What to do in New Orleans in November

Truth in advertising?

You can make a plan before you visit New Orleans.  You can read the guide books and you can study the map, but you will have no idea what New Orleans is like until you arrive.  The best laid plans will be pleasantly upturned by happy surprises.  There are angels in New Orleans' details.  

You can imagine ordering a whole oyster loaf while sitting at your dining room table in September, but once you get to New Orleans in November, you realize the city offers too much good food to eat at one sitting.  

The small print on Ye Olde College Inn's sign, on S. Carrollton Avenue across from Notre Dame Seminary, reads, "ALMOST ACTUAL SIZE."  When you put an everyday object in front of this sign for some context of scale, it seems extraordinarily plausible.

Truth in advertising

To be sure, things will be happening in New Orleans in November.  There will be festivals, conventions, art markets, open air concerts, parades, and gala spectacles in November.  The city will go about its business.  If New Orleans has an industry, it is the manufacture of fond memories.  Both tourists and citizens are employed in the magic.  Whatever you plan to do in New Orleans, make sure you allot enough time.

Two nights in New Orleans is like your life flashing before your eyes.  Four days is not enough to explore the city by bicycle.  Seven days is better.  A lifetime is the ideal.  

No matter how many nights you want to sleep in New Orleans, you should consider staying at La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast, "the colorful inn in the ideal location."  No matter what you plan to do in New Orleans, you will end up doing what you wish, and more.  Keep your dance card open.

The view from the front porch of 2216 Esplanade Avenue, New Orleans, LA

I live here and I've learned that nothing goes according to plan in New Orleans.  I wanted to see how long it would take to walk from  our front door to Jazz Fest.  I learned that it should take less than 25 minutes if things don't go according to plan.

En route, I talked to the proprietor of Coco Hut who was getting the grill ready for a sidewalk cookout, I ran into Bill who was walking home from McHardy's Chicken with a bag that smelled like Heaven, and I spent about twelve and a half minutes talking to Mr. White about how the Fair Zone Food Store is going to be torn down because it is structurally unsound.   I caught Mr. White's attention because I was taking a picture of the Fair Zone's facade.

There is no way they sold a sandwich that big

After I shook Mr. White's hand in farewell, I walked another 45 seconds to my destination: the entrance to Jazz Fest as it looks today.  It will look very different come April and May 2013.  

Entrance to the Fair Grounds Race Track, New Orleans, LA

No matter how many days you want to attend Jazz Fest, you should consider staying at  La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast, "the colorful inn in the ideal location".  2216 Esplanade Avenue is about a ten minute picturesque stroll away from Jazz Fest if you don't talk to anybody along the way.  Your mileage may vary.

What is there to do in New Orleans in November besides thinking about next year's Jazz Fest?  Just show up and you'll find out.  I'll tell you one thing: your memories will be better than you expect.

A votre sante.