Here Are Five Good Reasons Why New Orleans Rocks

My first trip to New Orleans, LA was back in 1987 or ’88.  My friend and I decided to go for a long weekend.  I was not much of a traveler back then, and didn’t make much money, either, so we’re talking People’s Express airline and the Days Inn.

We spent a lot of our time there sampling the various alcoholic offerings for which NOLA has become famous (or should I say infamous?).  We made it to Pat O’Brien’s for a Hurricane, and to the revolving bar at the Hotel Monteleone.  A brunch at Café S’bisa involved unlimited champagne, so that was interesting as well.

The one redeeming thing about our trip was that my friend’s father gave us some money and made a dinner reservation for us at Commander’s Palace.  I was far from a “foodie” at the time, but I do remember the food was really good.  And I guess it ought to have been, because I’m pretty sure the chef there at the time was a young guy from up north named Lagasse.

A mainstay of the Garden District.

I’ve loved New Orleans ever since.  It didn’t hurt that my favorite novel, “Interview With the Vampire,” takes place there.  (You can read about that here.)

So let me give you Five Good Reasons Why New Orleans Rocks.

1.  The Architecture

If you’ve seen photos of New Orleans, you are no doubt familiar with the iron balconies on the Creole townhouses that populate much of the French Quarter.  You can also see huge old mansions in the Garden District, as well as so-called “shotgun” houses all throughout the area.

Examples of some of the colorfully decorated
balconies in the French Quarter.

 

There are a number of historic landmarks in New Orleans, among them, the beautiful and iconic St. Louis Cathedral, the Cabildo, the Old Ursuline Convent and the Presbytere.  I toured the convent a couple of years ago, and it’s a charming and interesting place.  The Presbytere now houses part of the Louisiana State Museum, and currently features a fascinating and moving exhibit called “Katrina and Beyond,” which I saw last week for the second time.

The beautiful
St. Louis Cathedral

 The Gallier House on Royal Street was also the inspiration for Anne Rice’s descriptions of the townhouse lived in by her vampire characters in “Interview With the Vampire.”  I stop by every trip just to stand there and imagine Louis, Lestat and Claudia inside reading or playing cards.

2.  The History

Any city with so many landmarks obviously has its share of history.  Founded in 1718 by the French, and for a time under Spanish rule, before being sold to the U.S.A. in the Louisiana Purchase, early New Orleans was populated by fur trappers, traders, deported galley slaves and the like.  A lot of the early settlers were free black Creoles from Haiti.  The British made an attempt to claim the city during the War of 1812, but were defeated by Andrew Jackson’s forces, who included the pirate Jean Lafitte.

Over the years, New Orleans gained importance as a commercial center, even housing a branch of the United States Mint in the mid-1800’s.

Because of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 (and Hurricane Rita just a few weeks later), we’re all very familiar with the fact that a large part of the city is below sea level, with much of the remainder only a few feet above sea level.  Over the past eight-plus years, the city has slowly come back.  The French Quarter looks virtually as it did before the storms, but there are still sections of the city that have not rebounded completely.  The shameful fact that these tend to be the poorer areas is a subject for another blog, and another time.

Fats Domino's piano, damaged
during Katrina and now on display at
The Presbytere

3.  The People

There is a photograph in the Beyond Katrina exhibit, of a New Orleans resident holding a sign that says something to the effect of, “FEMA came and all I got was this lousy blue tarp.”  It’s a take off on those tee shirts you always see at tourist shops, the ones that say, “Mommy and Daddy went to (fill in the blank) and all I got was this lousy tee shirt.”  But it’s so much more than that.  To me, it symbolizes the toughness, humor and survivor spirit of the people of NOLA.

The people in the city are friendly, engaging and always willing to talk to you. They’ll give you directions, offer suggestions on where to eat, or tell you all about whatever it is they’re selling.  A man working at one of the nicer antique shops on Royal Street once spent at least an hour and a half taking Mike and me on a tour of the shop, showing us his favorite pieces, and telling us stories.  He knew very well that we weren’t buying anything - we were very up front about that.  But he wasn’t busy, and he enjoyed sharing his knowledge and time with us.  We still talk about how much fun we had that day.

