The New And The Familiar In The Big Easy
Day 1 back in New Orleans and the first thing I did – after getting a stiff Bloody Mary’s from Daisy Dukes – was walk around “the Quat-er” as the locals pronounce it, and get to know the city again.
It’s been a while since I’ve been to the Big Easy – at least five years but probably more – and I wanted to be sure I had the layout down pat again because I know there are times when I’m going to need that information when operating at less than full brain-cell capacity.
Plus, as a travel writer, it’s important for me to know these things about places I visit.
I called it my New Orleans Refamiliarization Tour and my journey took me – all on foot, of course – throughout the French Quarter.
Not everything is quite as I remember things and it took me a few minutes to get my bearings. For example, I was pretty sure that Decatur Street intersected Canal Street at the Mississippi River but that’s not the case. That’s actually N. Saint Peter Street, which eventually blends into Decatur.
I also thought the French Quarter was adjacent to Cafe du Mond when it is in fact several blocks past it.
And I knew Margritaville was right there, near Cafe du Mond but now where is it? Oh wait, it’s not there anymore; there’s a BB King bar in its place. (What, Jimmy Buffett, no Margaritaville in New Orleans, the place you played in your early years!?)
Frankly, I like a little bit of change in places. That keeps it exciting – hey a new place to try! – while keeping me on my toes. As long as it’s not all changed (which often is for the worst).
And trust me, there’s plenty about New Orleans that hasn’t changed in decades. The original muffaletta place, the Central Grocery & Deli, is right there on Decatur Street.
The buildings are still all that familiar brick with the black railings, there’s the seemingly endless line of shop after shop after shop, small restaurants every few steps and music is everywhere on the streets.
And people still throw beads off balconies on Bourbon Street.
Ahh, Bourbon Street.
They still have 2-for-1 and, 3-for-1 Happy Hours, places advertising Big Ass Beers and bands delivering live music. There’s a couple new places (in old buildings) but primarily the bars, the look and the scene is unchanged from every other visit.
At first, when unable to find that Canal-Duval Street connection by the river, I felt a bit like a first-timer here. (I did, tho have a nice walk by the river along a clean, modern path.)
But it did not take long for me to start to recognize places and to say, once again, “ahhh, New Orleans!”
Cheers!
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