Catching Up on New Orleans

Wednesday, 27 March
Aviation arbor Famcamp — NAS JRB New Orleans — Belle Chasse, Louisiana
Temps: Lo 44F / Hi 63F (7C / 17C)

I’m no dummy!

Much as I would like to do my usual “journal” posts for the blog, it hasn’t taken me long to conclude that’s not going to be possible while we’re in NOLA.  Even with taking several days off from sightseeing, I’m not going to be able to catch up before we start our next round of sightseeing ... unless I do quick summaries for the days past.  Mind you; quick doesn’t necessarily mean short!

So be it!  I can’t stress over blogging or it will no longer be fun.  And if it’s not fun, what’s the point of writing a blog?

This trip to NOLA has turned into an “overview” trip anyway, and I’ll have another opportunity sometime during our travels for a more in-depth visit over a much longer period of time.  Now that makes me feel much better ;-)

Mui’s out with his sister, who joined us on Monday.  They’re out shopping before Işıl’s presentation at the Sheraton this evening.  Retail therapy is not my thing, so I’m enjoying a quiet day at home today.

My reward for staying home — a hawk that briefly perched on a nearby tree.
[thanks Judy, for further id’ing this bird as a young Cooper’s hawk.]

Today was also the day to get a haircut before we leave NOLA Monday morning.  I don’t normally blog about grooming appointments … but look what I found at the barbershop/beauty salon here on base!

Mural painted by Michelle Levine in 2011; looking towards the barbershop, which shares space with the beauty salon (to the left of the mural).

My last couple of posts brought the blog up to Thursday, 21 March.  Continuing on from there …

Friday, 22 march & Saturday, 23 March

Both days were forecasted to be overcast, with light rain gaining strength and possibly turning into thunderstorms on Saturday.  The storms passed to our north, but we did get some sprinkles with occasional showers — just enough to keep the dust and pollen down.  Our main project during these two days was to spiff up our home and make it guest-ready.  And that’s all we really did … aside from catching up on some reading.

I didn’t take any photos these two days;
here’s an Iris from the Besthoff Sculpture Garden instead (post here).

Sunday, 24 March

With sunshine and temps reaching 75F (24C) forecasted, we were surprised to have the day start out overcast, gloomy, and windy.  So, rather than the early start we had planned, we lazed around until the sun broke through around 8:30a.  And then we were off mural-hunting.

The weekend rate at the Algiers Point parking lot goes up from $5 to $10.  So, today we took the car across the river by way of the Crescent City Connection (no toll presently due to a pending lawsuit brought by the locals who want the bridge crossing to be free).  Since the CBD (Central Business District) is dead on weekends, we found a reasonably inexpensive parking lot on Carondelet Street for $10/day.  The lot proved to be centrally located to the murals I had marked up on the map, and was walking distance to the Garden District as well.

Mural or graffiti?
[located on the wall of a building in the rear of the parking lot]

We wandered through many-a-neighborhood on the outskirts of the Garden District.  Some were rather run-down, but in many of them, improvement efforts were underway.  People were welcoming towards two obviously-out-of-place roamers, often greeting us with a smile and a how-are-you.  No photos — except for murals.  Yes … I am saving them for a future “mural” post, but I will share one with you.

French Market Greetings — by Will Smith Jr — is one of the painted streetcar sculptures
for the “A Streetcar Named Inspire,” project (undertaken by the Young Leadership Council).

(I would have gone searching for these “murals,” but they have been auctioned off and most are no longer where the map I found says they should be.)

By the time we found ourselves in the Garden District it was close to 1:00p.  Hungry, we stopped by Commander’s Palace.  Alas, they could not seat us until after 2:00p.  Or maybe that was their excuse because our attire was too casual.  We’ll never know.

Moving on, we opted to dine at Coquette, a short walk down the road.  It too was busy, but the hostess was able to seat us at the bar, which was perfectly OK since the menu was the same.

Frankly, we liked this place better because it was more casual than Commander’s.  And the food was quite good, too.

