Lonely Planet's Top Pick for Tremé

The three most colorful houses on Esplanade Avenue in New Orleans, LA

I've been shopping for new eyeglasses.  I'm nearsighted, which means I do not wear glasses to read, but I do wear them to drive or, even, to walk around town in order to see what I'm walking towards.  While I like surprises, I don't like walking up to a McDonald's drive-thru on Canal Street when I think I'm going to Dis and Dem on Banks Street.

Dis and Dem on Banks Street, New Orleans, LA

At Art & Eyes, a rather pricey but very tasteful optical shop on Magazine Street, Meredith was showing me frames and she kept showing me black frames and brown frames and dark blue frames.  I said, "I'm not afraid of color.  Do you know the three colorful houses on Esplanade Avenue between Broad and Claiborne Avenues?"  Meredith said, "You mean on the uptown side of the 2200 block?"  I said, "Yes."  She said, "Yes, I know them.  Is that where you live?"  I said yes again.  She brought out the most colorful frames she had in the shop.

I still haven't made a decision.  Whether or not new eyeglasses are in my future is a matter still left up to fate. 

Regular readers who have been following La Belle Esplanade's saga for awhile will remember when the lovely lady writer from the Lonely Planet Guide came to visit our inn.  This was an unsolicited visit by us, as all of our positive (and negative) publicity is.

I just picked up a copy of the 2016 Lonely Planet Guide for New Orleans.  You can get your own copy, too, and I recommend it.  I don't always agree with the recommendations, but they are generally spot-on.

A line drawing of our inn

What don't I agree with about the Lonely Planet's recommendations?  The book says that if you want to stay in our neighborhood, a car is required.  Very, very few of our guests arrive with a car.  Those that do usually drive here from Texas or some other nearby state and they leave their car parked in front of our inn for the duration of their stay.  

We are located under a mile from the French Quarter in one direction and about one mile from City Park in the other direction.  Our neighborhood is full of details and surprises that you'll never notice from your car window.  New Orleans is a city best experienced on foot.  In that sense, we live in a pedestrian city.  That isn't to say that it's boring here.  Far from it.  It's delightful here.

Illustration from the Crescent City Bike Tours brochure

I mentioned what the Lonely Planet Guide said about needing a car to Kristine from Crescent City Bike Tours while she had a bike tour stopped across the street from our inn.  She was talking about the three colorful houses on the uptown side of the 2200 block of Esplanade Avenue, as she often does when she pedals visitors down our street.  I like Kristine, as most people do, and, whenever I see her leading a tour I'll often amble across the street to chitchat and catch up and to trade a little harmless idle gossip.

When I told her that the Lonely Planet thinks visitors need a car to visit our part of the city, Kristine said, "What!?!  We didn't take a car to get here!"  That makes sense since she's in the bicycle rental business and all her party were astride one-speed cruisers.  

She continued, addressing the people on her tour, "As much as I recommend taking a bike around New Orleans, walking really is the best way to enjoy the city.  There is so much to see here, especially in this part of town."  In this case Kristine was very much like Frau Schmitt.  Kristine, like Frau Schmitt, was right.

I can't vouch for everything Kristine says though she is a very accurate tour guide.  I'll never quibble about her professional ethics while I can quibble, and I often do, about some of the things I overhear said by other tour guides in our neighborhood.  In this instance though, like Frau Schmitt, Kristine is definitely in the right.  Kristine added, "I would never rent a car if I was staying here and, believe you me, if I was visiting New Orleans, I would stay at La Belle Esplanade.  It's the Number One Bed and Breakfast in the City."

Kristine was right about that, too.  We've been rated the #1 B&B on Trip Advisor for 21 months now, since April 2014.  We're hoping to set a two-year record in that coveted slot (21 months is already a record).  Time will tell.  I hope I didn't just jinx us.  We don't pay to be rated number one.  It is all based on the honest reviews our guests have written about their stay at La Belle Esplanade.

The bedroom in our Clio Suite

Bidding Kristine and her tour group adieu, I settled into one of the antique chairs in our lobby and flipped open the 2016 Lonely Planet Guide to New Orleans to page 186.  On page 186, La Belle Esplanade is listed as the Top Choice place to say in Tremé and/or Mid-City.  Here is what page 186 says:

"A little quirky, a little saucy, and the co-owner wears a jaunty fedora --- a devil-may-care touch that ties the whole colorful shebang together.  Furnishings in the five themed suites vary but look for chunky headboards, plush chairs, Gibson girl portraits and claw foot tubs.  Bright, monochromatic walls keep it all pretention-free.  Savor crawfish pie and other tasty Southern fare for breakfast. 

"There's a small Museum of Curiosities in the entryway.  The fedora-wearing co-owner writes a very amusing blog for the B&B's website; and the place is a ten-minute walk from the Jazz Fest grounds."

When Amy, the Lonely Planet writer, stopped by, we gave her a full tour of the house so she saw every suite.  She ran her finger over some of the headboards, checking for dust.  Spotless.  If I had written the write-up, I would have emphasized different aspects of the inn, but she did a judicious job of describing what we offer here.  A tip of my jaunty fedora her way for a job done well.  Thanks, Amy!  You are welcome to come back anytime.  Next time, stay with us.  You'll have to pay the going rate, of course.  As I've tried to make clear above, we do not solicit paid endorsements and we do not try to influence what anyone has to say about their experience at our inn.  We do our utmost to exceed expectations and to share all the reasons why we are in love with this magical city we call home.  Honesty, as it always has been, is the best policy.

Who was that jaunty co-owner Amy was writing about?  He is none other than your humble narrator:

One of La Belle Esplanade's two innkeepers

If you are bored in New Orleans, it most probably isn't the city's fault.  I don't like to judge, but if you don't like your time in New Orleans, it says more about your own state of mind than it does about the endless delights New Orleans has to offer.  It's magical here; it's pure magic.

I could write more about this topic all night but you have other things to do than keep reading.  I know it's spellbinding, but let's move on to the next thing in our day-to-day lives, shall we?  This blog has some pretty deep archives so there is plenty more to peruse if you choose to.  Keep checking in regularly if your appetite isn't satisfied by reading the archives.  There is nothing worse than a dead blog so your humble narrator tries to keep things freshly updated regularly, whether the content is noteworthy or not.

One of those things you should be doing instead of reading old blog posts, or more recent ones, is you should be planning your trip to New Orleans.  What are you waiting for?  Now you know where you should stay and it isn't just the Lonely Planet Guide that thinks so.  We are a small boutique operation that caters to people who want to feel at home in New Orleans.  Home is where the heart is.  You'll like our part of the city and you won't need a car.  Trust me on this.  Frau Schmitt, like Kristine, would agree.

Until we meet in person,
à votre santé,
La Belle Esplanade
...where the rest comes easy.