New Orleans Second Impressions

Wed., Dec. 26

We both commented today that the charm of the city is beginning to grow on us. Yesterday afternoon we had Christmas Dinner (Reveillon) at The Bombay Club in the Hotel Prince Conti. The restaurant has some private booths with curtains, very elegant. Very good food, excellent service (adorable waiter with curly dark hair and dimples--Bernardo). We were so stuffed from dinner we came back and collapsed for a little while. Then we headed out again to a New Orleans club on the edge of the Garden District, called Tipitina's . There's nothing fancy about it at all. It's a big barn of a place with bars along the edges, the stage up front, and no seating. Very reasonable--just $12/ticket, but again we were not initially impressed. We stood in the crowd in front of the stage, and it took almost an hour for the band to get started. But when it did, they kept on moving. This was an annual Christmas bash hosted by a local NO blues singer named Marva Wright. Here's the line-up although I'm not sure they were all there and I know there were others who dropped in who weren't on the list: Irvin Mayfield (young trumpeter and not related to Curtis), Ivan Neville (keyboardist and son of Aaron), Kermit Ruffins, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews (amazing 21-year-old with great stage presence), Jo "Cool" Davis, Amanda Shaw, Nu Beginnings, B.J. Crosby, Veda Love, Danon Smith, Judy Spellman, Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolia Indians, James "Satchmo" Andrews, Rockin' Dopsie, Ceasar Elloie . At first, I thought it was going to be a mostly older crowd--aging baby boomers--with even older performers, but as the evening wore on, the crowd got younger and the performers were a really eclectic mix of types and ages. We enjoyed it so much we stayed there on our feet for over 3 1/2 hours! Finally, we had to give up, but we had a great time. Video sampler below.

This morning we slept in a bit after our late jazz/r & b night. Then we walked over a couple of blocks to Cafe du Monde for cafe au lait and beignets. Yummy. While we were walking over there, this very odd young man--early 20s maybe, not a bum, alone--attached himself to us. Said he wanted to buy us a drink, where were we from, etc. We declined politely and kept walking, but then he started following us. We crossed the street, he crossed the street, kept saying, why won't you let me buy you a drink? When we into the cafe, he followed us and stationed himself near our table. When the waiter came over, we asked for his help and he spoke to the guy, who moved away a little farther. Then he came back and stood right next to us and said,"All I want you to do is apologize for being rude to me." This time the waiter came back and told him to get the f#% out of there. Then he stood just outside the door, watching us. A little while later, we saw the waiter talking to a policeman, and after that our stalker vanished. So creepy. There are indeed weird types in this city.

Later we wandered in and out of shops and galleries on Royal and adjacent streets. We wanted to go shopping along Magazine Street this afternoon, but there are thunderstorms now and we have another big evening ahead with a restaurant in the Garden District and another club farther out. We're just party-animals.

Tomorrow we have breakfast at Brennan's, for which I've waited for more than 30 years. Then some final sightseeing before we head back for Alabama.

Christmas in New Orleans

December 25, 2007

We're staying at Le Richelieu Hotel on the eastern edge of the French Quarter, several blocks away from the craziness of Bourbon Street(above.) But we just found out that we have auspicious neighbors: the back of our hotel backs up to the back of Brad Pitt's and Angelina Jolie's house around the corner on Governor Nicholls St. House (take a look.) Nobody appeared to be home although we thought about ringing the doorbell to see if they needed a babysitter for the evening.

We arrived here yesterday afternoon from Alabama. It was an amazingly short trip, about 2 1/2 hours. On our way in to the city on I-10, once we had crossed the bridge over Lake Pontratrain, we began to see signs of Katrina damage. Whole apartment complexes were still abandoned, parts of their roofs missing, boarded-up windows; several neighborhoods we could see from the raised highway were empty with abandoned houses, an occasional one here and there apparently restored and lived-in.