4.  The Music

There is music playing everywhere in New Orleans.  You can’t walk more than a block or two in the French Quarter without hearing live jazz, Dixieland, Zydeco or blues.  We’ve wandered into clubs on Bourbon Street and seen amazing musicians play, for the price of a drink or two.  Last week, we watched Big Al Carson and the Blues Masters play a set at the Funky Pirate (and you can, too, by clicking here!), and we also stopped in to Chris Owens’ place and watched a band doing B.B. King covers and the like.

You know I love music, so I’m sure you can guess how much fun that was.

Street musicians.

5.  The Food

I left the best for last.  I love the food of New Orleans more than I can possibly even begin to explain.  I love spicy food, so for me, Cajun cuisine is a perfect match. 

Jazz brunches abound in New Orleans, and we loved the one at Commander’s Palace.  We’ve had wonderful meals at Mr. B’s Bistro, another Brennan family restaurant, and at Besh Steak, one of several John Besh restaurants in the city.  There are so many restaurants lining the streets of the French Quarter, it’s hard to know where to start.

Our favorite “nice place” is Emeril Lagasse’s Nola. His least dressy and least expensive place in the city, the food and service here are absolutely top notch.  We’ve had dishes at Nola that we still talk about years later. We try to go there once every trip. 

Our go-to “dress down” place is probably Mother’s, with their deliciously messy “po’ boys,” the traditional Louisiana version of the submarine sandwich. 

Our favorite “Oh My God” place is Café du Monde, home of the beignet.  A beignet is a French donut made of fried dough covered with powdered sugar.  They’re served piping hot, and usually with a cup of café au lait.  For $15, including tip, two people can eat an early morning breakfast at Café du Monde while watching the world go by up and down Decatur Street.  It is of course a tourist trap, but unlike a lot of tourist traps, it lives up to it’s reputation.  We tried one of their well-regarded rivals last week, Café Beignet, just so we could see how it compared.  Their beignets are good, much larger than Café du Monde’s, and much doughier.  Their café au lait is also good.  But it’s not Café du Monde.  We won’t stray again.

The Real Thing.

So, thanks, New Orleans, for another wonderful visit last week.

See you again soon - though not soon enough.

Here Are Five Good Reasons Why I Love New England

I love New England, and specifically, Boston. I’m not entirely sure I could live anywhere else - although my husband is determined to convince me otherwise by the time he retires.

There are so many reasons to love New England; it hardly seems right to limit it to five. But let’s give it a shot.

1.  We Have Actual Seasons

This time of the year, I always find myself feeling a little jealous of people on the West Coast, or in Florida. (Did I really say “a little?”  Okay – a lot.)

That being said, I’m pretty sure that, should I ever actually move to a warmer climate, I will find myself missing the change of seasons. How could I not? While winter is not exactly my favorite time of year, fall in New England is something not to be missed. The autumn colors, the crispness in the air…these things are pretty majestic. 

Spring is pretty terrific, too. That slight moisture in the air around mid-April or early May, that signals the beginnings of the warm weather, never fails to thrill me.

Now, I will say, summer can be pretty hot at times – but hot weather doesn’t particularly bother me (hence, my love for Vegas, New Orleans and Aruba).

Winter, on the other hand, I have very little use for. I hate snow, and I despise ice. And I don’t even drive! I can’t imagine how much I’d hate it if I actually had to drive in it. I find the snow pretty for about 15 minutes, and then I just want it gone.

Where else can you get colors like this,
in the middle of a city, at a subway station?

2.  We’re Tough

I wrote briefly about the grittiness of New Englanders in an earlier blog. (Here.) We handled the Marathon bombings as only New Englanders could – by shutting down the entire city and hunting down the bombers.

