New Orleans – NOLA

New Orleans is one of those places that you often think about visiting. The music, jazz, blues and the mysterious side: voodoo, zombies, hot tropical plants, swamps and alligators. Well New Orleans has it all. We had a few day spare and decided to take the Greyhound/Flix bus from Houston to NOLA (New Orleans Louisiana). The bus trip was an adventure in itself. Little did we know that the Prison Service use Greyhound busses and that recently released prisoners are given tickets on the bus to get back home. We spoke to a few and overheard some really sad stories of addiction and substance abuse. One man we chatted with said “I knew there was somethang diffrent ’bout you”. I think he meant that we were not released from prison. He was bemused that we would fly all the way over to America (at a great cost) and then travel by bus. Anyway, after our prejudices were dampened, the trip was safe and no-one was aggressive or threatening in any way. We took the usual precautions and did not flash wealth, we took off our watches and rings.

On arrival in NOLA we took an UBER to the hotel in the French Quarter. We were beside Bourbon Street with all it’s bars and music. The party was 24/7 and you could walk into a bar with drink from somewhere else and it was no problem. Each bar had live music and you just hopped from one bar to the next without having to buy drinks or even bringing in your drink from the previous place! We just walked into a bar that sounded good and listened for a while, then go to the next. We saw some great bands and even some burlesque, this city is great fun. There was a New Orleans Jazz style wedding just going on in the street, as well as lots of street acts ranging from bucket drumming to full on Jazz bands. In fact we saw a few weddings going on in public spaces – seems New Orleans is the place to wed! The wrought iron balconies overlooking Bourbon Street offered shade to drink it whilst we watched the constant party unfold, most balconies are covered in plants and Halloween decorations. We also took a tour of the swamp area on a flatbed airboat which was really informative and exciting. Saw lots of alligators and fabulous birds including 2 bald eagles and lots of vultures! We also wanted to go on a river boat on the the mighty Mississippi river but they were not working! That was a shame. There is a huge school of jazz just next to the permanent all day market place – in fact, wherever you go in town there seems to be live jazz being played, on every street corner.

We took a streetcar out to the Gardens district – the wealthy bit with some huge houses (mansions in Gone with the Wind style!) on St. Charles Avenue. Halloween was approaching and New Orleans really went to town on decorations, around the wealthier homes in the suburbs as well as in the centre itself. Schools were also raising funds by selling massive pumpkins.

NOLA has a huge amount of history with the French , Spanish, British and newly formed United Staes that would take forever to retell. The St Louis Cathedral overlooking Jackson Square is the oldest Catholic cathedral in continual use in the United States. There are a surprising number of churches scattered around, we attended mass in a beautiful 200 year old church but the one the one that stole our hearts was dedicated to the homeless and had plenty of homeless people sleeping inside whilst still keeping the dignity of a place of worship. There was also a grotto attached where Our Lady had purported to grant prayers.

Overall, New Orleans was fantastic fun and definitely worth the bus ride to visit. We found the place well policed and safe despite alarming statistics! We had a fabulous week of great food, excellent music and seeing lots of sights. Please enjoy the photos.

St. Charles Avenue really went to town with the Halloween festivities