Ugly New Orleans.

You've heard the story of the ugly duckling that became a swan.  This is the story of the ugly New Orleans that became the place where good memories that will last a lifetime are made every day.

If it quacks like a duck, it's a duck.  If it soars like a pelican, you're in a New Orleans state of mind.

Quack!  Quack!  New Orleans!

Someone noticed my eyeglasses the other day and asked if I knew where there was a good optical shop in "N'awlins."  I answered that New Orleans has a few, all of them Uptown.  I go to Art & Eyes on Magazine Street.  

"Oh, you must be new here.  It's pronounced 'N'awlins.'" she corrected me.

I said, "Ummmm, no.  People who live here say New Orleans.  We never say N'awlins.  Never.  We may write NOLA for shorthand, but we never pronounce it Nola unless we're talking about Nola.com.  It's an informal city but we call our city by its full name.  It's New Orleans.  We respect how lucky we are to live here and to be a part of this culture."

She said, "I moved here last week and I've been saying N'awlins and Nola and nobody has corrected me."

I said, "Let me guess: you're living in the Marigny right now."

She said, "I do."

Most of the alligators you'll see in New Orleans are painted, not real.

I'm not going to tell you the rest of the conversation.  If you spend enough time in New Orleans you know where this conversation concluded---on the best of terms.  

I deduced her address not only from her outlook but by how she was dressed and what she was drinking (this situation unfolded at a bar, where else in New Orleans?).  The Marigny isn't ugly New Orleans.  Far from it.  There are very few places in New Orleans that I would call outright ugly.  I'm trying to think of a neighborhood right now.  No dice.

I'm no native.  I am always up front about that.  There is no point in pretending to be something I'm not.   I am a New Englander by birth and by natural inclination.  I've made my home here in New Orleans for the past nine years.  Frau Schmitt has, too.  Frau Schmitt is the better half of this operation.

A view of authentic New Orleans.  This can be your headquarters while you visit this wonderful city we call home.

We were talking to Patrick the other day in a bar (where else) and Pat told us that we should officially be called New Orleanians.  "Us old timers know more about the city before Katrina than you do, but you know about the city after Katrina than we do.  You belong here.  You two aren't part of ugly New Orleans."  That is a real compliment.  Thanks, Pat!

Your New Orleans goodwill ambassador.

You a friend in New Orleans.  I know two of them that live on Esplanade Avenue.  You'll make more friends when you are here.  There are no strangers in New Orleans.  Everyone is a friend you haven't yet met.  

Ranked the #1 place to stay in New Orleans since April 2014 (and #2 in the U.S., and #16 in the world), La Belle Esplanade is a small craft hotel with only five spacious and unique suites.  Plan ahead early and make that reservation today.  Go to our website: LaBelleEsplanade.com. You can spend a lot of time there whetting your appetite of some authentic New Orleans adventures.  To see what we have available when you'll be in New Orleans, the "Check Availability" button is light blue and it appears in the top right of your screen.

We look forward to meeting you.

Have a great New Orleans day, today!
-La Belle Esplanade

You have two friends on Esplanade Avenue.  The best New Orleans memories are made on our street.