We handle pretty much everything that way. Blizzard coming? Okay, well, drag out the shovels, take out your parka, and bring it on! Sticky, 95-degree days in August?  Well, what do you think public water fountains are for? Slow drivers? Your horn works, doesn’t it? And you do have a middle finger, right?

We pretty much take whatever life throws at us here, and we make the best of it.

3.  We Have the Best Sports Fans In the World

As I’ve already confessed, I am a Yankees fan. But that doesn’t mean I’m foolish enough to think Yankees fans can hold a candle to Red Sox fans. They can’t. No one is tougher on their athletes than Boston sports fans – and no one loves them more passionately, either. 

For six-plus years, Jacoby Ellsbury has been a fan favorite here. But I don’t think I need to tell you, his first plate appearance at Fenway as a Yankee this year will be greeted with the loudest chorus of boo’s since Johnny Damon’s defection. 

Ask Josh Beckett or Ray Allen how well we handle the transition of a player from current to former home team player.

The day Tom Brady retires will be one of the saddest days in New England history. No, not New England SPORTS history - New England history, period.

We may not have The House That Ruth Built, but we have one of the most revered baseball stadiums in the history of the game. And most of us still miss the old Boston Garden, rats and all.

During the pre-Super Bowl hype this year, I saw a news story where a reporter went out and asked people on the streets of Seattle to name players on the Seahawks. Pretty much nobody could do it. That is so inconceivable here, it’s ridiculous.  Not only could we name the players, we could also tell you their uniform numbers, their birthdays, their wife’s’ and kids’ names…I mean, really? Those people call themselves fans?

Beautiful Fenway Park

4.  Hey We Got Cul-cha!

Boston alone is home to two of the top art museums in the country, the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum and, of course, the Museum of Fine Arts. Both are amazing, though for sheer beauty, I do prefer the Gardner.

But we also enjoy some other, lesser-known gems as well. The Institute of Contemporary Art, also in Boston, is wonderful as well, but let’s not forget the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, the DeCordova in Lincoln, or the Peabody Essex in Salem.

In Maine, you can see an extensive collection of work by three generations of the Wyeth family at the Farnsworth. The Currier in Manchester, New Hampshire features Picassos, Matisses, and Georgia O’Keefes. Connecticut has something called the Connecticut Art Trail, which links 15 museums, art studios and art colonies. Hartford even boasts the oldest public art museum in the country, the Wadsworth Atheneum.

We also have some fine aquariums and science museums, beautiful old theaters, and, of course, some of the finest colleges and universities in the country.

So, yeah, we’re wicked “smaht” here, too.

5.  Diversity!

Sure, New England has a ton of cultural and ethnic diversity.  Here in the Boston area alone, we have a vibrant Chinatown district, the North End, our version of “Little Italy,” and various Irish, Jewish and African-American neighborhoods.  All of them feature lovely old homes, great restaurants, and tree-lined streets.  East Boston, which was once an extension of the North End, has become an exciting area for Latino restaurants and shops.

But when I talk diversity, I also mean geographical diversity.  In New England, you’re never very far from the ocean.  Seaside communities like Cape Cod are lovely and relaxing. But you can enjoy sophisticated metropolitan areas like Boston, Providence and Hartford, as well as upscale suburban locales like Wellesley, MA and Westport, CT, and lovely rustic areas in Vermont and New Hampshire. Two of the world’s largest casinos are not in Las Vegas, but right here in New England (Connecticut, to be more specific).

There you have it – five pretty good reasons to love this beautiful area of the country.

And I didn’t even mention the history!

Here Are Five Good Reasons Why “The Walking Dead” is The Best Series on Television

With “Dexter” off the air, Mike and I needed a new TV series to watch.  We settled on “The Walking Dead,” the zombie series on AMC.  We weren’t sure we’d like it, but we figured we’d give it a shot.

 

We’re hooked.

