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| Springtime in New Orleans |
Everything comes up oleander in New Orleans.
The oleander is blooming in our back garden. We had our first crop of figs, but the birds ate them before they could ripen. Do you know what New Orleans is like? It’s like fresh figs in April.
I was out in the garden this morning admiring the orange blossoms when the oleander caught my eye. I had just been watching the fish in the fountain when the scent of the orange blossoms caught my nose, so I wandered over to get a better whiff. Just then, a light breeze blew through, just a tickle really, and it swayed the oleander branches.
It was early. I had already been to the bakery. I had some business earlier in the Bywater, so I went to a bakery further downtown than I usually am. Our guests were in for a treat. Frau Schmitt had been busy in the kitchen and I was busy reading the newspaper, as I usually do when Frau Schmitt is in the kitchen. She mentioned to me that this would be a good time for me to take out the trash. She is usually right about these things.
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| Snowfall in New Orleans |
I am usually allergic to chores, but, as an innkeeper (as opposed to a bookkeeper), I enjoy every errand that lets me putter about the grounds. Someone asked me for career advice recently. My gray hair makes me look smarter than I am. I told him, “Do what you do best.”
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| The ceiling in the lobby |
Our inn is a work in progress. It takes two people to make good memories. La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast was built in 1883 and restored in the late 1980s. We’ve done a little replacement carpentry and plasterwork. We’ve repainted the whole thing except the ceiling in the lobby. We’ve replaced all the artwork, remade the dining room, and we serve a Creole buffet of a breakfast: every day one hot bite, one fresh sweet; a selection of jellies and pickles from St. Bernard Parish; a rotating roster of po’ boy bread of various lengths and crustiness; other things, too. Too many to mention. The coffee has chicory. The dining room atmosphere is convivial and bright. Sometimes, we have ice cream for breakfast.
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| 12-and-a-half foot ceilings |
If a bartender makes a perfect sazarac and nobody drinks it, is it art? A bed and breakfast without guests is an empty building. When we have guests, the place comes to life. Good memories are made in New Orleans.
Being an innkeeper isn’t as easy as we make it look, but it does have its rewards. I was out in the garden this morning while Frau Schmitt was in the kitchen. We were both doing what we do best.
She was preparing a memorable breakfast of local ingredients selected and arranged to her exacting specifications and sense for pleasing detail. Our guests would be down in a half hour and the dining room would be full of good cheer and interesting conversation. Stories would be told, questions asked, histories shared, and jokes exchanged. Questions would be answered and taste buds would be tickled.
I was dawdling in the garden, admiring the oleander.
I was dawdling in the garden, admiring the oleander.
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| Stop to smell the flowers |
If you are looking for an eccentric and colorful bed and breakfast in New Orleans, I have one I can recommend.
A votre sante,
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