In a New Orleans state of mind, even the angels dream of living on Esplanade Avenue. You'll meet the friendliest people in New Orleans. There are plenty of stories in New Orleans. Some of them are true, some of them are less so. Come see for yourself.
In New Orleans, if something is possible, it’s probable, and, if it is probable——it is probably true. We live in a kaleidoscope of a city. When New Orleans is good, the city is very, very good.
Some people accuse your humble narrator of being a colorful character (in the most complimentary sense), to which he responds that in this business that's an asset. Speaking of colorful characters, did you know that New Orleans lies within the boundaries of the Barony of Axemoor? Talk about some colorful characters. Welcome to the world of the Society of Creative Anachronism. As if New Orleans didn't already have enough layers. My discovery of this explains why I sometimes see people practicing swordplay in the back corners of City Park. Within the boundaries of the the Barony of Axemoor are included New Orleans; Slidell, LA; and the Bayou Areas, whatever that last bit might mean. I assume that last bit means Delacroix, Point à la Hache, and maybe Honey Island. La Belle Esplanade, a boutique New Orleans bed and breakfast inn, lies within the heart of the Barony of Axemoor.
Macaroons!!
The Baron of Axemoor has pledged his fealty to the Lord of Gleann Abhann. New Orleans is not just a part of Louisiana, it's also a part of the Kingdom of Gleann Abhann. Should you ever be wanting to give a food gift as an act of homage to the liege of Gleann Abhann, Prince Faelan, please remember that he's anaphylactically allergic to cinnamon and just regularly allergic to avacados and bananas. Presumably avocados and bananas make his highness break out in hives without constricting his airway. Her Royal Highness and Prince Faelan's royal consort, Princess Linnett, lists Mike's Hard Cranberry Lemonade as one of her favorite beverages. Aye, 'tis a noble quaff, indeed, milady. There are other people, though, who think Mike's Hard Cranberry Lemonade is just okay. "This is something that, if somebody offers it to you at a party, you drink it to be polite..." If you would like to know what the world looks like to someone in the Society of Creative Anachronism, we've go that covered:
Kingdoms in the Known World
Something tells me that map's not to scale. What would that be? The absence of South America. This is, however, how many North Americans see the world. I've got to admit that I don't see a lot of people around New Orleans who are drinking Mike's Hard Lemonade. The six-packs in the convenience stores are all dusty. This is a cocktail town and it has been long before craft cocktails were in vogue. We even have a Museum of the American Cocktail. The Museum of the American Cocktail is part of the Southern Food and Beverage Museum (SoFAB) which recently reopened on Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard. The 91 bus, which stops right in front of our house, also stops right in front of SoFAB's new address. It's a nice ride. Frau Schmitt and I haven't been to the new SoFab location, so we're due. I'll write about it after we go. That gives you regular readers something to which you can look forward. Relevant content? Whodathunkit? Now, to wrap up today's installment, I'd like to discuss my accent because someone brought it to my attention the other day. I said to a guest, "When you call a cab, just tell them you want to go to the Quarter." Phonetically transcribed, what I really said was: "When ya call a cab, just tell em ya wanna go da de Quawdah." I sometimes correspond with guests before they arrive and they tell me that my email voice is the same as the voice I use when I write this blog. That's true. Like Popeye, I yam what I yam. That Popeye cartoon is notable for an unexpected Mahatma Gandhi cameo. Watch for it. Gandhi was Indian, after all. If you want to know how I pronounce some words, here's a link to another map. That will give you a preview of what to expect before we meet in person. When we do meet, remember, we will meet in Axemoor. À votre santé, La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.
I dreamed I was in New Orleans in my Maidenform bra. And so, on that promising note, we begin... Much like the bartenders who sling drinks at Maison Bourbon, after people live in New Orleans long enough they tend to get a little tired of hearing 'When the Saints Go Marching In.' Wherever you live, you probably don't here this song as often as New Orleanians do. I'm not saying it's a bad song. It's a great song. That's why everyone who comes to New Orleans wants to hear it. It's just that, after awhile, some people, after day after day of listening to 'When the Saints Go Marching In,' just throw up their hands and say, "Enough already!" And then again, there's the Louis Armstrong & Danny Kaye version. It's hard to get tired of that version.
I, too, dig Rachmaninoff on and off.
