Sweet New Orleans

 Spend some time in New Orleans and the good memories will stay with you until death do you part.  New Orleans is a multi-layered wedding cake of surprises.  It is sweet and gooey on the inside.  New Orleans will stick with you through thick and thin.  There is a reason there is no such thing as a jelly beignet.  There isn't any need for it in sweet, sweet New Orleans.  You don't put red gravy on gumbo, do you?

Crab beignets are delicious, though.  So are crawfish beignets.  I've never been a fan of the plain beignet, and by plain I mean piled high with powdered sugar.  I tend to steer clear of beignet shops that purchase powdered sugar by the truckload.  I like a savory pastry.  Call me crazy but there is room for everyone of every inclination in New Orleans.

New Orleans is both savory and sweet, if you have the tooth for either. Even sweet New Orleans has bite.  What you think of as spicy, we call piquant.

Every day is effervescent.  A day in New Orleans is like spending time in Heaven on the installment plan.  Nobody ever says their visit is too long.  You know you want to move here.  Be careful what you wish for.  It has been the downfall of many a young man.

If the seductive city of New Orleans doesn't charm you, you could use a chuckle.  

Can I tell you what a day in the real New Orleans is like?  I can't.  You have to live New Orleans on your own terms to get to know it.  Firsthand is best.  You'll never forget your first full day in New Orleans.

There is tourist New Orleans and there is the rest of New Orleans.  Which is more real?  I have my New Orleans and you will have yours.  They will overlap but nobody experiences New Orleans the same as anyone else.  New Orleans tells you what you need to hear.  Buck up.

Be yourself.

Sweet, sweet New Orleans, Queen City of America.  The Big Easy.  The Wet Grave.  

We live in a kaleidoscope of a city, like Peter Fonda in St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, like The Princess And the Frog.

The more you look, the more you'll see and the more you see, the more you'll get confused.  Crazy New Orleans.  Sweet New Orleans.  In a New Orleans state of mind, everything that might have been is as good as done and it will all be good as purple, green, and gold when everything is said and done.  How could it be otherwise?  You're in New Orleans.  Everything that should be good will be good.

If you've got something pressing on your mind, I know just the cure.  Come to New Orleans.  

No one has a headache in New Orleans, unless they wake up after spending their whole night on Bourbon Street.  Stay away from the jello shots.

If you have a song in your heart and you are ready for love, let the stormy clouds chase everyone else from the place but get your good self down here to New Orleans.  You belong here.

How do I know you belong here? I live here.  If you've read this far, you belong here.  Trust me.  You belong on Esplanade Avenue.

This blog is sponsored by La Belle Esplanade.

La Belle Esplanade a five-suite B&B hotel that has been ranked by TripAdvisor as the #1 place to stay in New Orleans (and all of Louisiana) every month since April 2014.  You deserve the best New Orleans you can get.  La Belle Esplanade will be here for you.