N'Awlins...

Last week we had a long weekend, so I headed down to New Orleans (or N'Awlins as the locals pronounce it) for an long-long weekend... 4 days of hanging in the sun and thunderstorms down in the deep deep South... (well not that deep but a little). It was really an eye opening experience and probably the most unique city I've visited so far. We stayed in the French Quarter, one of the oldest and most touristy part of the city. By day it is a quaint, European, tree lined and terrace filled mini city, and by night it becomes wild when the city's finest come out to party. Bourbon St, one of the main streets of the quarter, lined with open bars and clubs and jazz haunts gets closed off whilst all these venues are overflowing with party goers dancing and singing as live bands belt out jazz, rock and pop songs from all ages. Handing out grenades, hurricanes and 'big ass' beers, (all beverages) the only rule is too pour your drinks into plastic before venturing outside... yes, in N'Awlins you can drink alcohol in the streets, and it seems that's what the locals are best at! As the nights got later the crowds seemed to grow, whilst their demeanor more trashy... we seemed to have landed in NO not only on the busiest long weekend of the year, but it also happened to be the second biggest gay event of the year after mardi gras, so as you can imagine the outfits were as colorful as over.

There is a tradition in New Orleans, originating from Mardi Gras time, when gay men would throw bead necklaces to waiting crowds to generate excitement, today it has also been a tradition picked up by the streetworkers who fill Bourbon St strip joints and massage parlours... they hang out their windows from two stories high and throw necklaces at oggling boys who await them in the street below... in the day time you see trees filled with left over beads from party nights throughout the city... i don't think they are ever removed...

Late one night we stumbled across an amazing piano bar.. if you ever get down there its called Pat Obriens, it has a massive windowless room with two grand pianos... famous for their hurricanes (6 shots and some red stuff in a big cup) three musicians would rotate around the pianos and belt out old tunes to the excited audience... although loud and slightly raucous it was way more chilled and enjoyable then the hecticness outside... we actually ended up visiting every night we were there... we were even dedicated our own rendition of 'I come from the land down under'!

By day the city is all but deserted... i guess everyone sleeps off their big nights... our day times were spent exploring the different areas of the city. The bit I enjoyed most was a tour of the devastated regions of Hurricane Katrina. Our guide took us through the 9th Ward, it was amazing to see that it was still as delapitated as the day after the hurricane left, just 5 years later... wood houses windowless, roofless, broken verandahs and staircases, desolate. Inhabitants in every 10th house, not a person in sight at 12pm on a Saturday... 14 ft below see level this was the hardest hit area, and the one to receive the least aid. With water up to their roofs, residents unable to evacuate or swim, tried to scramble on to their rooftops and ride out the storm...most didnt make it. Every couple of blocks there are vacant plots... places where houses stood before the storm, which were washed away in its fury. Every other house in the 9th ward has spraypainted big X's on the house, a sign left by rescuers to show that they had been inside to look for savivors. Under the X's listed what was found inside... 1 human, 1 dog, 1 bird. As a low income area, with very few residents who returned the government hasn't put any funds in to fixing the area, the residents that are left have very little amenities because of this, no cable no filtered water, no internet. One bright hope for the future of this area is an initiative by Brad Pitt. New Orleans is covered with signs and t shirts saying 'Brad Pitt for Mayor'. Besides him and Angelina living in their own NO mansion, Brad has started a fundraising project whereby he has invited 10 famous architects from around the US and given them each several plots of land in the 9th Ward and encouraged them to build what ever housing they liked. The houses are then given to Hurricane survivors. The houses are mostly ultra modern and brightly painted, a stark contrast to the rest of the neighbood, but nevertheless a heartfelt initiative. The neighbourhoods surrounding the 9th Ward are filled with mansions, houses like you've never seen, 16 room residences, beautiful gardens, amazing that these which were also under 15ft of water, 5 years later look like nothing ever happened... it was a clear indication of with who the governments priorities lay.

We also went on a steamboat ride down the Mississippi... sounds cooler then it was... one other thing... Southern Food... well lets just say its an acquired taste... think every off cut you could find in a chefs kitchen, every part of the bull, the crab and the lobster, boiled for hours and served as a thick interesting smelling soup... they call it Gumbo... we preferred to stick to the hotel for food... the final day before our flight we jumped on a street car (tram) and toured the New Orleans suburbs... i felt like i was in a scene from To Kill a Mocking Bird... was a great weekend... one I feel exposed all the facets of the true America... life outside New York.

This weekend I'm taking it easy.

I'm staying in. Just me the gym and maybe a trip to Macy's...... just for Dad's present! promise!