As I may have mentioned before, I am a horror fan (check this blog entry out).  Mike, not so much, but we both just love this show.  It’s about a group of survivors banding together to fight “the walkers,” as they come to refer to the zombies who seem to multiply exponentially each week.  Being human, they also end up fighting other groups of survivors, as well as one another.

The show has it all – good guys, bad guys, blood, guts (literally), beheadings.  Who could ask for anything more? 

So allow me to present the Five Good Reasons Why “The Walking Dead” is The Best Series on Television!

1.  The Show is About Zombies!

Unless you've been living under a rock the last couple of years, you no doubt already know that "The Walking Dead" is about a zombie apocalypse.  The amazing thing about that is, it still took me this long to watch it.  I've seen the original "Night of the Living Dead" a dozen times, and the various sequels and remakes as well.  I even saw "Shaun of the Dead" (which is really funny).  Heck, for that matter, I have "She's Not There" on my iTunes!  (That was done by The Zombies...I know, a stretch...)

Anyway, for my money, just the fact that the show is about zombies is reason enough to give it a shot.

2.  The Hero of the Show is Not Very Heroic

Rick Grimes, the small town sheriff who by default becomes leader of the group of surviving humans who make up the main cast of the show, is, well, sort of a weenie.  

(SPOILER ALERT - NEXT SENTENCE!!)

He lacks the cajones  to confront his wife and "best friend," who are pretty obviously hot for each other.  

He absolutely sucks at making any sort of tough decisions.  Even his kid is tougher and smarter than he is!  But still, for whatever reason, the entire group considers him their leader.  Go figure.  It does make for some interesting stories, and it definitely breaks the monotony of all those shows where the leader is some sort of mythic, super-brave, super-smart hero.

Rick Grimes (and some Walkers, most of
whom are probably better leaders than he is)

3.  The Writers Are Not Shy About Killing People Off

It always bothers me when a movie or series about something like this shows all these people getting killed by the plague, or the vampire, or the serial killer, or the zombies...yet the core group all manage to survive.  It's just not realistic.  And when I started watching "The Walking Dead," I assumed I'd be seeing more of the same.

I was wrong.

This show kills off main characters on a regular basis!  I love it!  I don't want to give anything away to those of you who, after reading my blog, are understandably inspired to start watching the show, but suffice to say, don't get too attached to anyone in the group, because at any moment, they could become a zombie's dinner.

4.  This is Where All Those Strong Female Characters We Never See Are Hanging Out!

If, like me, you have always hated how reliant on the "menfolk" women tend to be in these sci-fi/horror shows, your disappointment is about to be abated.  This show is chock full of brave, smart, resourceful women!  From Lori Grimes (surprise - she's smarter and braver than husband Rick, just like, well, pretty much everyone else on the show) to Maggie to Andrea, there are more strong, interesting female characters than you can shake a stick at.  (And, by the way, I would not shake that stick at any of the zombies, it just pisses them off.)

For a long time, my favorite was Carol, the former victim of a wife-beating jerk who, once her creepy-ass husband is out of the picture, becomes the real leader of the group in a lot of ways.  Smart, tough and determined, she kicked ass week after week.

But then a new character showed up.  And that brings me to reason number five.

5.  Michonne

We had already become firmly addicted to the show when, at the end of the second season, a mysterious muscled and dreadlocked black woman showed up, toting a katana (have I mentioned Mike and I were both completely enamored of the Highlander series and films?) and leading around two chained walkers who've had their jaws and arms removed to prevent them from attacking her.  She saved one of the show's main characters, but was still oddball enough for both of us to look at one another and go, "what the...?"

But Michonne stuck around, not saying a whole lot at first, but instead speaking with her katana.  And man, is she good with that sword!

By the end of the third season, she was our favorite character on the show.  She is strong, smart, resourceful and absolutely fearless.  She's played with supreme perfection by a woman named Danai Gurira.  I know nothing about her, but she does an absolutely killer job.  The show is worth watching just for Michonne.

Michonne - the best female character
on television!

And there you have it.  The best series on television.  If you watch it already, you know.

If you don't - what are you waiting for?