http://www.RealAdventures.com/vacations/184874_articles-louisiana-new-orleans.htm Check out some of the recently updated travel & vacation listings on RealAdventures. Be inspired, go explore! en-us Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:39:51 GMT Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:39:51 GMT http://www.RealAdventures.com http://www.RealAdventures.com/vacations/184874_articles-louisiana-new-orleans.htm 100 100 http://www.RealAdventures.com/listings/1023877_The-Big-Easy http://www.RealAdventures.com/listings/1023877_The-Big-Easy Articles Louisiana Sat, 30 Dec 2006 00:12:00 No matter how you pronounce the name, New Orleans is one of the most unique cities in America. -
No matter how you pronounce the name, New Orleans is one of the most unique cities in America.


By Jan & John Hight

New Orleans hearing the name, no matter how it's pronounced, brings to mind images of balustrades spun from delicate iron lace sultry evenings freshened by soft notes of jazz Creole and Cajun meals that rouse the taste buds and revelers cheering "Laissez les bons temps rouler" (let the good times roll). The Crescent City (christened thus due to its location in a cusp of the Mississippi River) contains all of these elements and more...many are exotic most are unique to this exuberant old town with its tumultuous history and graceful structures. For me, New Orleans pretty much defines the word "picturesque."

I read a magazine article in which the writer described returning to New Orleans from elsewhere in the U.S. as "coming back home from 'America'." Such a sentiment is easy to understand while strolling the narrow streets of the French Quarter. That famous and distinctive section, known as the "Vieux Carre" (Old Square), still embodies the spirit of the first European settlers. The area was founded in the early 18th century by French Explorer JeanBaptiste Le Moyne the site was selected because ships could navigate the river, and it was a convenient anchorage and critical fortress. The city was laid out in 1718 or 1719 in a square pattern of 120 blocks (thus the designation "Old Square") and was named "La Nouvelle Orleans" in honor of the Regent of France Phillipe, Duc D'Orleans. After a fire demolished much of the French Quarter on Good Friday in 1788, the newly constructed buildings blended the original French architecture with the later Spanish influences in the charming mix that is seen today.

The city took on many fascinating personalities after the Creoles (the French and Spanish aristocrats) established a gracious and cultured lifestyle, the Cajuns arrived in 1763. They were French Canadians who were exiled by the British from Nova Scotia ("New Acadia"...Cajun is an adulteration of the word Acadian) and brought with them their zest for fun and their colorful patois (their own altered form of the French language). Adding to the cultural concoction were pirates such as Jean and Pierre Lafitte, who were said to be owners of a blacksmith shop (reported to be a headquarters for smuggling) on Bourbon Street. The brothers became heroes after helping Andrew Jackson win the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812. "Jean Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop" is now a bar, which is to be expected given its Bourbon Street location.

The parade ground or "place d'armes", originally established in 1721 (which was known as the Plaza de Armas when the colony was owned by Spain) was renamed Jackson Square in 1848 to honor Andrew Jackson the statue of General Jackson on horseback was added in 1856. The square is home to such beautiful and historic edifices as the St. Louis Cathedral and The Cabildo. The presentday Cathedral was built in 1849 and was the third church to be constructed on this location... following destruction of the first by hurricane in 1722 and the second by fire 75 years later. The Cabildo was erected in 1779 and served as headquarters for the Spanish governing council. The first building was lost in the previouslynoted fire of 1788. Its replacement, still standing, was built in 179599 and hosted the signing of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.

Nearby is the lively French Market. A French Quarter fixture for over 165 years, it is one of the oldest public markets in the U.S. and contains shops, bistros, restaurants, and an openair farmers' market. At one end is the notable Cafe du Monde. Since 1860 the Cafe has served cafe au lait (flavored with chicory) and beignets (squarish, holeless doughnuts tinted with powdered sugar). Poet Walt Whitman was an early guest who wrote about "those funny French doughnuts", and it's still a popular place to engage in peoplewatching through coffee steam and a fog of sugar.

