New Orleans: Like the Embrace of An Old Friend

St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square

NOLA took us in and greeted us like we were old friends. She showed us the sights, sounds and tastes she had on offer, expecting nothing in return, and then treated us to some more. Then she invited some others to join us and continued with more of the same. This went on until something had to give…

We allowed ourselves 6 nights in NOLA, a long enough time to fall in love with the place, without giving up your soul. On our first few days we took in a few of the free walking tours, an historical one around the French Quarter and a Louisiana Cuisine one. The historical one gave us a great overview of the history of New Orleans, and as most of you know, she does have some history. What some of you may not know are a few of the more finite details of her past. It is shrouded in piracy, voodoo arts, and war, and yet from it comes the modern day glamour of jazz, Mardi Gras and just about any festival you can think of.

The Louisiana Cuisine walking tour had us all salivating by the end of it that we almost had to cut the tour short. Our tour guide, Dave, was so much the embodiment of NOLA that we couldn’t help ourselves but be drawn into the embrace that the city provides. He was part eccentric, part passionate, part crazy but full NOLA. He was so proud if his city, the way she has bounced back from her many setbacks, he was so appreciative that we had chosen to visit her, and he was so much in love with her home cooking that he had us wanting to try each and every one of his recommendations right then and there. Safe to say we knew where to eat for the next few days.

First stop was Mother’s, a family run enterprise known to serve up the original and best Ferdi Special Po’ Boy where they have made the extravagant leap to add ham to your roast beef po’ boy, cover it in debris (slow cooked beef cuts and gravy), and the legend was born.

Ferdi Special Po’ Boy @ Mother’s

We then had the pleasure of catching up with a number of different friends, some planned and some just the luck of fate, over the rest of the week. We caught up with Bec and Sal (friends of Nic’s from hockey) over a few quiet drinks on Bourbon street and continued on with a few more, not so quiet, Hurricanes at Pat O’Brien’s, whilst taking in a Piano Duel, some twerking and a little old man playing a silver tray!

Piano Duel @ Pat O’Brien’s

This was followed up the next night with some of the best Cajun and Creole food in town from Coop’s Place. You want Gumbo (Creole soup, although to call it simply a soup is somewhat belittling), you go to Coop’s; you want Jambalaya (Creole paella), go to Coop’s; you want Red Beans and Rice (yeah, just like it sounds), you go to Coop’s. You want top notch service with a smile, perhaps go someplace else. But the food more than makes up for it.

An assortment of condiments @ Coop’s Place

We headed on to Frenchman’s street after to take in the local Jazz scene. And although I’m no musician, I believe they call the stuff being delivered up to us at The Spotted Cat as ‘baby making music’. A little bit of ham n eggs coming at ya!

‘Baby Making Music’ @ The Spotted Cat

Saturday brought in an unexpected surprise, running into Josh and Alyssa who we had previously met in Atlanta. They had just come off the best few days, although hectic, in Vegas where they had tied the knot in true Vegas style, and then followed it up with the bus trip from hell. Two days on a bus, well 5 or 6 buses to be precise, topped off with two of their bags being misplaced somewhere along the way. If things couldn’t have been worse, nobody at Greyhound seemed to give a shit. Fortunately it all worked out in the end, just 4 or 5 days too late, and they did manage to get their bags back without punching anyone’s heads in!

Saturday night was back to ye’ old faithful, and Bourbon Street did not disappoint. 3 for 1 drinks tends to help in these matters. But it also turned out to be the night we witnessed the best revival and second wind in history. The time frame on this one may be a little hazy, but early on into the session Lys was fading, and fading fast. A change of scenery and a celebratory wedding drink brought on the best display (and numerous ones at that) of ‘Salute to the Sun’ that I have seen. Of the many that were on show, there is one that takes the cake. Unknowingly, Lys’ hair (she has quite a bit) knocked a tray of ‘test tube’ shots right into the face of the unsuspecting waitress passing by. She could do nothing but vent to her friend and bemoan her bad luck in the toilets, whilst cleaning herself up, as Lys has no idea she had performed such a deed!

A 2-3am night turned into a 5-6am bender…all with a little help from a triple shot!

Shenanigans on Bourbon Street

Sunday was game day, and Lys and Josh had tickets to the Saints v Buccaneers match. Although these tickets were in one of the missing bags. Needing to find a printer early on a Sunday morning was going to be a tough gig. Turned out, getting out of bed on Sunday was an even tougher gig (for some)! Lys’ revival only went so far, there were to be no repeat miracles, and Josh kindly offered his spare ticket up to us, which we all agreed would be best appreciated by Big Al. So with 10 minutes to kick off, Al managed to get showered, print the tickets (our hostel had a printer), collect Josh and make it to the game at ¼ time. Given the game went to overtime, the lads still managed to get 4 quarters of football in without skipping a beat!

And like the old friend that she had become, NOLA had one last gift for us before we left. We managed to catch up with Hailey and Matt, along with Hailey’s brother Kaine and girlfriend Ash for a few Sunday Funday drinks at the Hard Rock - a place where Cocktails cost less than the Mocktails – don’t ask us how we found this out! We had previously met Hailey back in Ireland and she and Matt have been enjoying the open roads of the U.S. much like us, albeit in much more style than we could have hoped for. A pimped out van, complete with everything you could want, from a full size bed, shoe racks, a spare tyre that no one wants, and sleepovers at Walmart!

Sandwiched in between these nights out, we also managed to explore the cultural side of NOLA with a cooking class, sitting back and soaking up all the street performances in the Quarter and taking in a few of the museums on offer. The Hurricane Katrina Museum was eye opening, not in terms of the devastation of it (I think most people have a fair idea from the pictures we all saw), but in regards to the emergency response and relief efforts. The shear lack of organisation, and coordination between relief effort agencies was mind blowing. The chaos that ensued for the following days and weeks was something I find hard to fathom, but of course there were countless displays of heroism and courage that helped turn around such a disastrous situation.

Street performers in the French Quarter

New Orleans is also home to the National WWII Museum which is one of the best war museums I have set foot in. Often you are lost in the overload of information but the Americans got this one right. Much like Graceland, the WWII Museum has kept up with modern society and is filled with interactive displays which take the tedium out of reading each and every panel. From our time in Europe I felt that we were pretty ‘full bottle’ on that side of the war, but my knowledge of the Battle for the Pacific was rather lacking – ironic, and somewhat shameful given Australia’s role in this side of the war. The Museum leaves you feeling rather humble to be walking on free ground, and you are touched by the countless number of men and women who fought and died to grant us that freedom – something that we often take for granted.

National WWII Museum

We were drawn in and embraced by NOLA. A place of so much charm and character that you really did feel like you got to meet her. A place where 6 days was a lot, but never enough!