New Orleans B&B Blog 70119

Our back yard

It is the middle of December, almost, the Advent season.  We'll be taking a brief hiatus from the blog, to resume soon after Christmas Day.  There is no particular reason, aside from the fact that this seems to be the right time to take a pause from writing.  

Redbeard Cycles, Orleans Avenue, New Orleans

One of the empty storefronts on Orleans Avenue has recently been refurbished and put back into commerce.  You can't walk around our neighborhood without seeing renovations and reconstruction going on.  The streets are being repaved and a new Whole Foods Market is opening up a few blocks away, on North Broad Avenue, where the old Schwegman's Supermarket used to be.  There will be parking on the roof, the way it should be.  

The newest place on Orleans Avenue is Redbeard Cycles, a shop that is keeping a low internet profile for the time being.  There is nothing wrong with that.  Watch out for motorcycles.  Motor scooters, too.  And bicyclists.  And pedestrians.  And little stray dogs.

I was telling Frau Schmitt that I am starting to feel embarrassed by the reviews we keep getting on Trip Advisor.  I don't mind exceeding people's expectations when they don't expect much.  The reviews we've been getting are making me blush.  She told me not to worry about it.  She is usually right about these things, but I prefer to take the same strategy that the Tic Toc Cafe does:

Painted on the side of the Tic-Toc Cafe, Metarie, LA

We run a little boutique inn.  If you don't include a lifetime of being nice to our fellow human beings and being friendly and providing reasonable advice and being able to carry on a convivial conversation, and just being plain folks who love living in the city we call our adopted home, neither of us has a background in hospitality.  That is to say, neither of us has a background in the hospitality industry.  

If you stay in our inn, we treat you the way we would like to be treated.    When you check in, you aren't a customer.  You are a friend we haven't yet met.  That's why you're welcome.  The money that changes hands counts for something, of course, but the fact that we are proud of our inn and we want you to enjoy our little part of New Orleans counts for more.  Fond memories are made on Esplanade Avenue in New Orleans, LA 70119.

Morning on Esplanade Avenue, New Orleans

We will resume our usual schedule of twice-weekly blog posts after Christmas.  There are plenty more stories to tell and pictures to share.  Until then, Frau Schmitt just raised a glass of Cajun wine to the health of you and yours, with best wishes for today, tomorrow, and all the days to follow.

A votre santé,
La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.