Enjoying New Orleans

Photo taken by a recent guest

I don't know if it's night or photoshop in the picture above, but I like it.  I haven't shared many pictures of the green house next door, but it has recently been repainted.  Nice job, too.

There are a few ways to visit New Orleans.  

Some people take a safe approach and plan everything out, reading a bunch of Yelp and Open Table reviews and planning out every meal in advance.  That's okay.  They'll probably not have a bad meal, but it is almost impossible to have a bad meal in this city, even if it's stewed turkey necks from the back counter in a corner meat market.  "We have to see this, and we have to see this, and we have to see this..."  Okay, but don't miss the parade for the floats.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are people who come in blind, waiting to see.  That's okay, too, but I think that wastes a lot of time getting to learn the lay of the land.  This is a magical city full of magical sights (see the next picture), but I think it's best to have some idea of what to expect.  New Orleans is different than any newcomer can imagine.  If you rely just on Frau Schmitt and myself for all of your information, you aren't going to remember half all the things we are going to tell you in the lobby.  Once you hit the street, you are going to get swept up in what's around you and become disoriented quickly.

The next picture

I love that black sky.  This has to be photoshop because there are twinkling stars out under normal circumstances.  

As with most things, the best way to enjoy is New Orleans is a middle way.  Do a little research, but not too much.  Get familiar with the neighborhoods.  If you are reading this blog, you are headed in the right direction.  I always say read a book about New Orleans beforehand to get a flavor of the city.  I don't mean a book by Ann Rice.  I mean something like "Letters from New Orleans."  It's a little bit dated, but everything is in a city that is changing right before our eyes.  

Here is something else I like to say: We live in a gigantic sociology experiment.  By that I mean that the omnipresent renewal and resurgence in this city, and its shifting demographics, make for a wondrous kaleidoscope of tradition and change happening at the same time. 

Get a flavor for New Orleans before you get here but don't romanticize it too much.  Don't try to pigeonhole it either.  It is different from what you think.  Be open to unexpected experiences.  Admit that you don't know what to expect, and then venture forth each day ready to be pleasantly surprised.  Make the best of things.  Things are very, very good here.  It is an old city full of quirks like no place else. 

Open eyes and an open heart are the best way to enjoy New Orleans.  We've been fortunate recently, as our busy season begins, to be able to warm up our innkeeping skills with some delightful guests who have made the most of their stay.  They've come from all over the country and all over the world.  They have left our fair city full of good memories.

The new bed in our Clio Suite

As much as I hate to provide a link to a Yelp review, here it is.  Cajun Seafood is on South Claiborne Avenue, about three blocks off Esplanade Avenue.  Like most places here, Cajun Seafood doesn't have a website and doesn't feel a need to advertise.  Word of mouth is enough.  We had two couples go there this week, independently of each other.  It was rated the second-best meal they had during their stay.  The first best meals?  Liuzza's-by-the-Track, up the street from us in the other direction, and Dooky Chase's, even closer nearby and I'm surprised does have its own website.  Neither of these are particularly tourist destinations along the lines of Emeril's or any one of John Besh's establishments.

Breakfast for three at La Belle Esplanade

As I say, it is very hard to have a bad meal in New Orleans.  It is even harder to have a bad time, no matter how you go about it.  As a popular television theme once pointed out, it takes diff'rent strokes to move the world.

A votre santé,
La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.

P.S.  If you click the Dooky Chase's link above, that's the younger Leah Chase singing the soundtrack.  I usually hit mute any time a website offers music, especially in New Orleans since it's usually some generic tinkly Dixieland, but I kept the sound on while I typed this.  Sometimes I lost my train of thought while I paused to listen, spellbound.  Not that you'll be able to tell, of course.