She did drive them wild
What got me thinking about the old Maidenform ad campaign (which ran for 20 years) was that I was walking our dog in the French Quarter the other day, and I was looking up at the balconies while the dog was sniffing the ground, which is how our walks together usually tend to proceed. Looking up at a balcony on St. Ann Street, what to my wandering eyes should appear but a shirtless man drinking coffee while wearing a bra. Maybe he dreamed he was a knockout. I don't know. I'm the type who likes to mind his own business, so I quickly looked in the other direction and tried to forget the whole thing. Naturally, I haven't forgotten it.
Now that's a knockout
All this thinking about brassieres got me to thinking about Dagmar, which, I admit, is something I sometimes do more than I should. I've provided a link to Dagmar's biography because I know you have no idea who I'm talking about. Besides being an early television star, Dagmar starred in a long-running Broadway show called Burlesque. Her co-star was Burt Lahr, who you know better as the Cowardly Lion. They were both very good in it, each complimenting the other's talents. Which leads us to the subject of burlesque in New Orleans, something which I rarely discuss in this format or any other. New Orleans has a long history of burlesque culture. It's a culture that is still alive today. So why don't I ever address this in our blog? A: Because it doesn't really interest me and you're captive to the caprices of your humble narrator. Now, thanks to a guy sitting on a balcony while wearing a bra, I'm going to write a bit about burlesque in New Orleans.
This one's my favorite
Actually, I'm not. Sorry, it's the old bait-and-switch again. At least I'm not turning the conversation to travelers' constipation this time. I'll give you a link to the "official" list of burlesque clubs in the city. This is it. Click this text. I can't make it any clearer: HERE. Why am I punting this topic over to neworleansonline.com? It's because just thinking about these places depresses me and saps out my will to write about any of them. Given the choice, I would go to see Chris Owens. And, truth be told, Frau Schmitt and I should go see Chris Owens. She sponsors an Easter parade every year and Frau Schmitt and I met her once. She is lovely, inside and out, and she is the embodiment of one facet of what makes New Orleans a great city. My second choice, The Swizzle Stick, isn't even listed, and I'm not even that keen on The Swizzle Stick. It's just that if someone asks me where to see burlesque, the first thing that pops into my mind is The Swizzle Stick. They occasionally have shows around about midnight. At least they used to. I can talk about the other places on the list. We've been to them and so have our guests, but I'd rather not commit my opinions, or what our guests tell us, to print. I'll tell you over breakfast if you're interested, though, to tell the truth, nobody has ever asked about New Orleans' burlesque culture. I'm fine with that. Now, for those of you who were too lazy to click on the link to learn who Dagmar was. Here's a picture:
Va-voom
I find it surprising that no burlesque performer goes by the name of "Dagmar Bumpers." More probably, someone does and it's only that I don't know about it. As I say, I'm not really hip to the burlesque "scene." (See how I used those quotation marks?) Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who is hip to the burlesque scene that I can ask. Rest assured, Frau Schmitt and I are real hepcats, but we aren't big fans of fan-dancing or bump-and-grind acts. We can tell you about a lot of other things, though. A lot of other things.
Mural outside the Mother-in-Law Lounge, New Orleans
You might think I'm going to finally tell you about the Mother-in-Law Lounge on North Claiborne Avenue. If you do think that, I hate to tell you that you are wrong again. I'm going to tell you about a quintessential New Orleans experience, and, at the same time, I'll tell you where I think you'll find the best oysters in the French Quarter. That's a tall order to fill.
Frau Schmitt had French class yesterday, leaving your humble narrator to his own devices. This isn't necessarily a good thing. We are in the middle of our busy season, and we are feeling a little fagged and shagged and worn out, a little frayed around the edges, a little weak and, speaking for myself, at least, a little susceptible to bad influences. I'm in the kind of mood that can lead to a little minor mischief if I'm not on my guard. I briefly let my guard down, yesterday, in a self-indulgent moment.
Let's have a little musical accompaniment to go along with today's post, shall we? From 1966, Mr. Johnny Sea:
Some things never change. Johnny Sea is still alive. He was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, about an hour and a half east on Interstate 10 from where we live. He has a website and he's now going under his birth name of John Seay, Jr.. I'm sure someone convinced him to change the spelling of his name for stage reasons, so that people would know how to pronounce it. Ernie K-Doe did the same thing. He was born Ernie Kador, Jr.