The menu offered brunch, as well as a selection of small plates and entrees.  Mui decided on the three course brunch … selecting the salad, catfish, and chocolate tart, with a side of peanut butter sorbet.  I ordered the butternut squash cavatelli from the small plates menu.  It was perfectly sized, thus leaving me with plenty of tummy-room to order my own á la carte dessert — chocolate éclairs.

Left: Mui’s catfish, and chocolate tart with a small scoop of peanut butter sorbet.
Right: My butternut squash cavatelli with shiitake mushrooms and maple syrup;
and, of course, the yummy chocolate éclairs.

After lunch, we walked around the Garden District for a bit before hopping on the St Charles Streetcar.  Initially, we wanted to travel to the end of the line, but those plans didn’t work out since there was work being done on the line past the Loyola University stop.  So, we ended up getting off there, crossing the rails, and getting back on the next car going in the direction of Canal Street.

The New Orleans & Carrollton RR Co. began passenger train service on September 26, 1835. Steam-powered trains and mule-drawn cars transported New Orlenians between Canal and Carrollton, via St Charles Avenue. Improved technology led to the development of electric traction streetcars. The St Charles Line was the first electrified route, opening on February 1, 1893. By 1900, the single line had grown to 28 lines, running over 178 miles. New Orleans' first and last streetcar route, the St Charles Avenue Line, is the world's oldest operating streetcar line.

By this time, the wind had gained strength and the feels-like temperature was quite chilly.  We were prepared.  Getting off the streetcar at the Poydras Street stop, we quick-stepped it to the car for our jackets and then continued with our plans, which included photographing a few more murals and a Wyland Whaling Wall.

Painted by invitation, there are 100 of these walls; the one in NOLA is #69.  The foundation’s website describes this mural campaign as: “one of the largest art-in-public-places projects in history, spanning five continents, 13 countries, and 79 cities around the globe.”  I’ve seen and photographed several of these walls around the US, so I was especially happy to find this one.  I find it interesting that the murals decorate a wall that usually overlooks a parking lot — I read somewhere that this is by design.

Featuring life-size blue whales, this Wyland Whaling Wall is on the side
of the parking structure at the Hilton Riverside.

From here, we wandered back to Canal Street and hopped on a streetcar heading to the cemeteries.  It turns out our timing was bad.  Both St Louis Cemetery #1 and #2 were locked, and we had to be satisfied with a peek through the bars of the wrought iron gates.

St Louis Cemetery #2 (left) and #1.

By the time we got back to the heart of the French Quarter, our feet were telling us that our 10-mile (16 km) wander around NOLA was enough; and our tummies were telling us it was time for food.  Easier said than done on a Sunday.  Many of the restaurants we’d marked on the map were either closed; or, on closer inspection, the menu offered little for a picky eater (that would be me).  Others couldn’t seat us for a while.

In the end, we returned to the Crescent City Brewhouse, where we ate lunch our first day in town.  I ordered the same Brewhouse BLT (with fried basil leaves and fresh mozzarella), but Mui decided to have the grilled grouper this time.  Since we had enjoyed dessert at lunch, there was no sweet ending to this meal ;-)

Grilled Grouper on Flatbread: Fresh gulf grouper on house-made naan bread;
served with avocado, tomato, carrot, pablano pepper, cabbage, cucumber and
cilantro, dressed with a mango mayo; sweet potato fries on the side.

By the time we were finished with dinner, it was time to drive to the airport to pick up Mui’s sister.  Too bad we didn’t dally in town for a little while longer.  We’d parked the car and were walking to the cross-bridge to the terminal when Mui’s phone rang … it was his sister calling to say that she had missed her connecting flight and would not be arriving until the next morning!  So, back to the car we went and drove home to the Phaeton!

Monday, 25 March

Brrrr!  What a change in temperature … a 20+ degree drop to a high of only 56F (13C) today.  With a stiff breeze to boot.

