America, Life of adventure, Travel

Heading down to New Orleans

Suzanne

It was October, 2016.

Our first hour in New Orleans on a steamy hot summer’s night was a challenging one, as we stood outside our AirBnB with no one answering the door.

Ok, let’s not panic.

What’s to panic about?

There were minor issues concerning loitering in an unknown neighbourhood, with no mobile/phone coverage and standing out like sore thumbs. While at the same time, reassuring ourselves, all was okay as we stood and waited, those 20 minutes seemed like an eternity, until the happily “stoned” owners arrived home.

After 30+ hours on a train, from New York, we were in dire need of a shower and had a huge desire to lay horizontally; both came after we had a chat and cuppa with our hosts. Both are kiwis, well, one full-blown one and the other half American and half kiwi, which is one reason we chose to stay at their Airbnb, to hear their experience of being ex-pats living in New Orleans.

This city is raw, and in your face, sadly, many of its residents do have a significant problem with alcohol. This gem of information was eagerly relayed to us by our taxi driver simultaneously as he happily told us in detail how he knifed a passenger last year. It was all in self-defence, so justified he reckoned!!. This comment made the squire and I look at each other with eyebrows raised and thinking, some people do have a tough life!!

Another funny moment, with the emphasis on the weird and not so amusing as we were walking around town, and this chap came up to me and said: “You look like a gal, who would get me Liquored-up” Being a polite visitor to New Orleans I only used “F*CK off” once, and it worked, as he didn’t seem to understand the friendly version. Some people don’t, for some reason. Even with these moments, we felt safe to wander around the streets and walked back to our Airbnb in semi-darkness with no hassles.

All that aside, so far, it is one of the most unusual cities we have visited and unlikely or wanting to revisit. It’s a walkable city, though it was a nightmarish walk across a two-lane street to get to the next part of town, without a crossing or lights. If walking became to tiresome there was hire bikes in numerous places around the city. I had the opportunity to try one owned by our Airbnb hosts, Rick and Liz. Note the beads on the handlebars; these are given out at Mardi Gras time. We were given some when we flew out to Houston, a fun memento of a fascinating and eccentric city.

Published by Suzanne

Travel and Life Musings from New Zealand and Beyond. . . . . . .

35 thoughts on “Heading down to New Orleans”

  2. I can’t see any photos on this blog, Suzanne. I don’t know why. I looked at it yesterday and was puzzled by the lack and I’ve returned today but still no pix although I notice from one of the comments above that others are seeing them. It’s only your blog, all others I follow are OK. Wonder what’s happened? I love New Orleans, been there twice, once to a wedding which was fantastic and once just to holiday. Our friends there always furnish us with a “get out of jail card”, i.e. a lawyer’s name card to call in case we are ever rounded up in a police raid – something that happens frequently apparently. Lawless, you could say that again!

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    1. Apologies Mari, I removed the photos as when I changed over from Globalhousesitterx2 to Lifeatno22 many of the photos were removed. A messy situation to fix up and my patience is lacking for things like that at the moment.
      I appreciate your comment and yes it is a very intriguing city with huge social problems.

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      1. I had the same problem a few years ago and although I keep meaning to go back and replace the pix I haven’t bothered. No one has queried the lack of images so I can only presume no one is reading them!

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  3. We went there for a wedding of two English friends, one of whom had studied for her Masters in Linguistics at the U.of Louisiana (I think) and as her brother lived there as a musician she had made lots of friends, one of whom offered her house in the city for the wedding complete with Gospel Choir. We made it a two-week stay but as the family were there as well, we met up each evening and were guided around the clubs and restaurants by the resident brother. He also told us which areas to avoid and were we would be safe AND he gave us the name of a lawyer to call should we be rounded up in a raid at any time – something that happens a lot apparently. I loved it, loved the edginess and the frisson of danger but I hated the tipping for every drink in a bar (I’ll never get used to the American way of life). We’ve been back since Katrina and found it much the same but our friends there tell us it’s become more gun-happy.

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  6. Ah, so you did enjoy it. I’m so glad! It’s one of my favorite cities in the US. Unfortunately, there’s much that was lost in the hurricane. I also hope you were able to find some of the less touristy establishments to eat. For me, New Orleans is not just about the history, culture, and music; it’s also about some of the tastier food in the states as well. 😉

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    1. To be honest the food wasn’t that memorable. Though that’s more a reflection of our budget than what the city has to offer. We enjoyed NYC more than New Orleans. Both have their merits. Pleased that we got to experience a small slice of New Orleans culture.

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  7. Pingback: Not the average couple – Global Housesitter x2

  8. My husband and I visited NO years ago for the Jazz Festival. I’m glad we went, had a great time, no desire to go back. The sights, food, and music were terrific, but it was a bit too hot and crowded for my taste. I think it is a city that everyone should visit at least once.

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  13. I love your very understated “some people don’t get the polite version for some reason.” 🙂 New Orleans is an interesting place filled with ghosts of every description. Thanks for the post, you made me smile.

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