As we had never been before, my wife and I decided to fly down to New Orleans for March Break/St. Patrick's Day. Wow. The architecture, the people, the culture, and everything in between blew away any of our expectations.
Here we have a threatening looking Segway gang... I knew to keep my distance.
St. Louis Cathedral
I did not realize the man with the green painted face checking himself out in a mirror until after I had taken the picture. There are some great characters in this city.
Bourbon St. in the early evening.
In the morning, we decided to cross Canal St. to check out the CBD. Canal St. quite literally divides the French Quarter and the "American Sector." The change in architectural style from one side of Canal to the other was pretty drastic.
While in the CBD, we hopped on the historic St. Charles streetcar and slowly creaked and rattled back in time through the Garden District; it was arguably the best $1.25 I have ever spent in my life. Below is a pic of one of the benches found on the streetcar. When the streetcar reaches the end of its line, the driver simply pushes the seat's back to the other side and moves to the former rear of the streetcar where there is a whole other set of driver's controls. Therefore, the streetcar's former rear becomes its front (see next pic, too).
Beads seem to hang throughout the city from literally anything that will support them: trees, cable wires, street lights, street signs, etc..
Back in the CBD.
Hibernia Bank Building.
To show the contrast between either side of Canal St., I stayed at the Marriott on Canal and took two photos from my window. The first pic is our view to the right (French Quarter).......
.....and this is our view to the left (CBD).
Heading across the mighty Mississippi to Algiers.
Jackson Square. My hometown of Hamilton also has a Jackson Square. It's a low-ceilinged mall that is a product of the '70's, constructed in the heart of the city at the expense of many beautiful and historic buildings, and consists of mostly dollar and assorted goods stores frequented by residents of halfway houses. Reluctantly, I admit that the one in New Orleans is nicer.
Interior of the St. Louis Cathedral.
Normally, I'm not one to wander through cemeteries, but walking through a New Orleans cemetery is an experience I will not soon forget.
I could not find a street in the French Quarter where someone didn't have a paintbrush or tool in hand; most exteriors were immaculate. I also noticed a number of buildings in the Quarter adorned with plaques claiming their recent renovations were historically accurate.
A pic taken very early during the evening of St. Patrick's Day on Bourbon St.(captured with what we affectionately call our "sh*t camera" or "party camera." I'm afraid to admit how many times it has been dropped, spilt on, etc.). I won't bore you with any more of the night's photos, but it was a good one.
Linear Mode
