NOLA pt 3

11th November 2012
This was our last day in NOLA. We had been blessed with amazing weather the entire weekend trip, sunny and around 24 degrees C. Today, we were visiting the Lafayette Cemetary as well as the homes in the Garden District.








The Lafayette is one of the oldest cemetaries in the city and been used in a lot of films. It is unique because the tombs are elevated above ground as the ground has a high water table, unsuitable for below the ground burial.

And a collection of photos of the food I ate over the trip (that I also forgot to add into the previous posts).

BBQ Shrimp

Can't recall what this was. Some sort of crawfish dish. Although there was basically no crawfish.

Didn't really like the beignets from Cafe Beignet. They weren't as fluffy, were too doughy and reminded me a lot of some Chinese dessert, the name escapes me.

The two items that I didn't end up trying were the po' boys and muffaletta. They are both sandwiches and I couldn't really justify eating a sandwich (no matter how famous it was) since there were just too many other things to try and do. It seems that southern food is starting to become trendy in Newtown and I was looking at some menus of the new establishments. I stumbled upon one which sold po'boys but using English muffins. Hmm.

My Overall Thoughts
New Orleans is vastly different to the majority of the cities in the US, especially when compared to the west coast and cities in the Tri-state region. It has a very different atmosphere and is very pretty. That being said, the main areas are very touristy and vastly different to just outside the city, sometimes to an extent that it seemed somewhat fake.

My favourite dishes were: jambalaya and gumbo! I must learn how to make both of them.

Would I re-visit?
For the Jazz festival, yes. Otherwise, no. I would love to explore other cities in Louisiana but I believe I saw everything that I wanted to see in New Orleans on that weekend trip.

I already knew that there weren't any Bank of America ATMS / other major banks in New Orleans and had already warned my travelling campanions, however they did not take heed to my advice. I ended up having to lend them my cash and we were constantly at CVS getting cash out, although they only allowed a maximum of $20 per transaction. There were a lot of standalone and dodgy-looking ATM machines, but they charged fees of around $5 per withdrawal. Moral of the story: bring cash as most places didn't accept EFTPOS or be willing to incur high withdrawal fees.

NOLA pt 2

10th November 2012
For the second day, I had organised a swamp tour with Honey Island Swamp Tour . We were picked up from the French Quarter and were driven to the Honey Island Swamp. The drive there was quite eye-opening. When we arrived at NOLA, it was still very early and I didn't really have a good look at the surroundings. Driving a mere 5 minutes outside of the French Quarter, a beautifully restored area, and the impact of Hurricane Katrina was still present, years since the event. There were so many abandoned, dilapitated homes (on stilts) as well as entire apartment blocks. The driver gave us a quick overview of the area, the fact that so many hospitals and schools which never re-opened. As well as families who collected insurance money (if they could) and moved away. And other families who weren't eligible for insurance (since their home wasn't elevated to a sufficient level) also left. After a while, every second sentence went along the lines of, "see that building? It used to be a ____. It's gone now". He also pointed out how far the water had reached inland, and it was substantial which was frightening.






I wasn't particularly interested in the swamp tour purely because I have been on swamp tours in Australia. However, swamps are famous in Louisiana and I decided that it was something that we did need to see. Though we were in the wrong season as it was too cold for the alligators (the main attraction). As I said, I wasn't particularly fussed. Seen one gator, seen them all. But it was a lovely boat tour, especially seeing the homes built next to the swamp, on stilts once again.

My sneaky photo even though we weren't allowed photos.

Back in the French Quarter, we went to Preservation Hall on a side street from Bourbon Street. There, we met an Australian couple from Perth. And as I later discovered by the end of the trip, even though I have never met someone from Perth, I met a substantial amount when I was overseas. I also visited a voodoo shop which was a little unsettling. I am not an atheist, I am agnostic, and I believe it is because I am open minded. My logic is, you just never know.

Bourbon Street is basically a street filled with 'cabarets' (girl's in lingerie), bars and a thousand and one drink vendors. There were so many people who were drunk (although who can blame them when they have a Giant Ass Beer in one hand and a ginormous fish bowl of a mysterious concoction in the other). The most interesting part was the beads. I wasn't entirely sure of the meaning (and still I am unsure) but apparently it is connected with the Mardi Gras. There would be people throwing long beads from a balcony at certain bystanders below, usually if they a) were pretty, b) flirty, d) willing to flash or e) just being a good sport. Generally people just threw them to everyone and I have a few necklaces, although I only got given 3 and the rest were from my friends who got them for me. Haha. One of the roommates was really into it and just lifted his shirt constantly (he is a guy so I don't think it had quite the same effect).