Mural of Ernie K-Dow and Allen Toussaint depicted on the side of the Mother-in-Law Lounge
Back on topic, I enjoy dining on raw oysters. Frau Schmitt does not. Since she had class yesterday, I decided to treat myself to a lunch of oysters in the French Quarter. This is the decision that led to my downfall. I was thinking of going to Acme Oyster House, which usually has a line outside that goes down the block. Yesterday afternoon was no different, even though it was a Thursday at 1:00 and there aren't any convention-goers in town that I'm aware of except for the pop culture symposium held for college librarians at the Marriott on Canal Street. The only reason I know about this is because one of the presenters at that convention is staying with us. I'm not one to wait in line, so the line outside Acme scratched that option off my list. Will I ever go to Acme? Maybe in August when we don't have many visitors to New Orleans. There shouldn't be a line then. #2 on the list was Felix's across the street from Acme. There wasn't a line outside, but there was a press of bodies inside that were pressing against the front door. It wasn't pretty. I didn't go to Felix's either. Now, I'm going to tell you a secret. Dickie Brennan's Bourbon House is on the corner of Bourbon Street and Iberville Street in the French Quarter, within spitting distance of Acme and Felix's. I always like the Bourbon House, which feels palatial inside. It is the first place Frau Schmitt and I ate at on our first afternoon in New Orleans, so many years ago. I remember it well. Just ask Frau Schmitt. I decided to try the oyster bar at the Bourbon House, and, sure enough, there was plenty of room. As I read a book and watched the shuckers go about their work, I ordered a dozen raw oysters ($15.00 this time of year). I got a shucker's dozen: thirteen succulent raw oysters with all the trimmings. They were delicious. The bartender asked me if I was finished, and I was, of course, but I was enjoying reading my book and I was enjoying the atmosphere of the oyster bar, so I said I'd like to take my time. Check back with me in ten minutes or so. It was then that a worm of desire wriggled into my brain. Dickie Brennan, according to local lore, and the blurb on the menu, likes to eat his raw oysters with caviar spooned on top. That thought occupied my mind so much that I couldn't concentrate on the book I was reading. I treated myself. When the bartender returned, I ordered a half dozen oysters with caviar (also $15.00). I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Mr. Fancy-Pants Innkeeper fritters away his afternoons eating oysters and caviar. This B&B business must pay pretty good!" Let me disillusion you, gentle reader. This does not happen every day. It was a fluke. I do often fritter away my afternoons, but it's usually by running errands for the inn or standing in line to pay my taxes at City Hall. It's very rare for me to spend $30.00 for lunch, or even to have lunch in the French Quarter, but I do what I have to do so that I can talk about it with our guests and to be able to make recommendations. Here's a recommendation: Try the oysters with caviar at the Bourbon House. They are delicious, in a different class from the regular oysters. They are excellent. It's not just the oysters and the caviar that make this platter particularly tasty. Each oyster only gets 8 or 10 tiny fish eggs on them. The shuckers dust the oysters with some kind of seasoning that looks like dry Creole mustard seeds, but isn't. It's that dusting with the caviar that take these oysters to another transcendental level. Aphrodite on the half shell. I'll get them again. Maybe next year, when I can afford them. So those are the best oysters in the French Quarter, in your humble narrator's humble opinion: oysters with caviar at the Bourbon House. Treat yourself right and order them with champagne, which I didn't do but I probably will when I get the chance. That's gonna be one decadent lunch. As long as we're having a musical review over the course of this post, here's a video of Ernie K-Doe's second-most famous song. In the United Kingdom, it may be his most famous song. It was commandeered by the Boots Pharmacy chain as their jingle a few years back. If you aren't British, Boots is the equivalent of Walgreens, CVS, and Rite-Aid all rolled up into one on the other side of the pond. Here come the girls. That soundtrack is pure K-Doe. You can see his face about 2:21 into the video, but I recommend watching the whole thing rather than skipping ahead. He really belts it out after 2:21. We live in New Orleans. We try to eat everywhere and we try to go everywhere at least once, but usually twice or thrice. We try to be able to recommend things to people who don't live in New Orleans. That's our job, to make your New Orleans adventure a memorable one in the best way. Sometimes, our days are spent like humdrum innkeepers. Other days, we live like Maurice Chevalier. I'll remember yesterday well. I lived to tell the tale. Call me Ishmael. À votre santé, La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.
