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.
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.
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