A guided walking tour of the French Quarter is a very definite must! The quaint old streets, alleys and courtyards harbor many fascinating "secrets" and the guides love to share their tales of prominent citizens (as well as those of ill repute), haunted houses, Voodoo shrines, and entertaining accounts of the daily life of the Quarter...then and now. Nowadays, the shadows of downtown New Orleans' skyscrapers fall on the sidewalks (called banquettes because they were benches or "little banks" built up 2 or 3 feet to keep the formerly recurrent floods at bay in this reclaimed swamp) fronting townhouses with their finelywrought "balconies" (which are free standing) and "galleries" (which are built upon supports from street level). This dynamic district still retains the scents, flavors and echoes of its vibrant past. There are also plenty of dichotomies sophisticated art galleries and dignified shops offering fine antiques line Royal Street, then just a block away is notorious (and uproarious) Bourbon Street!

We ended up on Bourbon Street on an average Sunday evening in May...and found a party inprogress, which we quickly discovered was just another "normal night" for that rather abnormal lane! The street was closed off to vehicular traffic, and pedestrians were roaming among the stands offering walkaway drinks including Daiquiris, the everpresent Hurricanes, and just about everything else the ubiquitous Lucky Dog carts (with their detailed shape of a hot dog...bun, mustard and all) clubs with doors open to the street so that the melodies from incredible music of all types filtered out to the passersby (many of whom were just as happy dancing in the street rather than going inside) wellknown restaurants next to adult nightclubs with signs such as "Wash Your Favorite Girl" (yes, wash not watch) or with barkers proclaiming it to be "family night" (I'm still not sure what that may have meant)......in other words, it's a world unto itself. Preservation Hall is there (the institution that nurtured jazz) and, on the other side of the cultural coin, I did see the filigreed ironwork that one might expect in New Orleans.

Pirates, freebooters and smugglers may have been somewhat tolerated in the old days of the French Quarter, but the Creoles of the past faced a worse threat to their refined society...a roguish bunch of primitives known as "Les Americaines" (the Americans), who arrived 90 years after the original French settlers! Obviously such uncivilized sorts couldn't be allowed to move into the cultivated Vieux Carre a law was immediately enacted that only Catholics were allowed to live therein, since the uncouth newcomers were mainly Protestants. So the unwanted Americans began their own city on the other side of Canal Street, which became the dividing line between the French and American quarters (that's why the street names are different on opposite sides of Canal), and the area down the middle was known as the "Neutral Ground" (median strips are still called neutral ground to this day). Later, newlywealthy American planters and merchants began building antebellum mansions (no doubt sniffed at as "gaudy" by the Creoles!) within their own domain. From these beginnings the 12block Garden District grew, and a guided walking tour of the area is a wonderful introduction to its beauty...wander down the quiet, shaded streets while enjoying the guide's chronicles of the lovely homes and of this appealing portion of the New Orleans mixture.

There's so very much to do and see in New Orleans, and a good way to begin is by taking one (or more) of the several tours that are available, including points of interest, fame and history throughout the city paddlewheel steamboat trips on the Mississippi River visits to some of the stately plantations or swamp boat journeys into the bayous...I didn't venture out on one of the latter tours I don't like to mingle with snakes! I'll briefly note some of the memorable locations that I did, however, enjoy and would recommend (no snake encounters at any of them). First, there are the haunting (no pun intendedon second thought, maybe it was!) "Cities of the Dead". This is the rather poetic name for the cemeteries containing aboveground tombs, owing both to the European traditions of the area...plus the fact that the city is 5 to 6 feet below sea level and inground graves would produce floating coffins. The tour guide's explanations of the "natural cremation" effects of the intense heat and humidity (which leads to the ability to entomb many generations of one or more families) was a bit ghoulish but memorable! A totally contrasting setting was the Riverwalk Marketplace (located on the Mississippi, between the Convention Center and the striking Aquarium of the Americas). This riverfront plaza is anchored by a soothing fountain and provides beautiful city and river views, and there are also numerous shops and dining options in the converted warehouses. Next to the Marketplace I boarded one of the paddlewheelers for a leisurely afternoon spent cruising "Old Man River" past the New Orleans skyline, seeing nowfamiliar sights from an entirely new perspective.