That isn't a picture of our lobby. Ours is more intimate. It's more quirky. The ceilings in our lobby are 12 and a half feet, which is much lower than what's pictured above. It's also less sterile. It's a kind of museum of knickknacks and curiosities, a dime museum sort of vibe, like something you'd find off the Bowery if the Bowery was lined with beautiful Creole mansions on a beautiful street in New Orleans. Our lobby is something else altogether. It's more homey, more humble, more colorful...and we don't provide any pictures of it. You have to wait to get here.
Mitchell J. Landrieu, Mayor of New Orleans
You might think that we bump into the Mayor of New Orleans every other week or so, but that isn't the case. He's busy, after all, as we are, too. We're on friendly terms, though. When we do meet, he always shakes our hands. We aren't on a first name basis. We call him Mayor Landrieu. He calls me Mr. King when he's talking to me, and he calls Frau Schmitt, Frau Schmitt, when he's talking to her. He's a very likable fellow.
Clouds over City Park Avenue, New Orleans
I'm not going to tell you that the sun always shines in New Orleans, but it's been shining a lot recently. Every day is a happy day.
The old Rosenberg's building on Tulane Avenue, New Orleans
Today's post is just a little this and that and what not. Odds and ends. It's been a very busy month in New Orleans. The weather is good. There is plenty going on. It's hard to tell this season from any other except that it's rather mild and maybe even a little more congenial than usual. Rosenberg's, like many things in New Orleans, "ain't dere no more." Yet, in a way, it is. There are plenty of things that have stopped existing physically in this city, but they are still here in spirit. It's a magical place. You'll find out when you get here. Until then, À vote santé, La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.
I know what you're thinking. You're thinking how long can he drag out this "New Orleans Hotel vs. New Orleans B&B" series? Probably to a part IV. Sometimes, it's a long slog to cover all the bases, but it's worth it when you finally reach home. I know what else you're thinking. You're thinking why is he using the same pictures from last post? What do these pictures have to do with anything, anyway? I could give you the easy answer, tell you I'm lazy, but that isn't it. I have my reasons. I'm an artiste. It doesn't have to make sense.
Does voodoo work?
So, if this your first time reading our blog and you don't know what's going on, here's the skinny: a recent guest from Iowa, of all places, sent me a comparison of what it was like to stay at La Belle Esplanade B&B and what it was like to stay at the Hyatt down in the Central Business District. She kindly gave her permission to reprint it here. I'm doing it in installments. Why installments? I'm a little light on material at the moment---plus, I'm an artiste. Timing is everything.
Voodoo works
Hotel: Free water if you turned on the tap in the bathroom. Everything else cost money. They nickel-and-dimed us after we checked in. B&B: A small refrigerator stocked with a complementary selection of local beer, some wine, some juice, a bottle of New Orleans own sweet Big Shot soda, a carafe of filtered water, and some whatnot like a praline. Hotel: A large screen TV. B&B: A small TV with basic cable. We never turned it on. In New Orleans, life is too interesting for TV. Hotel: Industrial carpet glued to a cement floor. B&B: Refinished original hardwood floors worn smoothly dimpled by uncountable tiptoed footsteps since 1883. No splinters, either. Hotel: Standard furniture designed to pack tightly into a Chinese shipping container. Furniture store art. B&B: Lovely antiques mixed with some comfortable modern pieces. It wasn't grandma's house, but it wasn't pre-fabricated, either. Historical prints mixed with original oil paintings by a local artist we got to meet. Hotel: No surprises. B&B: One delightful discovery after another. Personality.
Joy Theater, Canal Street, New Orleans
I'll be honest with you, the inside of the Saenger Theater on Canal Street is breathtaking. The sign outside is a showstopper, too, but I still prefer the Joy Theater. When those three letters light up over the marquee, I always think, "This is New Orleans." I even think this during broad daylight. For me, the Joy marquee sums up the city. I still prefer the inside of the Saenger, and Frau Schmitt agrees with me. She is usually right about these things. They did a bang-up job in there. If you ever have a chance just to go into the lobby, you should. The Joy, not so much. So, there is still one thing left to compare between staying at a New Orleans hotel and staying in a New Orleans B&B (our much anticipated conclusion). This list doesn't apply to all B&Bs, of course, only the one in which our far-flung correspondent spent her too-short time in this magical city we call home. To learn what that is, tune back in later this week. Until then... A votre santé, La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.
