Wednesday, December 8, 2010

New Orleans

Once again I find myself in a City. City with a capital C, it is an entity all to itself. It smells the fear on me before I ever make it to the border. I get lost immediately, which is fine. I quite enjoy being lost – I get to see some interesting things that way. I eventually follow the signs to the french quarter, wanting to see what everybody else raves about here.

 

The narrow one-way streets and billions of parking information signs confuse the senses. I park at least four times before finding a spot that I am legally allowed to be in. I pop around for a while, with no sense of where I am.

 

I see quaint business fronts:

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I see secret courtyards, with not-so-secret trees sprouting from them:

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I see a very cool band playing on Jackson square:

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I take a picture to prove that I was here:

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But there are too many people here and my parking money is about to run out. So I leave. I drive to the ninth ward to see how the rebuilding from Katrina is going. I’m surprised to find a pretty nice neighborhood. Lots of new buildings, lots of renovated buildings, only a small percentage with the X:

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Night falls, and I head for a wal-mart. My intention is to get up early and get some less people-filled shots of the french quarter. And so I do, with only a few people still hanging on in the bars at 5 AM. I see bourbon street in its neon wonder:

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I see the cathedral by lamplight:

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And all the lovely tiny tidbits are are too easy to walk by in a hurry:

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Photographic deeds one, I wait for light to hit the sky and then take the dog to the park. He’s not allowed in the ‘dog park’ section, they require a permit which I don’t have. So we find a hurricane-damaged golf course that has been abandoned. He runs and chases sticks as I work out. We eat lunch, and then head for the hills.

 

I told a friend that I would try a drink in Lafayette if I was ever in the area, and I head west through the boot of Louisiana, towards smaller towns.

3 comments:

Phil said...

I really enjoyed today's blog. Your pictures were great, as was your writing. Excellent. I've been there, but your views are so different from what the tourist sees. Especially the neon light on Bourbon Street. And the Cathedral by street light.

Catalyst said...

TOMBO! LOOK OUT! SOMEONE HAS A LASER ON YOU!!!

The beard's lookin' good, though.

TomboCheck said...

Phil - thanks! Seeing the french quarter by night is the only way to see it if you are by yourself. It's QUIET, which is so nice compared to the hub bub during the day.

Catalyst - That lens flare has been following me around for most of the country. Or my assassin just keeps taunting me. :)