Saturday, October 07, 2006

NOLA Rising


I snapped a picture of this street art in the warehouse district of New Orleans in early September. It was the first time we had been back since Katrina, and we had an excellent time doing things that we don't normally do in the Crescent City.

First, no, we didn't go driving around the 9th Ward to take a look. There is that part of me that wanted to--to be a witness to what happened as a result of the storm and what hasn't happened since. There are even tours that you can take. In the end it didn't feel right.

Our favorite hotel, the Lamothe House, wasn't open for this trip, so we stayed at a place way up in the Garden District, the Avenue Inn. Very nice change, though with the St. Charles streetcar still offline it was a little more challenging to get around. We did get to explore the GD a little more than we had in the past, so it was well worth it.

It happened to be Southern Decadence while we were there. It was a lot more interesting walking around the Quarter with that scene unfolding around us. Gay community parties are always so much more entertaining, though we could have done without seeing so many hairy asses. I guess it added to the fun.

So, for those of you unsure about visiting, NOLA's French Quarter and Garden District are alive and well and everyone seemed to really appreciate having tourists back adding to the economy.

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