The Foundation of New Orleans

Somewhere in New Orleans

I've said it before and I'll say it again, you never know what you're going to see when you turn a corner in New Orleans.  The photo above was taken on North Peters Street.

Yup, there's dancing in the streets.  Music, too.  Tonight, as I write this, I'm entertained by a brass band across the street where there's a wedding.  Love blooms in New Orleans, too.

Just another day in New Orleans

When people come here, they ask if they're dressed appropriately for whatever restaurant they have reservations at.  Honey, you're in New Orleans (as any waitress will tell you).  You can wear whatever you want.  Be yourself.  Nobody judges you.  Nobody looks twice.  There are too many other things to see.  It's a kaleidoscope of a city.

Don's Automotive, New Orleans, LA

I was at Don's Automotive the other day, but I don't own a car.  I went because Don's Automotive is also known as Don's Garage and Social Club.  I went to socialize.  Nothing is what appears to be here.  Or, rather, it is what it appears to be but it's also something more.  It's something more magical.

Plaque in the New Orleans Wax Museum

You thought I wasn't going to talk about the wax museum, didn't you?  I haven't forgotten.  There are still about thirty exhibits to go through and I took pictures of every one of them.  

The wax museum, officially known as the Museé Conti, is full of recreations of great moments in the city's history.  There are some other things, too, but it's going to take weeks for us to get to them.  In the meantime, here is exhibit No. 2. A City Is Planned:

The planning of New Orleans

Three men in a Parisian boudoir looked over an inaccurate map of some swampland in Louisiana when they drew the street grid for the French Quarter.  I think Pauger Street is named after the man who designed the original city, but I'm not double checking that statement.  You can if you want to.  I'm betting you're not that interested, so I'm just going to let that fact stand unchallenged. 

If you want to know the truth, ask me over breakfast.  Then, I'll tell you that the city was laid out by Adrien de Pauger, and that he selected many of the street names in the French Quarter, too.  He also designed the original street layouts for Biloxi, Mississippi and Mobile, Alabama.  He got around, but most experts agree that New Orleans was his best work.

You'll agree, too.

Come experience it for yourself.

Until then,
À votre santé,
La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.