Day 7: New Orleans Part 1

New Orleans, through and through, is a city that stirs a passionate emotion in its visitors. The music, the decadence, the never ending party, the rich history, and more recently the devastating hurricane that virtually annihilated its inhabitants are interwoven into the fabric of the “big easy”.

My personal mission was to get a glimpse of what exactly was happening two years after one of the United States biggest tragedies ever. Coupled with that, it was very important for our crew to have a good time while we were there. I wanted them to see the nightlife, play some partypoker or do whatever it is they wanted to. Hey, that is what New Orleans is all about right?

With that being said, I am going to post about the good times in this post and the recovery in New Orleans Part 2. Yes, New Orleans is still recovering.

The five of us were very fortunate to meet up with 20 year New Orleans residents “Bubbles and Warren”. The two are “very good friends” of “very good friends” of mine. Bubbles works as a waiter in one of the best restaurants in town while Warren is a director at the New Orleans Collection, one of New Orleans most prestigious museums. They were excited to be our tour guides and regurgitated every tidbit of knowledge they had about N.O from the second we got into town.

This was my fourth trip to New Orleans. I had been to a convention in college, New Years Eve in 2001, and Jazzfest in 2005 (the last Jazzfest before the Hurricane). This trip proved to be the most informative by far. The other trips were fantastic in a “stumbling through the streets with a Hurricane” (the delicious drink) sort of way.

Sidenote: We stumbled through the streets on this trip as well. We just learned stuff on the way.

PICTURED: Jackson Square Nonetheless, we walked through the town, went to the historic places that you are supposed to go, and drank the requisite number of beers that groups of cross country travelers are supposed to drink. But, this time the city had a different vibe. The character has noticeably changed since my pre hurricane visit. I do not know how to describe it. It was not resilient or courageous like you would think (they are through the resilient faze) but more of a happy sort of “shell shocked” if that makes any sense. The bottom line is that the people of New Orleans have been through a hell of a lot. Some are still going through a terrible time. Others, like Bubbles and Candy, are eager to get the city back to where it was and doing everything in their power to spread their love for the city. Unfortunately, it still has a long way to go.

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OK, enough deep thought. We had a quite the entertaining and decadent time while we were there. 5 travelers, 2 hosts, and 1 big city based on people having a ball is an equation for a lot of fun anyway you slice it. We contrasted our Lonely Planet French Quarter walking tour and museum visiting with plenty of live music, vodka tonics, and a 5am trip to the casino.

On the recommendation of Bubbles and Warren we headed uptown to the Maple Room on our first big night out to see the historic Rebirth Brass Band. They have been a staple in New Orleans for 23 years and dazzled the 200+ crowd.

NEXT STOP: New Orleans Part 2: Post Hurricane Katrina New Orleans and video of our trip to the 9th ward

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