While New Orleans tends to be rather expensive it is also a fun place steeped in history with a very strong Mediterranean flavor. Holiday Inn had a special and we had three of the stay anywhere coupons left which made the lodging reasonable for a few days. Even trying hard three days is just not enough time to see it all so we focused primarily on the French Quarter area.
The most prominent feature of the French Quarter is St Louis Cathedral on the north west side of Jackson Square honoring the general leading the American troops that prevented the British from capturing New Orleans and the Louisiana Territory as the final major battle in the war of 1812. Unknown to the combatants, a treaty ending the war had already been signed but not ratified by the Americans. By the time they found out about the treaty the British had been soundly defeated and were leaving the area. Undoubtedly if the British had won it would be Cochrane Square and the whole history of the south and western US would be much different.
On the northeast side of Jackson Square is the Louisiana Tourist Center which offers tours by local volunteers at a very reasonable cost. For us the other couple scheduled did not show up so it was just us and the guide. Lori really likes the ironwork decorations and the young people in the upper floor apartments frequently added decorations of their own.
More in the Spanish tradition, most of the older houses are built around a central courtyard with the carriage gate here leading in from the street.
Most of the French Quarter housing is packed cheek by jawel with some building actually sharing a common wall. Since these were built in the old horse and buggy days when most people walked, the streets are narrow, crowded, and parking is at a premium. Mostly we parked outside the city and took the bus to get into these areas. That also has the advantage of not having to find the truck to get back to the motel.
Here are a couple examples of the interior courtyards. New Orleans does not get really cold so snow and ice are not the problem they would be in the north. These older buildings are also brick, typically single thickness, which has good vertical strength but poor laterally. The metal on the wall is the anchor for iron rods holding the walls in against the floor joists and prevent the walls from bowing out.
A little further off the waterfront there are plenty of mansions like this one pretending to be somewhat of a castle with the tower on the corner.
New Orleans is actually split by the meandering Mississippi although the southern, or at this point eastern, part is primarily an industrial area. This pedestrian ferry crosses frequently allowing us to get some pictures of the city across the river and get a boat ride in the bargain.
Here we are actually riding on one ferry to get a picture of the second alternating trips across the river. The ride also got us up close and personal with several of the tug boats operating in this very busy port city.
Getting up close and personal also shows the big muddy is all it's brown glory with the New Orleans skyline in the background. As I said this is a very busy port and we had to dodge a freighter heading back out to the Gulf bound for parts unknown.
Coming back to the main part of New Orleans I believe on the left is the Hilton Hotel, then one of the touring riverboats, and finally a waterside view of St Louis Cathedral.
The outside of the Aquarium was graced by these metal art sculptures that did not seem to have any particular theme other than being generally ocean type colors and moving in the wind. On the other side of the ferry landing the water jet fountain is the center piece of the park in front of the New Orleans World Trade Center with a variable spray pattern. I also really need to document that we were on a 20 foot plus wide sidewalk when Lori walked right into a light pole that was only about three feet in diameter. Broke her glasses which punched a hole in her head and tried to claim she was watching the ornamental ironwork across the street. Yup!!. And head wounds bleed.
Before we leave downtown and the French Quarter here are a couple pictures from the Riverwalk Mall. New Orleans has truly embraced the concept of tourism as an inductry and is doing as well as the Southeast in taking fleasing the tourists to a very high art. On the other side this is party town and tries to give back a high entertainment value to everyone.
Like so many places in the Old South, here is another jam packed cenetery with all the graves above ground because of the high water table making it hard to dig a hole.
The other major attraction we really enjoyed in New Orleans was City Park. The Origins of New Orleans City Park is a fascinating story. This one mile by three mile 1300 acre park is one of the largest urban parks in the country with enough features to spend days exploring without having to feel crowded by people.
Covered with these huge Live Oak trees the park is a great place to wander in the shade even when it gets hot and humid.
I am really fascinated by the live oak trees and how their branches lean over and drop to the ground so far from the base tree. This seems like a squirrel's paradise.
The ponds also attract birds of all types from the swans above to the Love Birds
sitting on the bridge. For all of the pictures included on this page we barely scrached the surface in the three days we had in this fascinating city.