I had some of the Hand Grenade which was quite strong. We got it on both nights, and the second night, the drink was a lot stronger. Apparently the drink are equal parts of: gin, grain alcohol, melon liquer, rum and vodka. It was quite nice though. I also wanted to try the Hurricane, as it is famous in NOLA. However, I am not much of an alcohol drinker and the friend who did want to drink already consumed a fair bit. The main reason that I don't drink alcohol is because I get the Asian flush which irritates me to no end. So what is the best way to avoid it? To only consume a little amount of an alcoholic beverage.

NOLA!

November 9th 2012
When I think of New Orleans, the first thing I think of is the song from The Princess and the Frog. Of course, the second thing is Hurricane Katrina. Sunbear, his two roommates and I caught an overnight bus from Atlanta (12am) to New Orleans (8am). It was a 9 hr bus ride however at $60 return ticket, it was a lot cheaper than flying (which would have been around $300). Moral of the story: never catch an overnight bus again. Ever. I am still unsure if we should have spent an extra $150 for comfort and a 1.5hr flight. But it was terribly uncomfortable and I believe I slept for 2hrs and was in limbo for another 4 hours.

When the bus was in Louisiana, the landscape started to change. We were driving past marshes and swamps and houses on 4m high stilts. It was incredible; a structure on stilts.

Not my photo. But this is an example and it is a lot sturdier looking than the ones that I saw.

Bleary eyed, we arrived in New Orleans at 8am in the morning. The benefit of an overnight bus, granted. We headed to India House Hostel to drop off our bags. Quick review. There were only 2 potential hostels in NOLA and the second was further away from the French Quarter. India House Hostel was cheap. That was about it. I think it tried to go towards a theme of being grungy but hip, yet it just felt as though it was dilapidated and someone threw on some colour and called it 'artsy'. The bathrooms were the worst out of all the hostels I stayed at (across North America and Europe). The bed was squeaky and overall, it gave off a feeling of being very unclean.

We caught the tram sorry, they call it a trolley down to the French Quarter. The architecture was stunning and very quaint. The buildings are a consequence of the Spanish colonialism, and despite Hurricane Katrina, the buildings have been restored beautifully. One of the few areas where it is as though the natural disaster never occurred.

I was the planner for the trip since the other two guys honestly couldn't have cared. First stop was Café du Monde for the famous beignets and café au lait. The line was fairly long, although it did move quite quickly. The beignets were really good and there was an insane amount of icing sugar. The coffee was amazing and quite strong; I like strong coffee. At that time, it was the best coffee I had in the US.






Jackson Square. I bought a pendant with St Francis of Assisi for $1 but I lost it somewhere between the US and arriving back in Australia. Unfortunate.

Mississippi River

Gator Jerky at the French Market

I was really excited to visit NOLA for the food, cajun/ creole food. Or basically, food that wasn't a burger or a pizza. We weren't in the right season for seafood (I did really want to try the crawfish which is what the place is famous for). Oh well. First stop at lunch was Gumbo Shop.

What is gumbo? An amazing dish. Or ...

 Gumbo is a type of spicy stew typical of Louisiana and South Carolina cuisines, but also consumed frequently on the Gulf of Mexico. The hearty dish consists basically of two ingredients: broth and rice. While this may sound boring and limited, gumbo is actually a dish with an extremely large variety of flavors and consistencies, depending on how the broth is made. 

 

Chicken Andouillle Gumbo. It was so good.

Most people know of the stereotypes of Northerners and Southerners. One of them is the idea of southern hospitality. And from my experiences, I do think it held true. The woman who served us was so lovely and her accent was amazing. I adore most southern accents, they are so soothing. Sunbear was sick and this woman noticed and she kept on calling him 'babycakes' which was really adorable since the term just rolled off her tongue. If anyone else had said it, it would have been really creepy.

We also went to Bourbon Street that night, however I will write about that another day. Though, it was a very interesting experience.

What was also interesting was the way that people said New Orleans. I pronounce it with an emphasis on the 'e' in Orleans, so it is Or-lee-ns. But then some people pronounced it as OR-lans. Or more along the lines of a single syllable, 'N'orlin'.  I couldn't figure out which one it was, so on the trip, more often than not I just referred to it as NOLA (New Orleans, Lousisana). I just Googled it and most people seem to say that it is pronounced as New OR'lans. Then again, whenever I am watching a video with someone who does not have an American or Canadian accent, there is a very high chance that quite a few (99% of the time they are American) people criticise the person as they are saying words 'incorrectly'. Tomayto. Tomahto. On the same vein, pronounciation of the word 'Australia'. Generally Americans/ Canadians pronounce it with such a strong emphasis on the AUS part, the same way as their 'awesome'. And Australians pronounce Australia as .... I have no idea. I don't think there really is an emphasis on any of the syllables.