New Orleans
Jackson Square in the French Quarter
January 18, 2007
I've heard since Katrina, New Orleans hasn't been the same. In fact they
were giving tours of the destruction for all to see and this seemed to be a bigger
draw than the French Quarter for all who know the city.
I met one doctor who lives here and had his entire office wiped out. He lost all
of his records, his office, and doesn't even know what happened to most of his
patients, who he hopes left and just didn't return, but said realistically a
couple must have died in the storm. He was fortunate enough to get out before the
storm hit.
I met a few other people who lived in the city years ago, but have since left. They
were drawn to the destruction tours and couldn't entirely comprehend what their
city had turned into.
For me the most striking things were the graves and the casino. All the tombs here
are built above ground in giant stone coffins, since the land is so low the bodies
would be washed away and into the city's drinking water if they were buried.
Much of the city is like the Netherlands in that it's at or below sea level.
The second thing that jumped out at me was the casino in town between the Mississippi
River and the French Quarter. In most of the U.S., casinos are only allowed in Nevada
or on Indian reservations, the latter is rarely in town, however here the casino
had prime real estate right in the city itself.
I spent some time in the French Quarter, which has great character, however it's
the people that give it atmosphere and sure enough by dinner time it was crowded;
some people going out to dinner, others at a bar for the game or just talking about
the building excitement for the Saints upcoming playoff game against the Bears (go
Bears!).
New Orleans has an atmosphere and food that is so unique it at times feels like
its own country. Cajun cooking is fantastic and while I was here I tried as much
as I could: jambalaya, po-boy, gumbo and accidentally crawfish. The city's French
Catholic roots come out in the cooking, which is based on the "holy trinity"
of onions, green peppers, and celery... jambalaya is the winner in my book, although
you really can't go wrong here in terms of food.
French Quarter