We returned to New Orleans in October 2018 after a gap of nearly 30 years! I have always known I had unfinished business with NOLA. My brother lived there in the late nineties/early noughties but we never got chance to visit him there. Our daughter was born in 2000 so the timing wasn’t right, the planets didn’t align.
I’ve wanted to visit Nashville for the past few years so that was the reason for the 2018 trip to the States. The optimum way for us to get to Nashville was to visit as part of a road trip starting in New Orleans. Serendipity had intervened in our plans.
Has it changed?……………..you bet……………for the better? Well yes and no
Firstly it’s safer. When we first visited you couldn’t walk anywhere at night downtown other than the French Quarter. Even the free tourist leaflets in hotels had more ‘must avoid’ places than ‘must see’ sights. ‘Only visit the Superdome in the daytime or for games’, ‘only visit the Cemeteries on guided tours’, ‘avoid Louis Armstrong park’. All are now perfectly safe. Treme, the African American neighbourhood which borders Louis Armstrong park and the (now defunct) Storyville is now a must see. When we first visited it was not even on the tourist radar. So, in conclusion, the city is far more accessible today.
On the downside, the city has lost a lot of the edge that made it unique. On my first visit I found N’Awlins deliciously sleazy, gloriously decadent. A hedonists delight, an adult Disneyland. Now it is filled with stag and hen parties and middle aged conventioneers playing at living on the front line.
Sadly, Hurricane Katrina was probably the catalyst for the major changes to the city’s culture. Optimists will claim that from tragedy came triumph. Others will mourn the passing of the soul of one of the seven wonders of the traveller’s world.
When we first visited, Bourbon Street was loud, sleazy, and even edgy in parts. Now, it’s still loud but dirty and overpriced. Fortunately the French Quarter still has many great bars, restaurants, sights and shops making it still feel like a magical place.
In addition to the French Quarter, the Warehouse district, Uptown, The Garden District and Frenchman street are all brilliant neighbourhoods. The city has some of the finest dive bars in the USA, if you’re visiting search ‘New Orleans dive bars’ on Google. You’ll find many must visit places ensuring you see the real best of the city.
Happily, the food is as good as ever. I love Cajun food! Spicier than most places in the States but also really tasty. On our latest visit we ate at K Paul’s, a French Quarter institution. Sadly, Head chef and owner Paul Prudhomme is no longer with us but his delicious food lives on. We couldn’t afford to eat there first time we visited so getting older does have some benefits. There are many cheap places to eat delicious food so all budgets are catered for.
I hope that I get the chance to go back to New Orleans in the not too distant future so that I can revisit my lost youth in the temple of Bacchanalian excess!!!
If you want to watch the slideshow that accompanies this blog then go to https://youtu.be/DvIAlNm8wFk The music is ‘I walk on guilded splinters’ by Dr John. This track always makes me think of the magic and mystery of New Orleans. Dr John died in 2019. New Orleans and the world lost one of its finest musicians, songwriters and personalities. RIP Mac Rebennack.
Great tune!
I applaud your great taste in music!