I just had a righteous weekend in New Orleans. First time ever there. Had no idea what to expect other than unapologetic debaucherous comings and goings. Shit St. was definitely Bourbon faced.
Conversations as to why a tourist town like The Big Easy is in such an "other side of the tracks" predicament never got resolved. How is it possible for such an artsy, funky, wild and lively city to be so poor? A year and a half after Katrina ripped through its alleyways, we saw a city that still had the power to attract large groups of money spending people. But it's obvious that even before the tragedy the city was, for the most part, a ghetto with only pockets of "ok" areas. My tour guide/travel partner/showgirl/shot pusher/partner in debauchery pointed out that for the most part, tourist locations are able to thrive economically from the influx of denero. Every city has bad areas, but a city that brings in hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of drunk ready to party people in every year should be able to have enough left over (after buying a round or 15 for themselves) to at least up the socio-economic status of the place closer to the middle. There's definitely some miss-management going on.
We were lucky enough to stumble (pun intended) upon Frenchman St. on Saturday night and hear some exciting music. Bourbon is just a jukebox on crack, not where the musicians hang when they're trying to jam. Frenchman St., however, definitely raised the Bar (yes, intended again). If you get the Bourbon bug out of your system, head on over there and hop around for a few hours. Great live jazz, and quint, hip, unique shacks posing as bars.
We did a lot of other things, like have some great food, sweet Beignets, park naps, ketchup revelations, dimple discoveries, vanilla and strawberries, butters and toes..... the kinds of things that really only make sense if you're the ones doing them, so theres no point in detailing here.
I had an absolutely amazing time, with an absolutely amazing person, in an absolutely amazing town. It's a shame that certain people didn't feel like protecting and helping out such a unique, culture rich and magnetic place. I can only imagine what the New Orleanites felt after being neglected like they were. Repeated references to FEMA in a not so flattering manner on t-shirts revealed the kind of resentment felt.
Frenchman Street Vids:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6PLXzxq1NA8
http://youtube.com/watch?v=70S5GckTg2M
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ylXPooNKvTM
AP Piece About The Transgressions Of Katrina:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=h8umoDbzdlo
3 comments:
Ahhh, Butters...
The poor guy was left alone in the car by himself for 3 days under the baking sun no less!
but enough guilt trip, all and all it was a memorable trip, with a fantastic and easy going pilot. I'm glad that we hiccuped our way to Frenchman St. I'm equally glad that we didn't waste time going into that hooka bar. I had never seen anything like those jazz parties, where people gather outside the bar if they can't get in and enjoy the festivities just the same. The crowd, the fun, the drinks, and the music flowed outside into the street and everyone was truly having an awsome time. Of course Shit street has its own attractions, and it's always filled with all kinds of adventures and little stories. Anyone for a "show"? Although I've got to admit, we didn't see too many girls go nuts for beads this year. I wonder why? Then again it wasn't as busy as the last time (pre-Katrina)I was there. All and all I had a wonderful time. I do miss park naps and mid night burgers. We should do this more often. Thank you for being a great partner in crime. Until our next road trip, I'll be dreaming of Vanilla!
P.S. Where is Hotel St. Charles?
Just keep walking by yourself at 3:14 in the morning on whatever street you're on, and I'm sure you'll run across it at some point. The world is, of course, round. Hip-Hop and Hooka go together like a cow and a vegan. I don't know what you were doing, but I used my assets to acquire some big brown blue beads... We drankded that shit
Shit St. was definetly bourbon faced! HAHAHAHAHA funniest brown dude ever!
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