Tracking Işıl’s flight to make sure it had taken off, we left the house around 9:00a to pick her up from the airport.  Her flight was on time, and soon hugs and kisses were being exchanged.

Dropping her off at the hotel to get settled in, we drove to a parking lot at Canal and Marais streets ($2/day from 9:00a to midnight; $5 for overnight).  Hopping on the Canal Streetcar for the trip back to her hotel, we then collected Işıl and headed over to the French Quarter for lunch.

Some — you know who you are ;-) — will find it odd that we decided to eat at Bubba Gump’s when there are so many great restaurants in NOLA to choose from.  However, the movie Forrest Gump holds a special place in Işıl’s heart, so it was the perfect place on this occasion.  The food wasn’t half bad; and I think she got a kick out of the trivia quiz and the photo ops.

Counter clockwise from top left: shrimp shack pasta (me);
New Orleans shrimp (Mui); shrimp scampi (Işıl).

There’s the famous “box of chocolates.”

Nearly 36 hours of traveling, and catnapping at O’Hare overnight, had worn Işıl out.  So we bagged plans for a walking tour of the French Quarter.  Instead, we went inside the St Louis Cathedral, or more properly — the Cathedral-Basilica of St Louis, King of France.  While the siblings took a load off on one of the pews and quietly chatted, I wandered around and took some photographs of what the brochure describes as “the oldest Catholic Cathedral in the United States.”

The current cathedral is the third church built on the site.  Completed in 1794, it
replaced the permanent church that was built in 1727 and destroyed in a fire in 1788.
The first place of worship on this site was built in 1718.

The mural above the altar depicts King Louis IX announcing the 7th crusade;
the statues are (from L to R): Hope, faith, and Charity.

The mural in the center of the ceiling depicts Jesus telling Peter, “Feed my Sheep.”
It is surrounded by four evangelists and ten apostles (minus Peter and Judas).
Bottom left photo shows the organ and clock at the opposite end of the nave from the altar.

Three of the ten stained glass windows depicting scenes from the life of King Louis IX.
L to r: his marriage, coronation, and illness and death.

(For larger pictures click here for a series of photos in my online gallery.)

Our meandering stroll through the French Quarter was periodically broken up with periods of rest.  First at Café Du Monde — for coffee and beignets, of course; and later at Pat O’Brien’s, where, in deference to Işıl’s allergy to all things containing alcohol, we quenched our thirst with a couple of virgin cocktails.

Mui opts for the colorful Sunset; Işıl orders the Eye of the Hurricane.

And on that note, we walked Işıl to her hotel; hopped on the streetcar to go pick up our car; and headed home to rest up.

Tuesday, 26 March

Another cold day!  What happened to spring?

This was the requisite “shopping for gifts to take back to Turkey” day.  Not my thing, so I begged off and stayed home.  After helping Işıl help the US economy, Mui brought her to the Phaeton for a light lunch … Caesar salad topped with grilled shrimp (which we had picked up from the Westwego Fish Market), followed by key lime pie (store bought, I’m afraid).  We took photos with Işıl’s camera, so I have none to share in this post.

The afternoon saw Mui and his sister back in the stores, while I continued to recharge my batteries, which were drained from the hub-bub of the past few days in NOLA.  A quiet evening at our respective accommodations wrapped up the day.

… and finally … back to Wednesday, 27 March

Işıl is a professor of English linguistics (emphasis on sociolinguistics) at Anadolu University in Eskişehir, Turkey.  The purpose of her visit to NOLA — other than spending time with us, of course — is to speak at a symposium.  Today was the day.

This blog would be incomplete without “Satchmo;” the statue is near the Algiers Point Ferry Terminal.

Mui joined Işıl in the city with plans to attend her presentation.  As it turns out, the presentation was moved to the late evening, so he’s back home.  But his trip into town wasn’t for naught.  They dropped by the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park and caught a free jazz/blues concert.  Performing again was Richard Scott, whom we had the pleasure of listening to last week.

