America, Life of adventure, Travel

New Orleans

Suzanne

It was in 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, we were just standing on the kerb in an unknown neighbourhood, no mobile/phone coverage and standing out like sore thumbs.!  Nothing to worry about as there was not a thing we could do about it, so we stood and waited.  We didn’t need to wait long as eventually, the owners arrived home.

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After 30+ hours on a train, 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.  Funnily enough, both are kiwis, well one full blown one and the other half American and half kiwi.  Which is one of the reasons why we chose to stay at their AirBnB, to hear their experience of being expats living 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 at the same time 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.  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 it is one of the most fascinating cities we have visited.  It’s a walkable city, though we did have to walk across a two-lane street to get to the next part of town, without a crossing or lights.  Some bikes can be hired 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, which was a fun thing to happen on our exit from a very intriguing and eccentric city.

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A rare photo of myself, about to venture out on a bicycle!
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St Louis Cathedral 
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A few of the more upmarket houses, I loved them!
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Hordes of tourists waiting patiently to go for a dinner cruise on a hot balmy night looked a fab idea. Which we would have done if we had been to purchase tickets!
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The colour, the laid back atmosphere, the beads and the mardi gras!
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There is always an Irish Pub to be found no matter where in the world you go.

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Come on gals and guys,

get your Boogie Woogie on

and

get on down and visit,

New Orleans.

New Orleans

 

 

 

Published by Suzanne

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

28 thoughts on “New Orleans”

  1. 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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  2. Pingback: Not the average couple – Global Housesitter x2

  3. 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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  8. 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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