Down there in New Orleans

New Orleans, Louisiana (NOLA) is truly a unique city, rich with history and teeming with music. It is hailed as the birthplace of jazz, and renown for its good food.  We enjoyed every minute of our stay and quite frankly didn't want to leave!  Neil has been an excellent tour guide, remembering the various streets and where they lead, the bus routes and streetcar stops, where to eat and drink etc.  It has been like travelling with a local.  For the first eight nights we stayed in a wonderful Air BnB in Uptown NOLA – a really great spot to be.  

The streets, although filled with potholes and cracked, raised, hazardous concrete – are lined with giant trees and beautiful homes in a multitude of colours.  Almost everyone you pass on the street waves and greets you with a “Hey y’all, how you doing?  Y’all have a good day now…”  The temperature has been perfect – not too hot, not too cold and the sun is always shining.  There are countless street pockets with lovely restaurants, bars and creameries, boutiques, galleries and thrift stores.

A few hours after we arrived at our unit, our Australian friend Andrew (who currently lives in Florida) arrived too.  Andrew stayed with us for six nights during which time we had great fun.  We explored the streets and visited the French Quarter for some fantastic live blues and jazz.   We were sure to try local cuisine like shrimp and grits, po boys, catfish, oysters, beignets and pecan pie, all of which did not disappoint.  And of course we had many an evening sampling happy hour delights like local beer, wine and cocktails. Transport was a breeze from uptown - either bus or using the quaint and famous street cars.

In general, the town is a very festive place to be.  It’s not hard to find musicians performing on the sidewalk, artists lining city squares or a parade marching down the street.   There is always a reason for a festival here.  In fact, we spent a good hour in the French Quarter one evening watching an 11 piece brass band of young guys playing the most impressive jazz on the street corner. In keeping with the festivities, it is legal to drink on the streets of New Orleans, however it must be in a plastic cups.

It is especially cool to be in NOLA on the lead up to Halloween.  People wander the streets dressed in fantastic costumes, while houses have the most amazing decorations, spectacular lighting and even a few with music and projectors of moving ghosts looking out the window. If you want the real scary history there are many a walking tour around the many unique cemeteries, which are all above ground due to historical flood risks. You can visit the graves of voodoo queens, murderers and the other local legends.

The city is surrounded by the mighty Mississippi River, which was quite the sight, with lots of ships and business going on in the waters.  You can walk for miles along the levy, and it doesn't take long to notice the river is higher than the city.  We haven't managed to figure out what the plan is for the city if the river rises...

We have been so fortunate to hang out with Neil’s old NOLA housemate Justine while we’ve been here.  We have had many a great breakfast, lunch, $3 oysters and dinner together.  We were even hosted for in Justine’s awesome little home in Uptown NOLA for two nights.  Not only is her house wonderfully homely and beautifully decorated, she has the best Sheltie X Labrador named Buddy Holly who we would have happily taken home with us. Thanks for looking after us Justine (and Buddy!).  

Another friendly face we have been fortunate to meet up with is our friend Caitlin, who Neil worked with years ago in Brisbane and now lives in Sydney.  Caitlin has been in NOLA for a week attending a conference and has been joined by her fiancé Nico.  It was by luck that our time here aligned and we have been able to enjoy multiple dinners and strolls around town with both Caitlin and Nico. 

On Thursday we had to check out of our wonderful unit, which we would love to stay at again when we return.  We just didn’t feel quite ready to leave NOLA and were looking for some other accommodation options to stay a few extra nights.  There was a big festival on this weekend – Voodoo Music Festival – so many of the more affordable accommodation options were fully booked.  Luckily for us, Caitlin and Nico offered us the spare bed in their hotel for a night, before we stayed with Justine and Buddy for the last two nights.

On Sunday, we picked up a hire car (it is generally cheaper and easier than trying to arrange a bus and pay for oversized luggage) and drove a few hours up to Natchez in Mississippi (with a stop in Baton Rouge for lunch with another uni friend and Louisiana local - Tim) to begin a two week cycle along tshe Natchez Trace Parkway to Nashville, Tennessee.    The Natchez Trace has been described by cyclists as a ‘trip of a lifetime’, as it is wonderfully scenic, no commercial vehicles allowed, reduced speed limit and bicycle only campgrounds. 

Will write to y’all later.  Much love from the deep south.