And that catches me up … whew!  Tomorrow starts a 3-day run of sightseeing — some in town; others out of town for a much needed change of pace.

Bourbon Street … Can You Say Tawdry!

Thursday, 21 March (Part II)
Aviation arbor Famcamp — NAS JRB New Orleans — Belle Chasse, Louisiana
Temps: Lo 44F / Hi 63F (7C / 17C)

After touring Mardi Gras World (post here), the shuttle returned us to the CBD (Central Business District) and dropped us off at the corner of Canal and Bourbon streets.  We were starved, so we headed to Oceana, which bills itself as a Cajun/Creole restaurant.  As it was still early, we had no trouble being seated on the second floor, where we were able to get some good “eats,” and I was able to continue my quest to photograph murals.  (To be featured in a future post.) 

I ordered the shrimp po-boy; Mui had the restaurant’s signature redfish dish;
we shared the yummy chocolate Kahlua mousse cake.
[the po-boy photo is courtesy of Oceana’s website]

After dinner, we meandered around the French Quarter and eventually ended up at Pat O’Brien’s — home of the Hurricane, a drink that originated here in the 1940s, and is named for the hurricane lamp shaped glass in which it is served.

On the recommendation of our friend, MBZ, we enjoyed our beverages in the courtyard.  Drinks here are served in souvenir glasses, which are automatically included in the price of the drink.  No worries; you don’t have to keep them if you don’t want to.  We didn’t, so we returned them to the bar and got $3 back for each of the glasses … made the bar bill more palatable!

The Hurricane (left), served only in a 26 oz (.76 liter) glass, includes 4 oz (.12 liter) of rum blended with Pat O’s secret hurricane mix … sipping this potent drink slowly is essential!

The mint julep (right) is served in a much smaller (14 oz [.41 liter]) “Lightning” Glass;
Mui said he preferred my Hurricane to his own drink … next time!

By the time we left Pat O’s, dusk had fallen, so we decided to stroll the length of Bourbon Street.  Too bad this street seems to be synonymous with New Orleans!  It is a tawdry, dirty, and noisy street.  Don’t get me wrong ... mixed in with tacky souvenir shops, and sex shops and shows, are some decent hotels and eateries.  But as we strolled from one end of the street to the other, I couldn’t help but wonder at the reaction of guests booked into the Hyatt French Quarter located just down the street from Larry Flynn’s Hustler Club!  Maybe it was different in its heyday, but Bourbon Street won’t be on our itinerary next time we’re in NOLA.

Left: Neon-lit streetscape of Bourbon Street.
Right: I wonder what she’s selling for $1/piece?  Then Again, maybe I don’t want to know!

While there were a few street performers attempting to play jazz …

… hip-hop and break-dancing seem to rule the night on Bourbon Street for some clean fun.
[65 second video]

So as not to leave you with a totally negative impression of the French Quarter …. here are a few of the beautiful historic buildings, which can be seen on some of the other streets.  We didn’t do a tour — guided or on our own — this time, so I can’t identify these buildings, but I loved the wrought-iron details and the hanging baskets decorating the balconies.  I especially loved the buildings with the wrap-around balconies … I can see myself sitting on such a balcony, sipping a cool beverage, and enjoying the cool breezes while watching the goings-on in the streets below.

Hidden gardens like this one at Beauregard House are small oases in the midst of chaos.

Hoping to capture the St Louis Cathedral (which is really a basilica) lit up against a dark backdrop, we decided to conclude our evening at Jackson Square.  Turns out the wrought-iron gates that allow visitors to stroll around the square during the day are locked at night.  Oh well; the church wasn’t list up much anyway.  Still, we managed to capture a shot from the platform of the Washington Artillery Park.

St Louis Cathedral & the equestrian statue of Andrew Jackson, for whom the square was named.
Jackson, a hero of the Battle of New Orleans, was the 7th president of the US.

On that note, we walked over to the Canal Street Ferry Terminal for the quick ride across the Mississippi River and drove home.