Of course, no visit to "N'awlins" would be complete without tasting as great a variety of its tantalizing cuisines as possible. There are the spicy dishes of the Creoles, and the more "downhome" (and pepperyhot) recipes of the Cajuns. We happily sampled Crawfish Etouffee, Shrimp Creole, Oysters Bienville, Red Beans and Rice, Seafood Gumbo, Jambalaya... and much more! It's a wellknown fact that New Orleans has a vast array of excellent restaurants, so I won't even begin to list them. I will say we had a marvelous dinner at the renowned landmark, The Court of Two Sisters in the French Quarter.

There are also many fine hotels in New Orleans. We stayed at the Chateau Sonesta in the French Quarter. It inhabits the site of the first department store in the Gulf South D. H. Holmes, which was established in 1842 and was moved in 1849 to the location of the presentday Hotel. After almost 150 years of operation, the store closed and the building's renovation into the Chateau Sonesta began in 1993. The Holmes Store clock was a meeting place for generations of shoppers, and the hotel bows to that fact with its namesake Clock Bar. The latest restaurant in the wellknown Brennan family's chain is also contained in the Hotel...the delightful Red Fish, with its eclectic decor, splendid food, and outside doors leading onto Bourbon Street.

I haven't even mentioned Mardi Gras since, unfortunately, we weren't there during the festivities and from what I've heard, that event by itself could fill several pages! The New Orleans Convention and Visitor Bureau has an excellent website, "Welcome To N'awlins!" http//www.neworleanscvb.com/. It provides information on accommodations, dining, shopping, touring, FAQs etc. I wish I'd discovered it before our trip it would have saved me some time once we arrived. So if you're planning a visit, stop by the city's official website, then make your own jaunt to "The Big Easy".

Details & Reservations: The Big Easy
RealAdventures | Louisiana Articles

]]> http://www.RealAdventures.com/listings/1025373_If-You-Like-Art-You-ll-Love-New-Orleans http://www.RealAdventures.com/listings/1025373_If-You-Like-Art-You-ll-Love-New-Orleans Articles Louisiana Mon, 08 Sep 2003 00:09:00 New Orleans has a wealth of art in addition to world famous Creole and Cajun cuisine. Two new additions to the arts scene are the Renaissance Arts Hotel and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. - US $100 $500
New Orleans has a wealth of art in addition to world famous Creole and Cajun cuisine. Two new additions to the arts scene are the Renaissance Arts Hotel and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art.


IF YOU LIKE ART, YOU'LL LOVE NEW ORLEANS

By Arvin Steinberg


When the city of New Orleans is mentioned, what thoughts come to mind? Jazz or The French quarter? Creole or Cajun cuisine? Cast iron fences or maybe above ground cemeteries? Yes, New Orleans has all is of that, but did you know that New Orleans is gaining a reputation as a center for the visual arts?

There are approximately 200 art galleries in the metro New Orleans area. And in August, 2003 two new major arts projects became available to art enthusiasts in New Orleans.

First, on August 18, 2003 the Renaissance Arts Hotel opened in the heart of the New Orleans historic Warehouse/Arts District. I visited this amazing 217room hotel during its first week of operation.

As I entered the marble lobby foyer, three colorful, funfilled hand blown glass, chandeliers immediately caught my eye. These orange, yellow, and blue chandeliers were created by worldrenowned glass sculptor, Dale Chihuly. And, looking straight ahead past the chandeliers against a blue tiled wall, are five oversized ginger flowers whose brass petals first fill with water and then spill the water into a pool below. This interesting creation is the work of New Orleans sculptor, Lin Emery.

