Walking in New Orleans

Bed in our Clio Suite

We made some new acquaintances this past weekend who used our inn as their headquarters to make a walking exploration of this magical city we call home.  Why not?  Frau Schmitt and I walk everywhere, and not just because we have to walk our dog.  We walk our neighborhood because, as I say to everyone on the introductory tours of our garden, I find it endlessly fascinating.

I live here.  We've lived here for four and a half years now.  We still have the zeal of converts.  There are so many details, everything seems ever new.  If any of this sounds familiar to regular readers, it's because I haven't changed my mind about how much I am in love with New Orleans.  I wouldn't be a good innkeeper if I had.  

I understand that there are innkeepers who have a negative attitude about New Orleans; at least, they have a negative opinion of any neighborhood that isn't their's.  Where they live is safe.  Everywhere else, well: There Be Dragons.  Beware.

A view of our dining room

I've never come across a cannibal in all my walks about New Orleans.  That doesn't mean they aren't out there.  It only means that they are as rare as yellow-bellied sapsuckers.

I've never seen one of these.
Photo courtesy of wikipedia

There are many parts to New Orleans.  Many neighborhoods.  I don't recommend staying with us if you want to spend most of your time Uptown.  Uptown is the other side of Canal Street.  It's the American part of the city.  Esplanade Avenue is Downtown, in the Creole part of the city.  It's all New Orleans, but the two halves are very different----which is to say nothing of Algiers on the other side of the river.

You can visit Uptown if you stay with us.  Plenty of people do.  Everybody does, really, but if you stay with us, your focus should be Downtown.  Uptown, in our estimation, is a place to visit, not a place in which to stay.  YMMV.

Some of our front windows

From our house, you can walk to the French Quarter and Frenchmen Street, of course.  You can also walk to City Park and the New Orleans Museum of Art.  Further afield, off Esplanade Ridge proper, you can explore Tremé, the 7th Ward, Mid-City, and the neighborhood that is called City Park.  All of this comfortably on foot.  Most people don't do this, but those that do come back with stories that make everyone else in the room wish they had gone along for the stroll.

It's a fascinating city we live in.

When you walk around New Orleans, you'll find everyone is friendly.  Everyone says hello.  If you find yourself lost, just ask for directions.  New Orleanians know their city is confusing and they're happy to help you find your way.  It's a wonderful place in which to find oneself lost.  Home is where the heart is, and many people say that this is the first place where they felt they had nothing to fear.  Plenty of other people say the opposite, but they don't stay with us. They stay in the French Quarter.  

I would like to give another shout-out, yet again, to the Rose Manor Inn, in New Orleans' West End neighborhood.  It's a bit out of the way, but everything I know about this inn makes me respect it all the more.  They're in a different spot, out on the edge of town.  Not that there isn't anything to do there---there's plenty, and it's a historic and interesting neighborhood.  It's different from Esplanade Ridge, but there's no harm in that.  The innkeepers are top notch.  

If we happen to be full, which happens more and more these days, think about staying at the Rose Manor Inn.  Read their website, read their reviews on Trip Advisor.  Know in advance that you will be nowhere near the French Quarter.  We're not in the French Quarter, either.  If you choose to stay at the Rose Manor Inn, I predict you'll be pleasantly surprised.  You'll see a different part of New Orleans that most people never see.  There is something magnificent to be said for that.  We inhabit a magical city.

Looking lakeside on Esplanade Avenue

À votre santé,
La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.