Stop #45: The Big Easy! How have I not made it to this cultural mecca before now?! The food, the music, the people, the houses. Loved it. New Orleans was definitely on my “I want to go everywhere” list of stops, but once the flooding started, I decided that I would make it part of a different future trip. Then the whole accident thing happened and I had to make my way back West and so it was the perfect opportunity to stop by and check it out. We took full advantage by doing a lot of walking in order to make up for all the food we ate. By the end, Luna was tired of touristing.
New Orleans is big. It’s very spread out into these different neighborhoods or “Wards.” I think it would take me months to figure it out. Luckily, I had some great recommendations from several different friends (mostly restaurants) to guide the way.
We did the typical French Quarter touristing, and it was pretty great.
We also ventured into some other neighborhoods including the Garden District where I was able to meet up with a friend from back home who has lived in New Orleans for a few years. Thanks for coming out, Michelle!
They have hot sauce bars all over the place. Luna couldn’t go in, so I couldn’t partake, but I’ve been recently told I have a hot sauce “problem,” so this was right up my alley.
The food would definitely make me fat if I lived here, but a couple of days of it never hurt anyone.
While I really enjoyed New Orleans, like many other cities, the obvious poverty and wealth disparity is really depressing. It seems like this should be an issue we can figure out. I know that is very naive and simplistic of me, but it just doesn’t make sense that there isn’t a way to make it all work where people aren’t suffering. I’m not advocating socialism, just think that the smart people in this world should be able to set up a system that allows everyone to work. That of course is assuming that everyone wants to work or is capable of working. A far bigger topic than I am capable of tackling in a single blog post, but something we all should put energy into. Hate to see people suffering, and there is a lot of it in New Orleans.
I would definitely come back to New Orleans, but probably in the winter. It is HOT. I’m ready for Fall.
Lesson of the Day: Don’t try to eat everything in New Orleans. I need to go on a juice cleanse…stat.
L&K Take America 