The forecast calls for overcast and rain the next couple of days, with the possibility of thunderstorms.  We’re going to use this as an excuse to stay home and take care of those household chores that need to be done whether you live in a mobile or stationary home!

P.S.  I keep mentioning featuring murals in a future post.  These posts will be in the Two to Travel’s Viewfinder blog, where I participate in a “Monday Murals” meme.  If you’re a fan of murals, you might want to follow that blog as well.  I promise those posts won’t have nearly as many words ;-)

Mardi Gras World

Thursday, 21 March
Aviation arbor Famcamp — NAS JRB New Orleans — Belle Chasse, Louisiana
Temps: Lo 65F / Hi 79F (18C / 26C)

The day did not start off well!

I don’t say that because we had a cloudy start to the day.  Rather, I woke up with the most horrendous headache ... the kind of headache that you would thank someone to chop off your head and throw it away just to be rid of it.  I’m guessing it was induced by the pollen that has been flying about like so many snow flakes.

Despite the headache, I was enthralled by the early-morning clouds; thanks to Mui, I have a photo by which to remember this sky-scape.

A dose of allergy pills supplemented with Ibuprofen, warm compresses (thanks, Mui), and a short nap righted my world again.  But, the ordeal wreaked havoc with our plans for the day.  So we jiggled them again.

It was 11:00a by the time we left home for the Algiers Point Ferry Terminal.  I further delayed us when I spied some murals along the way — first, on the side of the Craige Cultural Center; next, on a retaining wall not far from the ferry terminal.  I’ll share those in a “murals post” at a later date.

Rather than taking the car across to NOLA proper, we once again opted to pay the $5 parking fee for the dirt-lot adjacent to the ferry terminal.  The “Senator Alvin T. Stumpf” gave us a quick ride across the Mighty Mississippi.  With clear-blue steadily winning over cotton-white in the skies overhead, we were raring to get our afternoon of sightseeing started.

I couldn’t resist taking photos of this Volvo TGB1314, an ex-army ambulance from
Sweden, converted into an RV.  It was parked in the Algiers Point Ferry parking lot;
a Dutch couple is touring the world in this vehicle, which they have nicknamed
“Panda.”  More info, and interior photos of the Panda, on their website.

Crossing Canal Street, we took up our vigil in front of Harrah’s Casino for the shuttle to Mardi Gras World, billed “… as the world’s largest float designing and building facility in the world.”  Yup … one of those tourist-trap tours was on the agenda for the first part of our afternoon.  Why visit it?  Because I have a better chance of being struck by lightning than of finding myself in NOLA during Mardi Gras.  I figured this would be a good way to see some of the floats that participate in the festivities.

From this “naked” float base … to these decorated floats.

Since we boarded the free shuttle from one of the last hotels on the pick-up route, our ride to the warehouse was short.  Making our way through a maze of over-sized props, we entered the gift shop where we exchanged our tickets for a couple of medallions.  Tacky though they were, these medallions identified us as paying customers and allowed us to wander at will after the tour.

The tours start on the half hour, so we had a few minutes to check out some of the original Mardi Gras costumes displayed around the gift shop before our group was called.  From the signage at one of the displays I learned that “while the costumes for the float riders are mass-produced, costumes for the court are made specifically for the individuals wearing them.”

This Queen's Gown is circa 2000;
the page costumes were worn in the Krewe of Bacchus for the 1999 parade.

Left: Krew of Zulu costume.
Right: Queen’s gown; circa 1960’s.

The two-part tour normally starts off with a 15-minute video of the history of Mardi Gras and the Blaine Kern Studios.  However, we did the tour in reverse, with the walking portion followed by the video.

Historic photos of past Mardi Gras parades set the stage for our tour.

Once through the doors leading to the dens, we found ourselves in a fantasy land filled with over-sized props used on parade floats.  Some had seen better days, but many of them looked to be brand new.