There are plenty of nice places to stay in New Orleans
Let me admit at the outset that I'm biased. Let me also point out that a bed and breakfast experience may not be the best fit for everyone visiting New Orleans. There is someone in our neighborhood who illegally rents out a house nearby. This weekend, he or she had rented it out to a group of hip hop promoters. They are nice enough, but they parked their trucks on the front lawn and made enough commotion for me to notice that someone had taken over the corner house and the corner was not as peaceful [empty] as it normally is. That house sleeps 12-16 and rents, illegally, for $1000 a night. Needless to say, it is rarely rented out for romantic getaways or by thoughtful people looking for an authentic New Orleans experience in a real neighborhood. The usual clientele can be distilled in two words: frat party. They usually aren't too much bother. They spend all night on Bourbon Street and all day passed out and snoring.
Where thoughtful people choose to stay in a real New Orleans neighborhood
Anyhow, one of the other house's temporary tenants was banging on our front door. "How much does a room go for, here?" he asked. "It depends on the season," I answered. "How about tonight?" he asked. "We don't have anything tonight. It's Valentine's weekend. It's a busy time now." "Yeah, it's busy. The NBA All-Stars are in town, too," he told me. I already knew that. 50,000 extra people are in town for this, along with star crossed lovers and people celebrating honeymoons and anniversaries. Krewe de Vieux and Krewe Delusion are also parading tonight, kicking Mardi Gras season into full swing. Nice timing for everything all around. "We've got some friends coming at the last minute and they're going to have to sleep on our floor," he told me. "Are you sure you don't have any openings?" he asked. Unfortunately, we have been booked up for months. We are a small boutique operation. We only have five two-room suites available. I don't want to dissuade anyone, but we can only offer our inn five suites a night. Any more and we would be breaking the law. We don't rent out the storeroom. The best way to check availability is through our website, which is being updated as I write this. The worst way to check availability is to bang on our front door. We'll be unveiling the new website in about two weeks if you choose to follow this blog that long.
New furniture in our Clio Suite
If you can't stay at La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast, we want to direct you to bbnola.com, the official site of the Professional Innkeepers of New Orleans (PIANO). If we are full, you can find bed and breakfast accommodations for the dates you'll be staying there. Check us first, of course, but if you want to go there first, our availability will also show up. We're card-carrying members. We are professionals. We are also members of the Convention and Tourism Bureau. If you want to stay somewhere illegally, there is always airbandb. There is an interesting article on Slate that details the pernicious influence of illegal rentals on property values and the fabric of neighborhoods. A lot of cities are starting to prosecute the websites that list these "share rentals." New Orleans is, too, in its usual way: inefficiently and ineffectively. I admit that before we became professional innkeepers, when I was just a guy on the street looking for a cheap deal instead of a good deal, I was attracted to the "sharing economy." If you don't mind sleeping in a room where a woman was murdered, short term rental listings may be for you. Nobody has ever been murdered at La Belle Esplanade. It is an unhaunted place full of good memories. We don't rent our inn out to sleep 12-16 drunken frat boys. So, if you are 12-16 drunken frat boys, or 6-8 drunken frat boys with 6-8 drunken sorority sisters, or any mix in between that I don't want to think about, we aren't the place for you. Try airbandb or vrbo (vacation rental by owner) or craigslist. I'm not going to link to them. You know how to find them. If you are older or more mature and you want a catered concierge introduction to New Orleans, we are ready to host you as guests in our boutique bed and breakfast inn. Not tenants. Not customers. Not a sideline income stream, but as guests in our city in our neighborhood, and in our home. It is a labor of love. Home is where the heart is.
6F Clio Suite front door
I fully realize that legitimate rentals are offered on short-term "sharing" rental listing websites. I also know that illegal rentals that look legitimate list there. They are beautiful properties and they are less expensive than professional inns. There is one in our neighborhood a few blocks away. They are less expensive than we are. Want to know why? When we got our permit from the city, we had to conform to local zoning for our neighborhood. We were inspected by the City of New Orleans Department of Safety and Permits. We have a working sprinkler system throughout the house and our fire extinguishers are inspected and certified annually. We are licensed food handlers who keep our credentials up to date through continuing education. I am a professional tour guide licensed by the City of New Orleans. We run an inn because this is our chosen career. We are not renting out rooms to fleece gullible people looking for a deal. We pay taxes as responsible citizen business owners. Everything is transparent and on the books. We do offer a deal. When you stay with us, or any other licensed bed and breakfast in New Orleans, you are getting more than sweet dreams. We are not the cheapest option but we try to be the best option. We know you are spending hard-earned money to stay with us. We want you to leave feeling your money was well spent.
