leading to it with a lovely view of a taller building's wall) but our door didn't lock. The elevators were roughly the size of my closet and we waited 19 minutes to get an elevator we could fit in to checkout. We left a day early and went to the Embassy Suites, which is where my dad is staying the rest of the week for work. Not in the French Quarter but much nicer.
Food
If there is one thing New Orleans has going for it, it's food! Great shrimp and crawfish (which I had never had before). Also ate enough Beignets from this place to last me at least three life times.
Delta
Never fly Delta. I will not book tickets with them again. We apparently paid $500+ per ticket to have "most likely reserved seating." After two hours and two different supervisors, we got confirmed seats.
However, our plane coming home didn't use a jet way so, when getting off the plane, we just walked down a flight of stairs right on to the runway. That was pretty cool. I kind of felt like the President (just with a smaller set of stairs and a much less impressive plane).
Bourbon Street
I'm really waiting for a news story about the bars collapsing on people. Other than that, just another street. Not too impressive but at night (I only saw it during the day), I imagine it lives up to its reputation.
Art
So many artists in New Orleans it is unbelievable! Some on Jackson Square were so good. My dad is thinking about going to get a painting sometime this week. I told him we definitely need one. I also found out about George Rodrigue. He paints the Blue Dog pictures. My favorite is Hot Dog Chili. Contest: whoever buys my that silk-screen is my new best friend for 2 years.
Other Random Stuff
* We saw the house that Tennessee Williams lived in when he wrote Streetcar Named Desire.
* Apparently, New Orleans had a big fire too. Copy cats.
* St. Louis Cathedral, the standing Catholic church in America (or something cool like that).
* The signing location of the Louisiana Purchase.
* The Mississippi River (uh, yeah).
* The Superdome, complete with it's new shiny white roof.
All-in-all
All-in-all, it was a cool trip. I'm glad I've seen New Orleans and when people talk about it, I can say I've been there. Would I go back? Probably not. If my dad's company is paying for it again, sure. Family vacation? No. Much better places to visit. Once is enough for me.
Okay, well, the French Quarter is cool because it's the French Quarter. That's about all it has going for it. Other than that, it's a 12x7 block section of New Orleans that is full of buildings that are falling apart and haven't gotten a coat of paint for what looks like 25 years. The streets are really narrow so it's kind of hard to appreciate the architecture because you can't get a good view of it. However, there are a lot of cool things in the French Quarter so I guess that's enough to keep people coming back.
Hotel
We started out staying in the Holiday Inn - French Quarter. It was kind of crappy. The room was nothing like we expected and neither was the location. We had a courtyard (read: big cement block that had six hotel room doors leading to it with a lovely view of a taller building's wall) but our door didn't lock. The elevators were roughly the size of my closet and we waited 19 minutes to get an elevator we could fit in to checkout. We left a day early and went to the Embassy Suites, which is where my dad is staying the rest of the week for work. Not in the French Quarter but much nicer.
Food
If there is one thing New Orleans has going for it, it's food! Great shrimp and crawfish (which I had never had before). Also ate enough Beignets from this place to last me at least three life times.
Delta
Never fly Delta. I will not book tickets with them again. We apparently paid $500+ per ticket to have "most likely reserved seating." After two hours and two different supervisors, we got confirmed seats.
However, our plane coming home didn't use a jet way so, when getting off the plane, we just walked down a flight of stairs right on to the runway. That was pretty cool. I kind of felt like the President (just with a smaller set of stairs and a much less impressive plane).
Bourbon Street
I'm really waiting for a news story about the bars collapsing on people. Other than that, just another street. Not too impressive but at night (I only saw it during the day), I imagine it lives up to its reputation.
Art
So many artists in New Orleans it is unbelievable! Some on Jackson Square were so good. My dad is thinking about going to get a painting sometime this week. I told him we definitely need one. I also found out about George Rodrigue. He paints the Blue Dog pictures. My favorite is Hot Dog Chili. Contest: whoever buys my that silk-screen is my new best friend for 2 years.
Other Random Stuff
* We saw the house that Tennessee Williams lived in when he wrote Streetcar Named Desire.
* Apparently, New Orleans had a big fire too. Copy cats.
* St. Louis Cathedral, the standing Catholic church in America (or something cool like that).
* The signing location of the Louisiana Purchase.
* The Mississippi River (uh, yeah).
* The Superdome, complete with it's new shiny white roof.
All-in-all
All-in-all, it was a cool trip. I'm glad I've seen New Orleans and when people talk about it, I can say I've been there. Would I go back? Probably not. If my dad's company is paying for it again, sure. Family vacation? No. Much better places to visit. Once is enough for me.
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