Also on the ground floor of the hotel is a 2,000 square foot art gallery of sculptures and paintings, all abstract impressions. The first exhibition includes works by the late New Orleans sculptor, Ida Kohlmeyer. The exhibitions will rotate every two months.

There is also a sculpture garden on the second floor of the hotel in an atrium with skylights. It was here that I spoke with Arthur Roger, whose Arthur Roger Gallery is considered one of the finest contemporary art galleries in New Orleans. Rogers told me that that ten years ago people would have made fun of a contemporary art hotel. He said that people are more open now, and that art is something people want in their lives.Roger commissioned works from several fine artists to complete the dcor of the hotel.

The carpeting throughout the hotel is brilliant with all shades of blue, gold, red, and green fantastically displayed in all shapes and designs.

The hotel's La Cote Brasserie is a hot new seafood restaurant featuring the talents of acclaimed chef, RichardBingo Starr, formerly the executive chef at Cuvee in New Orleans. My dinner at the Brasserie was wonderful. The seafood offerings by Chef Starr are exceptional. The Yellowfin Tuna Carpaccio with Caponata relish was superb.

What also makes the hotel so exceptional is that it is within walking distance of the French Quarter, only seven blocks, and about four blocks from Harrah's casino.

Harrah's is the only landbased casino in Louisiana. The casino is huge. And even if you don't care to play the games of chance, Harrah's offers an outstanding buffet for $13.13 until 4 p.m. and $21.95 after 4 p.m.

In addition to being present for the opening of the Renaissance Arts Hotel, a few days later on August 23, 2003, I witnessed the opening of the magnificent Ogden Museum of Southern Art, University of New Orleans. This is a fivestory 67,000 square foot modern structure also located in the New Orleans historic Warehouse/Arts District. At the opening ceremonies, many of the artists whose works appeared in the inaugural exhibition were on hand to be recognized and also to be available to visitors to explain and answer questions about their art on exhibit. It was delightful to be able to discuss the wonderful works of art with the artists themselves.

The Ogden Museum of Southern Art is the first museum in Louisiana to be affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution. Here you will find the largest and most comprehensive assemblage of Southern art in the world. The core of the museum's collection are 1,200 works from New Orleans businessman and philanthropist Roger H. Ogden's nationallyrespected private collection made available to the University of New Orleans Foundation in 1994. Since Mr. Ogden's original donation, the museum's collection has more than doubled to over 2,750 works including Southern art from 15 Southern states and the District of Columbia.

The Ogden Museum certainly enhances the growing national recognition of Southern art. It tells the story of the South its past, present, and into the future. I especially enjoyed watching an excellent video in a theater at the museum. The video explained how Southern art reflects the culture of the South from small town community life to the traditions of big cities. How Southern art is about history and memory, not concentrating on possessions, but rather on whom Southerners are. From family reunions to football games, from hard times, accepting change, sometimes slowly, to celebration and spirit.

The inaugural exhibition does all of that. It takes visitors on a visual journey through time in the South, tracing the history of the agrarian South through World War I, the Great Depression, the Jazz Age, the Civil Rights era, and into contemporary works.

Southern art is unique. It is interesting. It is memorable. For example, I particularly liked one sculpture at the museum that was done by New Orleans native, Willie Birch. It is entitled Going Home. The sculpture depicts an African American family that migrated north and now, with bags packed, is going back home to the South.

And, art abounds throughout New Orleans. The luxurious Windsor Court Hotel, an OrientExpress Hotel, just a few blocks from the French Quarter, has one of the most outstanding assemblies of British art outside of a museum. The collection has been valued at eight million dollars, and murals valued at one and onequarter million dollars are now being completed in the hotel's Grill Room.

There are several wonderful paintings in the lobby of the hotel, such as Charles II's Last Sunday by artist W. P. Frith, and Portrait of the Prince of Wales and His Sister by artist Nicolas de Largilliere.

Although I wasn't staying at the hotel, I enjoyed having a cocktail in Le Salon just off the lobby where I listened to live jazz and could view the many paintings including Queen Victoria on Horseback by artist Thomas Thornycroft.