Breakfast for three
You can spend as much per night staying at the Roosevelt Hotel. We've never stayed at the Roosevelt Hotel, but I tell everyone that if they are in that neighborhood, they should at least walk through the lobby. It's beautiful. We had lunch in the Fountain Lounge the other day. It was wonderful. If I were visiting New Orleans, I wouldn't necessarily want to stay in the Roosevelt Hotel, though. It is top of the line. You get what you pay for and you pay what you expect. At La Belle Esplanade, you get what you pay for, and you get things you don't expect. It's a boutique operation. We are just two people who love our city and we want to share that with you in a way that makes good memories. If you are interested, you know where to find us. We're right in the middle of Esplanade Avenue, one of the most beautiful streets in New Orleans. I can't say that about the Roosevelt Hotel.
The trumpet flower tree is in full bloom in our back garden. It blooms a couple of times a year, whenever it feels like it is time. It is a beautiful plant. Everyone comments on it. It usually blooms when good things happen at our inn, like now. This week, we had a lovely couple from merrye olde Englande visit us. They were on their honeymoon. They arrived in the States last week and drove around the storied South visiting cities known for their music. Before they reached New Orleans, they had stayed in Nashville, Memphis, and Clarksdale, MS. "What's in Clarksdale?" I asked. "There was a festival," they told me. "If it weren't for the festival, there would be very little." They stayed for three days and when they left they wished they could have stayed longer. There next stop was Birmingham, AL, which isn't known for its music, but it is halfway to the airport they need to reach to fly home. Happy trails. As we were saying our goodbyes, they told me, "This is the nicest place we've stayed at." They didn't just mean New Orleans, though the city itself is a wonderful place. I am sure I have mentioned this before, but New Orleans really is magic, especially our part of town. "We want to come back for our anniversary," they told me. That will be nice.
From the Basin Street Visitors Center
There are a couple of good ways to see New Orleans and none of them involve spending all your time in the French Quarter. The city is much bigger than that. We are about a 20-25 minute walk from the Quarter and we recommend people see it. We do not recommend people spend all their time there. Some do, but most of the people who stay with us do not. We live right in the middle of Esplanade Avenue, between the Quarter and City Park. When people ask us to recommend a restaurant, we suggest walking up our street toward City Park. There are six restaurants in that direction and none of them are a dud. It is very hard to get a bad meal in the French Quarter, but it is really very hard to get a bad meal anywhere in the city, including the hot plate counters located in almost every corner grocery store. Two of our guests just gave us a tip on some succulent turkey necks at a joint uptown.
Basel, Switzerland Polizei
When policemen travel from Basel, Switzerland, they like to exchange tokens with their hosts. We happen to have had a policeman and his lovely partner stay with us. He gifted us with an official fob on a lanyard so that if I'm ever in Basel I'll know to dial 112 in case of emergency instead of 911. It is hanging off the mirror in our lobby. We meet the nicest people from all over the world. Good guests make good company. Being an innkeeper is a pleasant profession. We haven't had a day off since the middle of September, but we aren't complaining. As I say, good guests make good company, whether they are from New York, Denver, Quebec, Istanbul, Tennessee or Wakefield. The more the merrier.
Menu at Club Carribean
I was walking the dog the other night and Club Caribbean, on Bayou Road, was just gearing up for the night. They weren't featuring a band, only a DJ. Imagine: jerk fish with seafood pasta for only $10.00, and there's a DJ, and it is a happy night in New Orleans. I don't know where you live, but I would rather be here. There was a wedding at the Degas House.
Wedding at the Degas House
We don't host weddings at La Belle Esplanade, but we'll be happy to rent you a room is you are attending a wedding at the Degas House. It is just a block away. Club Caribbean is two blocks. As I mentioned last post, we went to see Prairie Home Companion at the Saenger Theater.
