The Totally Bearable Lightness of New Orleans.

Just as it is almost impossible to have a bad meal in New Orleans, it is likewise almost impossible to have a bad day.  No matter what incidents occur in any given 24 hours, an argument with your boss at work, a messy break-up, ten scratch-off lottery tickets that all went bust, a worm in your papaya, there is no such thing as a totally bad day in New Orleans.  Something good happens every day that will turn your frown upside-down and make you smile.

Smiling is the natural facial expression of a person who lives in New Orleans.  An easy laugh, a comradely chuckle, a snicker to some stray notion that crosses your mind, chortling at a pelican as it swallows a fish in Bayou St. John, the antics of ducks or turtles or ibises in City Park at the end of Esplanade Avenue----all the city is a parade of frivolity and conviviality.  There are no strangers in New Orleans.  There are only friends you haven't yet met.

The sun always shines in New Orleans, even when it's raining.  Let a smile be your umbrella.

No one who lives in New Orleans is a perpetual sourpuss.  It is impossible.  When you laugh, the whole city laughs with you.  When you cry, you cry alone.  No one is lonely in New Orleans.  Ours is The City That Care Forgot.  Wile away a few hours, strolling the streets, sitting in a barroom, dining on a dozen oysters, visiting a shrine or church, catching up with the neighbors.  Love makes the world go 'round.  It makes New Orleans go 'round, too.  What goes up must come down but New Orleans defies gravity.  Every day in New Orleans is always on an upward trajectory. Life is different here.

Life is better in New Orleans.  Everyone here lives in a New Orleans state of mind where the improbably is possible and the good things are possible come true.  It can happen to you.

How do I know?  I live here.  Not only that, but, I'm an innkeeper.  I see it happen everyday.  As a New Orleans goodwill ambassador, my job is to introduce people the The New Orleans State of Mind.  No one ever says their visit is too long.   It is always too short.  There is no such thing as too much New Orleans.  You'll see when you get here.  You'll leave hungry, wanting more New Orleans in your life.

--- If you are looking for someplace to stay when you visit New Orleans, I happen to be an innkeeper.  I run the #1-ranked place to stay in New Orleans (it's been #1 since April 2014 according to TripAdvisor).  You could do a lot worse.  Believe me.  You can choose a lot worse.  If you are looking to experience authentic New Orleans off the usual tourist radar, you know where to find us: in the bright orange house with blue shutters on Esplanade Avenue: La Belle Esplanade.

You have two friends on Esplanade Avenue.  When you're ready to experience the real New Orleans, we live in a very interesting neighborhood on a beautiful street.  We're here for you.