Just a couple of blocks from the Windsor Court Hotel and Harrah's casino is an outstanding exhibit that I would recommend as a must see while in New Orleans. It's not an art exhibit, but it is beautiful, interesting, educational, and lots of fun for the entire family. It's the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas.

The aquarium begins on the first floor of this modern building where you walk through the Caribbean Tunnel. In this tunnel, hundreds of multicolored exotic Caribbean fish are not only swimming on both sides of you, but also overhead. After visiting the colorful fish of the Caribbean Reef, you continue to the second floor and through the Amazon Rain Forest where brilliantly colored Macaws are on perches overhead. This lush recreation of a tropical rainforest is the habitat for Piranha and other amazon fish.

The walking tour then takes you through a penguin exhibit of two species of swimming penguins, a touchpool where you can pet a baby shark, a collection of electric eels, a unique seahorse exhibit, an exhibit of frisky swimming sea otters, and an eyelevel view of Louisiana's native white alligator as you stroll among moss covered cypress trees.

The tour concludes on the first floor with one of the largest collections of jellyfish in the country, and a shark tank where big sharks are on the prowl in the Gulf of Mexico exhibit.

If you will be in New Orleans for just a few days, I would also recommend the twohour Super City Bus Tour offered by Gray Line Tours for $24.00. I thoroughly enjoyed the bus tour. It gave me an appreciation of the entire city and an opportunity to see parts of the city that most visitors would not see.

The bus tour begins in the French Quarter. The tour guide points out the landmarks and architecture that made New Orleans famous. The bus stops for a walking tour of the St. Louis Cemetery N0. 3 where the above ground burial system is explained. The tour continues to and through the immense 1,500 acre City Park where the New Orleans Museum of Art is located and on to the beautiful homes in the suburbs and to Lake Pontchartrain. The campuses of Tulane University and Loyola University are also on the tour as well as the exclusive Garden District.


There are many fine restaurants in New Orleans, but I especially enjoyed Brennan's Restaurant at 417 Royal Street. Where else, but in New Orleans can a restaurant be famous for breakfast? Breakfast at Brennan's is world famous. My selection at breakfast at Brennan's was Eggs Sardo, a tasty creation of pouched eggs, spinach and hollandaise sauce. And to top off the sumptuous cuisine, one of the waiters, Kevin Rouchell , an accomplished opera singer, sang two enchanting arias for a magnificent finale to my breakfast and my visit to New Orleans.


For more information about New Orleans, call the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau at 8006726124 or log on to their website at www.neworleanscvb.com.

Photos by Phyllis Steinberg



Details & Reservations: If You Like Art, You'll Love New Orleans
RealAdventures | Louisiana Articles

]]> http://www.RealAdventures.com/listings/1024453_The-Haze-of-Mardi-Gras-2000 http://www.RealAdventures.com/listings/1024453_The-Haze-of-Mardi-Gras-2000 Articles Louisiana Tue, 30 Oct 2001 00:10:00 Join a RealAdventures staff member at New Orleans' biggest party of the year for a week of beer, bourbon and ... other forms of debauchery. -
Join a RealAdventures staff member at New Orleans' biggest party of the year for a week of beer, bourbon and ... other forms of debauchery.


by Devin Silberfein

In Boston, it was cold.

The sky was gray.

The drizzle dragged on.

And so did my classes.

But alas, Spring Break was upon Boston University students, and the plane tickets that sat in my desk drawer for months would finally be put to good use Boston to New Orleans &8211 BOS to MSY. It was the Thursday before Fat Tuesday, and I was ready to experience the Gras.

After numerous flight delays (thank you very much, New England weather), my flight touched down in the city that care forgot New Orleans, Louisiana. As soon as I was out of the plane and into the airport, I could feel and smell the humidity. I felt a little silly wearing pants, two longsleeved shirts and a wool jacket. I met my brother and his friends at the gate and headed to baggage claim.