Lobby at the Saenger Theater
It's been a busy week on our stretch of Esplanade Avenue, thankfully so. Good guests make good company. We hosted a number of academics here for a Middle East studies conference, honeymooners, business travelers, a couple visiting their daughter for her first semester at Tulane University, a couple out on a last pleasure jaunt while they await the latest addition to their family, a film director, a Swiss policeman, a marketing researcher, a banker, a baker, and a plumber and his wife, and two vegetarians. The conversation around the breakfast table has been robust and enlightening, and that's not counting my contributions. When in New Orleans, do as the New Orleanians do.
The Basin Street Vistors Center
Spending time of Bourbon Street is like a stag party. Spending time in the rest of the city is like a honeymoon. A votre santé, La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.
We ate in the grooviest restaurant in Hot Springs, AR last week. If you want to know where innkeepers go on vacation, look no further than the map of Arkansas. Sometimes, you just want to take a bath. The City of Hot Springs is, of course, home to Hot Springs National Park. We stayed in a bed and breakfast. We took at bath at the Buckstaff Bath House. I could go there twice a day for the next week. It was much better than the Quapaw.
The Buckstaff at night
The Buckstaff was one of the best things in Hot Springs. Something else that was good was Maxwell Blade's magic show. These are two things you cannot find in New Orleans. Want to know something else about Hot Springs, AR?
Hometown of Bill Clinton
I always say that 6 days and 7 nights is the ideal amount of time to spend on a visit to New Orleans. You don't see everything, but you see just enough to make you want to come back for more. Two days and three nights is about the right amount of time to enjoy Hot Springs without getting bored. That includes trips to Mt. Ida, Ouachita, and the Garvan Woodland Gardens. If you find yourself in Hot Springs, do yourself a favor and have dinner at Angel's in the Park. The food isn't the best, but the atmosphere is tops. Like the chef at Angel's on Central Avenue told us, the one in the park is classier. She was right.
We were booked full this weekend for Essence Fest. A wonderful group of women stayed with us. Good company makes good guests, the same way that good guests make good company. There wasn't a sour crawfish in the pound. They had to leave today, which meant we didn't have to clean rooms from top-to-bottom right away. Playing hooky, we headed down to the Convention Center to catch the festival's last day. We don't go to Jazz Fest because we can't really justify the cost of a ticket for the amount of time we will be able to spend there during our busy season. The daytime events during Essence Fest, however, are free. I didn't bring my camera. It was charging. It has been a busy weekend. Because our street is so quiet, even though it is close to all the action, we didn't realize how many people were in town this weekend. We don't usually go to the Central Business District. It was our first Essence Fest, though this is our third year living here. I always say four, but Frau Schmitt makes me do the math and she is right, as she usually is about these things. There were tent vendors set up all along Poydras Street. The sidewalks of the CBD were crowded on a Sunday. You can't say that every day. We took our scooters, naturally, and we took a wrong turn before Convention Center Boulevard. Good thing. The lakeside streets weren't as congested. We parked unobtrusively on the sidewalk. where we wouldn't be in anybody's way, and we joined the crowd headed to the Convention Center. It was crowded in the Convention Center in a very good way. No wonder so many people come to New Orleans over Independence Day weekend. If you are wondering about today's photo, I forgot my camera. I chose a picture of Henriette Delille, because I had to give directions this week to the Backstreet Cultural Museum. We looked at the map. "It is here on the last street before North Rampart," I marked it with my pen. "The map says St. Claude Street, but they changed the name about a year ago. It is Henriette Delille Street, now. Bear right on Bayou Road and keep going. It turns into Governor Nicholls. Right after The Tomb of the Unknown Slave, turn uptown, left." The street is now named after Ven. Henriette Delille, who is the first native-born African-American to be considered for canonization. Until the maps catch up, it is a pain in the neck to give directions, but most people agree that it is a change for the better. A votre sante, La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.
Esplanade Avenue, which runs about three miles long, passes through a number of neighborhoods. It is the dividing line between the First Municipality and the Third Municipality, between the 6th Ward and the 7th Ward; it is part of the French Quarter, of Faubourg Marigny, of Historic Treme and Greater Treme, of Bayou St. John; it is a world unto its own, one of the most beautiful streets in New Orleans. Essence Fest 2014 is coming to New Orleans between July 4 and 7. Music and culture will be highlighted for three memorable days. Where else but in New Orleans? Organizers predict that 400,000 people will visit our fair city for Essence Fest. Hotels expect to be full. More than a few don't have any rooms available four months in advance. La Belle Esplanade, a historic New Orleans bed and breakfast inn, is located in the middle of Esplanade Avenue, in Treme. As of this writing, we still have some suites available. If you are thinking of coming to Essence Fest, the time to make a reservation is now. Please visit our website. Don't call on July 1. We'll be booked up, just like everyplace else. A votre sante.