Our hotel http://www.lerichelieuhotel.com/ is a small, quiet place on Chartres Street (pronounced "charters" here, we found out), about two blocks from the river and the French Market, one block from Decatur and Cafe du Monde (coffee and beignets) and Central Grocery (muffalettas). We set out walking after we got in and headed east along Decatur to the front of Jackson Square where Bush uttered his famous post-Katrina lies....I mean, speech. Then away from the river up to Bourbon Street. We passed The Old Absinthe House Bar where we spied a wood fire blazing. It was quite chilly (low 50s) so we stopped in for a drink. We ordered bloody marys in honor of my father's birthday. He would have been only 79 yesterday but died shortly after his 69th. Our bloody marys were very good and unusual, served with floating pickled string beans, okra pods, and olives, along with wedges of lemon and lime. As Bob commented, we had a veritable salad in our drink. We continued our walk on to Canal St., the opposite edge of the French Quarter from our hotel, then south to Royal and then back to our hotel. By that time, it had gotten dark. Very few people were about since it was, after all, Christmas Eve.

My first impression of the quarter was less than overwhelming. Certainly, there is charm in some of the homes and streets, but the proliferation of tourist shops selling T-shirts and other bacchanalian-themed items just seems tawdry. Pics. Today we took our own driving tour of various neighborhoods starting with the the 9th ward, one of the hardest hit areas where the levee was breached. Despite what we keep hearing about New Orleans coming back, it doesn't appear to be happening. Very few houses have been reclaimed and, I know it's now a cliche, but it does look very much like a war zone. Pics. We drove west and then worked our way east through the area around Tulane and Loyola--either undamaged or completely restored. We drove back east along St. Charles Avenue, where the famous streetcar just resumed its route last month, more than 2 years after Katrina. We also drove along Magazine and into the Garden District, where there appeared to be considerable damage but greater restoration has taken place. Of course, there's an economic gap between the 9th ward and the Garden District, and many of the 9th ward inhabitants were renters, not owners. We finished up our driving tour at the St. Louis cemeteries on Rampart St. Pics.

Last night we went to dinner at La Cote Brasserie in the Business/Arts District, not far away. We thought we were having the Christmas Reveillon, a traditional prix-fixe, several course menu, but it wasn't. Nevertheless, we had a great meal, so-so service (understaffed), and good wine. In a little bit, we're headed out for Christmas Reveillon at the Bombay Club, then tonight we're going out for music at a club called Tipitina's, with this show tonight http://www.tipitinas.com/show.asp?id=200712250

Tomorrow, either Brennan's for brunch or Galatoire's for lunch, Lilette's for dinner. Check out their menu http://www.liletterestaurant.com/ Then back to Alabama Thursday.

More later.

More Fairhope and Gaby (mostly Gaby!)

Pics.

Thanksgiving in Fairhope

Sorry about these blogs being out of chronological order, but it's a simple matter of when I get pictures loaded and when Betty has the time to write the text. You may also notice that I've been doing that, too, lately. I expect that Betty will amend at some point, but I don't want to delay posting the pics any longer.

Anyway, Thanksgiving was terrific. Zannah & John drove down and arrived on Wednesday, as did Mel and Mark. From that point on, it was typical craziness-- karaoke, video games, sing alongs-- but mostly just time together. Wish there was more of that. Pics here.

Corey and Candy were wonderful and gracious hosts-- can't say enough about their hospitality and Candy's organizational skills. Thanks to all-- hope we're all together again soon!

The Gulf Shores Zoo

Gaby, Candy and us old folks spent a most enjoyable morning at this small zoo. The highlight, of course, was the baby bengal tigers, who live there temporarily to get used to us humans before going back to their home in a private preserve somewhere in Florida (or perhaps, to another zoo.) Anyway, they get to mix with visitors a couple of times a day until they're around 65 pounds. These guys are about 35 pounds at this point (around 16 weeks? not sure) Lots of other animals, too, in very informal settings. Worth a trip, if zoos are your thing. Can't guarantee there'll be tigers to pet! Pics here.

Chrismakkah 2007

Wow, what a celebration! Decorated the Xmas tree and lit candles nearly every night. Lots of presents, dreidel games, even Grammy's special latkes. More pictures here. Can't wait for Christmas in Lexington! And a special performance, straight from Diego's bus (see video below.) Great gift, Zannah and John.