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| An Esplanade Avenue balcony at night |
If you seek a pleasant city, come to New Orleans. You won't leave hungry.
As I've mentioned before, Downtown is different from Uptown in New Orleans. Most people spend most of their New Orleans vacation Uptown; in the Garden District, on St. Charles Avenue, or in the Warehouse District when they're not in the French Quarter. We know one smart couple who have spent their first three days in New Orleans (their first visit to our fair city), and they have yet to cross Canal Street.
They have been to the French Quarter, of course, and they have been to Frenchman Street. They have spent much of their time in Treme and Bayou St. John. They have four days left to squander in New Orleans, and they plan on heading uptown at some point, but even today, they plan on taking another self-guided tour of our surrounding neighborhoods. They'll be happy to tell you they haven't wasted any of their time in this part of the city. The look in their eyes when they recount their adventures tells the whole story.
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| An Esplanade Avenue bed and breakfast at night |
Plenty of people tell us that they want to experience New Orleans like a local. Nobody has taken me up on my offer to come with me when I walk our dog before I go to the bakery every morning, but I understand. The beds in all of our suites are snug and comfortable. It takes the promise of Frau Schmitt's breakfasts, the scent of coffee with chicory wafting up the stairs, to raise sleepy heads.
If nobody wants to share a daybreak cigar with the dog and I as we sniff around Barracks Street or Governor Nichols Street or Ursulines Avenue or Columbus Street or Laharpe Street, or Lapeyrouse Street, or Galvez, Miro, Tonti (TONT-ee, not tonti-EYE), Rocheblave or Dorgenois Streets, I understand.
Instead, you can go to Santa Fe for dinner, at 3201 Esplanade Avenue. If you want to watch the basketball game, Michigan is playing tonight, after all, you'll be out of luck. There is no TV at Santa Fe. Luckily, the food is good, so you savor it with a carafe of sangria and check the game's score on your phone. During the first half, you'll say, "These are the best shrimp I've ever eaten."
As you pay the reasonable bill, you ask the waiter if he knows of a bar with a TV nearby. He draws you a map to Pal's Lounge on North Rendon Street. You walk off dinner through some of the most beautiful moonlit streets you have ever strolled. "There's a bar in this neighborhood?" you wonder aloud. Of course there is. You're in New Orleans.
You turn a corner. There it is. There are no strangers in New Orleans, only friends you haven't yet met.
Walking home, after the game and after a few too many ginger-infused cocktails, you find where you're staying, at La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast. It has been a walk to remember. The best stroll you've ever had. The ambient temperature is 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The light's been left on for you.
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| La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast at night |
In a few hours, I'll be walking the dog before I head to the bakery. Tomorrow, I'm going to Blue Dot Donuts to pick up some bacon and maple long johns. I'm only going to buy two, but guaranteed somebody in front of me is going to order a dozen, saying, while they do so, "Papa droit manger!" Daddy's gotta eat.
If you don't choose to join me before the sun comes up, I understand. The promise of donuts and Lake Pontchartrain crab cakes will get you out of bed by 9:00. It will be the food you need to fuel the next day's adventures. You won't start the day hungry.
A votre sante, and,
A tip of the fedora to our friends from the Mitten State,
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| Si quaeris civitas ameonam circumspice |
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteNice story, said one of those Michigan guests. :) It was a lovely evening. So glad we stayed at La Belle Esplanade.
ReplyDeleteA tip of the fedora your way. You have two friends in New Orleans.
ReplyDelete