Probably the first thing you&8217ll notice if you travel to New Orleans is that drinking in public is not only legal, but quite commonplace. Beer in hand, I grabbed my bag off of the conveyor belt and headed out to the parking garage. The humidity hits you when you get off the plane, but walking from inside to outside and experiencing a 25degree temperature shift on a March night was not a concept I was accustomed to. Nevertheless, I&8217d rather be in the heat than the cold, and escaping the subArctic weather Boston had all winter was fine with me.

If the first thing you notice in New Orleans is the emphasis on alcohol, the second thing you&8217ll probably notice, especially if you&8217re from the Northeast, is that things are a little different down there. To say the least, people are much more laidback. I was squeezed into an elevator with about a dozen people, the better half of whom lacked a seemingly essential article of clothing, be that a shirt or a pair of shoes.

The first place my brother took me was a bar.

It&8217s not so much that we were in a rush to get drunk &8211 it was just a coincidence that we were meeting his friend Brad there. In an ironic twist, Brad was missing Mardi Gras to fly up to Boston the next morning to attend his fianc&8217s bridal shower. Don&8217t ask me why. A drink was definitely in order for Brad.

What happened between Thursday night and the following Wednesday morning remains a bit of a blur. Sensory overload is probably the best term to describe it. These eyes saw some things they have never seen before, and probably will never see again. But it is difficult to remember what happened when and how. All of it fits into one big story Mardi Gras.

The most overwhelming aspect of it all, but one that you quickly get accustomed to, is the people. Without exaggerating, I can say there were millions of people there. Mardi Gras 2000 was supposedly the biggest one on record. There were times when it took 30 minutes to walk one block on Bourbon Street because the crowd was so dense. That said, it is somewhat expected that a certain amount of pickpocketing goes on. On several occasions I felt hands in my back pocket fortunately my quickly depleting source of money was in my front pocket.

Beads. Beads are a form of currency during Mardi Gras. The simplest origination of them is from the floats. Parades will go on four hours on end starting two weeks before Fat Tuesday. The parades consist of giant floats with dozens of masked members tossing &8220throws&8221 at the crowd. These include beads, cups, stuffed animals, doubloons and more. The idea is to have the best beads possible. The equation is simple the larger, longer, and more elaborate the string of beads, the better they are.

Be advised beads are constantly being thrown from floats, from balconies and by people in the crowd. If you don&8217t pay attention (and even if you do, really), you will be hit. It may hurt. Also be advised that people will do everything short of kill (I hope) to get beads once they&8217re airborne.

Another thing to consider, as if I haven&8217t harped on this point enough alcohol is everywhere. Men will stand outside bars or beer stands holding picketlike signs advertising &8220HUGE ASS BEERS.&8221 By that they mean 32 ounces for $3. It comes as no surprise, then, that people get drunk. Really drunk. And they will do whatever it takes to get good beads. You will see behavior you typically do not see in public.

If you&8217re looking for the craziest experience Mardi Gras will offer, the French Quarter is the place to be. Some places will be more crowded than others (Pat O&8217Brien&8217s and Tropical Isle will probably be the most packed), but you can have a great time at any. I have pictures of my girlfriend and I having a great time at a bar called O&8217Flaherties. I remember, towards the beginning of the night, that a man dressed exactly like Rod Stewart came in and started singing Maggie May. Mardi Gras there&8217s no place like it.

On average, I got home at about 3 a.m. every night. I suppose you can consider me a lightweight because, for the most part, the party does not stop. If it were physically possible, you could partake in the Mardi Gras celebrations 24 hours a day.

On Wednesday morning at 5 a.m., the alarm went off. Soon I was on a shuttle to the airport. After what seemed like an eternity, I was back in New England, where it was still cold, gray and rainy. It&8217s okay, though &8211 I went to bed, sufficiently partied out.
Details & Reservations: The Haze of Mardi Gras 2000
RealAdventures | Louisiana Articles

]]>