The highest point in New Orleans

One Shell Square, courtesy of wikipedia

The tallest building in New Orleans is One Shell Square.  It's roof is, of course, technically, the highest point in a city that hugs close to the water table.  Uptown, people say the highest place is someplace else.

We went to Monkey Hill today.

John James Audubon

Common knowledge has it that the highest point in New Orleans is Monkey Hill.  Ray, the electrician told me about it before I knew he was an electrician.  There's a bar on Magazine Street called the Monkey Hill Bar.  Ray told me about another place on Magazine Street, long gone, called Ace's Elbow Room.  

"Old Ace, he looked like a corpse to begin with," Ray told me.  "One Halloween, we rented a hearse and put Ace in the back.  Then we drove around town and scared the bejeezus out of the neighborhood kids."  

Besides that story, Ray told me that it snowed once when he was a boy.  It stuck in his memory because it was the first time he had seen snow while growing up in the Irish Channel.  "We all went sledding on Monkey Hill," he said.  "We didn't have real sleds so we taped together copies of the Times-Picayune to make makeshift toboggans."

Another argument in favor of a daily newspaper delivery.

Anyhow, we went to the zoo.

Fountain in Audubon Zoo

We saw some animals.

Giraffe at Audubon Zoo

Tiger at Audubon Zoo

Jaguar at Audubon Zoo

We also got to see the fabled Monkey Hill.  It is much more impressive than we expected.  At the base is a bench where tourists can get their picture taken, and Frau Schmitt coaxed a gracious tourist to pose on the bench.

A naive rube

It was a full day at the Audubon Zoo.  We've lived in New Orleans almost four years and this was our first trip.  That was too long a time.  We recommend the zoo.  $17.50 for adults, $12.00 for children over two, $13.00 for seniors over sixty-five.   Children under two are free.  It's money and time well spent.  

After the zoo, we went home.

La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.

A votre sante,
La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.