New Orleans Is Full of Sly Magic.

New Orleans is full of sly magic

There is a subtle perturbation in the atmosphere in New Orleans, a hum in the back of your ears, something below the substance that is more spirit than solid or liquid or gas.  There are occult powers at work along this city's sinews.  Phantasmagoria and fantasia, both and neither; terra firma, terra incognita and terra sigillata.  Is it any wonder that we love where we live?

When you spend enough time in New Orleans, you get a little discombobulated, then your balance readjusts, your tympanic membranes get used to the on-key pressure, and your pineal gland recalibrates.  Then, everything seems right in the world for long stretches along Esplanade Avenue, or St. Claude Avenue, or St. Bernard Avenue, or Carrolton Avenue, or Dumaine Street, or Washington Avenue, or along South Galvez Street, well, heck, along just about any byway or alleyway in the city, even Pirates' Alley or Duels Street.  Stay here long enough and you'll get spoiled for living anywhere else.

It really is magical in New Orleans.  Ask anyone.

It isn't voodoo, per se.  It's the voodoo that the people who live here do.  It's hard to put your finger on what makes New Orleans different, but you can always feel the pulse.  Everybody eats red beans on Mondays.  Why?  We don't ask that kind of question.  Like the Mardi Gras Indians, and everyone else who calls New Orleans home, we just do what we do because that's what we do.

'Nuff said about that.  Try to pin a butterfly down with enough description and words and, before you realize it, the butterfly has flown away.

Wanna see a rare picture of Frau Schmitt?

The nicest person you will ever meet

We went to see China Lights in City Park last night.  Wanna see a picture of a dragon?

Dragon over the oleander

China Lights is a big exhibit of silk sculptures lit from the inside.  We've seen the sculptures during the day and, let me tell you, they are much more impressive at night.  They're impressive during the day, but at night, they're magic.  It wasn't cheap to get in but it was worth the price of admission.  That's the way with most things.  Who dares to tally an epiphany's value?

Not quite the whole dragon

China Lights runs until May 1.  Even when nothing is happening in New Orleans, officially, something is always happening.  That's why we love where we live, off the record and off the radar and off the charts.  There is never a dull moment.  You can come to New Orleans any time of year, at any time of day, and you'll find something happening.  It's that kind of a place.  Its texture is rich and dense, full of portents and magic and dazzle and sizzle, fo'  shizzle.

If you don't know what it means to miss New Orleans, that's because you haven't spent enough time here, yet.  Stay for a couple days, embed yourself in the back streets outside the French Quarter, outside the Garden District, off the usual tourist maps and tourist traps.  You'll fall in love.  New Orleans is full of sly magic.

If you are considering a visit, we'd be pleased if you choose to make our colorful and humble inn your headquarters and base of operations for the duration of your stay.  We know a lot about New Orleans magic.  Reserve a suite early.  We are a small boutique operation that offers customized recommendations and accommodations.  You'll know what we mean when you get here.  Stay with us and you might just be spoiled from staying anywhere else.  It's not our vacation, though.  You can always stay down the street.  

I always say you should read an inn's blog to get an idea of what the place is about.  I can't say ours is always useful, in fact we've installed a poll to measure this somewhere toward the bottom of the column to your right.  Feel free to vote if you are so inclined.

New Orleans is a city full of sly magic.

À votre santé,
La Belle Esplanade
...where every morning is a curated New Orleans breakfast salon.