I was sitting on the front stoop of our historic New Orleans bed and breakfast inn this morning, just watching the world go by. On one of the more picturesque streets in the city, there is plenty traffic, vehicular and bipedal, passing riverside to lakeside, or from City Park to the Faubourg Marigny. A tour bus passed and I waved. A bicycle tour paused at Gayarre Place across the street and I waved when the guide pointed in my direction. The 91 Bus pulled up to its stop on the corner and a matronly lady wearing pearls and carrying a clutch purse stepped off.
The corner of Esplanade Avenue and North Miro Street
She walked up to the statue of Clio that stands on its pedestal in Gayarre Place and then she looked in my direction. She waved at me through the oak trees that line our street.
The view from Gayarre Place
"Bonjour, Matthieu. Do you speak French?" she said after walking over. "Bonjour, ma gentille femme. No, I don't. How do you know my name?" I offered my right hand, ready to deliver the firm kind of shake that denotes honest character. She insisted on exchanging kisses on each cheek, so we did that instead. "I've read about you on l'internet," she said. We've had some new reviews posted on Trip Advisor and this nice lady from Quebec had read them while staying in her hotel on Canal Street. She has been in New Orleans for a week. She told me that while she loves the city, she wished she had booked a room somewhere a little further from the French Quarter and the Convention Center. She was sitting alone at breakfast at her hotel this morning when she decided to see what other options were available besides the international chain hotels that dominate the market. She logged onto the site of the Professional Innkeepers Association of New Orleans and the picture of La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast caught her eye. "C'est la maison orange avec des volets bleus," she said. It caught her eye, so she read our reviews. "Qui est correct," I replied. "It's the orange house with blue shutters." As our guests, and regular readers, and casual skimmers of this blog who have scrolled through the archives, know, our bed and breakfast has only been open since September, 2012. As of this writing, we are ranked #26 out of the 148 New Orleans B&Bs listed on Trip Advisor. It has been a steady and pleasant climb. We are proud of what we've accomplished over the past couple of months.
A very orange house
2216 Esplanade Avenue is downtown in the New Orleans sense. It is on the "north" side of Canal Street. It is not in the French Quarter and it is not in the Central Business District. It is very nice in our part of the city. It is close to the "action" while being a part what passes for peace and quiet in New Orleans. Somebody is happy on every street in New Orleans at every hour of any day. When you are happy, you have to dance. Two of the most prestigious bed and breakfasts in New Orleans are one block away on either side of us: The Degas House and Ashton's. Also in our neighborhood are the excellently rated, HH Whitney House, and the Five Continents Bed and Breakfast. Though our website isn't fancy, La Belle Esplanade is in good company. The people who stay with us seem to think so.
Our Lady of Dourgenois
To our guests who have written reviews on Trip Advisor and on BedandBreakfast.com, Frau Schmitt and your humble narrator have only two words: Thank you. To our guests who have not written online reviews, we also have two words: Thank you. It has been our pleasure to serve as your hosts during your stay. The lady from Quebec and I sat in the lobby for awhile. She asked me where she should go for dinner for a real New Orleans meal. I recommended Liuzza's, as I always do. Roll a world map out on the floor and connect these cities: Little Rock, Arkansas; Sydney, Australia; Stockholm, Sweden; Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. I have recommended Liuzza's to people from all over who live within that quadrangle, and nobody has been disappointed yet. Not a bad record for a six months. The lady from Quebec said she was going to Liuzza's tonight. "Vous ne le regretterez pas," I told her. She won't regret it. She is planning on visiting New Orleans again next year, for Jazz Fest. She plans to stay at La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.
The sun always shines on Esplanade Avenue
"I look forward to seeing you again, then," I told her, and I meant it. "Make sure you book directly through our website: whaleheadking.com." With that, we parted company, kissing cheeks again. She looked at the inn again, "If only I had known," she sighed in perfect French. A votre sante