As we wandered through the immense warehouse, our guide told us about the old and new ways of making the props.  The old process was based on papier-mâché; the new process includes the use of clay molds, fiberglass, and styrofoam overlaid with papier-mâché for a more realistic outer shell.  Clothing for the figures are made with a spongy material, also overlaid with papier-mâché, for a more fabric-like look.

Left: At 5’2” (1.5 m) tall, I provide perspective for the size of some of the props used on the floats.
Right: Snake Woman looks to be a new prop; I wonder which krewe is going to use it?

More props of all shapes and sizes.
Note the bust of Harry Connick Jr.  He apparently so enjoyed participating
in the parade one year, that he returned the next year with his own Krew.

Along the way, we stopped to see the sculpting shop and the paint shop where craftspeople were hard at work on the floats for 2014.  At each stop, our guide not only told us about the process of building the floats, but also shared tidbits about the Mardi Gras parades and traditions.

The first step in the building of a float is the design.
Work on the next year’s floats starts as soon as Mardi Gras for the current year is over.

Left: Styrofoam pieces are layered and glued together to form the basic sculpture before they are refined and shaped by hand.  The pieces here are part of the bull’s head in the sketch above.

Right: This young woman is working on the head of HENRY VIII, which is …

… going to top the body, which is already in the paint shop.
It’s apparently easier to work on the prop heads separately.
Having seen the size of some of these props, I can understand why.

Here’s one of the tidbits our guide mentioned.  Did you know that there were 53 parades during the 11 days preceding Lent this year?  And no one float can participate in more than one of those parades!  That’s a lot of floats!  Our guide also made a point of mentioning that contrary to a common misconception, all the parades are rated “G.”  No debauchery allowed!

most floats are disassembled, and parts and pieces are re-used.  some floats,
like the one pictured here, are kept intact; they are considered“signature” floats.
As crowd pleasers, signature floats participate in parades year after year.

I’ve mentioned “Krewes” in a couple of captions.  These are organizations responsible for putting on a parade or a ball during Mardi Gras.  Krewes traditionally bear the names of characters from mythology and consist of dues-paying members.  Depending on the size of the Krewe, the dues for the privilege of belonging can range into thousands of dollars.  (For those interested, detailed info here.)

Back to the tour in progress.

The second part of the tour was a 15-minute video about the history of the Mardi Gras parades and the Blaine Kern Studios.  The Kern family has been building floats for Mardi Gras since 1947, but that isn’t all they do.  They also work on special events and have corporate clients around the world, including Euro Disney.  With 18 warehouses where floats are built and stored, this is no Mickey Mouse operation — excuse the pun ;-)

Our time in the theater included playing dress-up with “authentic” Mardi Gras costumes.  From what was on the hangers, I am guessing they were outfits worn by float riders, and not by courtiers.  Getting into the spirit of things, we joined in the fun.

Who’s that jester impersonating a king?
or is it the other way around ;-)

After the official tour was over, and we had received (and eaten) our free slice of King Cake, we were free to wander on our own, and take a closer look at the props and shops.  Perfect time to have some fun!

The jester and the queen.
(I would have been a “jestress,” but I wasn’t tall enough to get my head through the opening.)

“What on earth did I just bite into?” wonders the lion as he chews on a smiling Mui.

Lois Lane, with her bag and camera handy, joins Superman for a flight!

Was Mardi Gras World worth the price of admission?  We think so; but we bought our tickets from the ITT [Information, Tickets & Travel] Office on base for $14.50 pp.  At $19.95 pp for the regular adult admission, it’s a bit pricey, but that seems to be the going rate for “walking tours” in NOLA.  That we took the free shuttle to get there added value to the ticket price (parking in the lot near the warehouse is $10).  The shuttle leaves from the Canal Street Ferry Terminal and stops at a whole bunch of hotels.  We mistook the Harrah stop as being at the casino … word to the wise, make sure you’re waiting in front of the hotel :-(

The next part of the day … well, that’s going to have to wait for another post … I have yet to process those photos … I’m falling behind again; sorry!