New Orleans is one of my all-time favorite American cities. I’ve been fortunate enough to have visited it 3 times in my life: February 1987 to march in a Mardi gras parade; August 1992 on a roadtrip with Stephen, Kris & Tony; and August 2001 with Stephen & Kennan.
My first trip to New Orleans was life-changing in that I saw all extremes walking down Bourbon Street on the last weekend of Mardi gras: holy rollers speaking in tongues, big-tittied women flashing their ta-tas, seemingly mild-mannered guys dropping trou for a few colored beads, Hare Krishnas dancing in circles (and then vomiting). It only made me want to return….
Top 10 Memories of New Orleans (in no particular order)
- Café au lait with chicory + beignets at Café du Monde
- Pralines
- Scratching an X on Marie Laveau’s grave at the St. Louis Cemetery
- Drinking at Pat O’Brien’s courtyard and being mesmerized by the fountain with flames
- Pirate’s Alley
- French Quarter
- Mardi gras
- Mississippi River
- Fortuna’s baklava at Casa Blanca (sans the belly dancer! -ching-cha-ching-ching) – even though that was miles outside the city limits
- Cypress
And I will return again.