Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.

We are just simple micro-hoteliers here at La Belle Esplanade.  I know more than one person just spit coffee out their nose when they read that sentence.  To be honest, Frau Schmitt, who is the better half of this operation, is the nicest person you will ever meet, and I, your humble narrator, am a raconteur extraordinaire (I didn't give myself that moniker), a dandy, and a man-about-New Orleans. La Belle Esplanade, the small artisanal hotel we run, is ranked highly on TripAdvisor, and we know it is unlike any other hotel, but we don't like feeling too big for our britches.  Price is what you pay.  Value is what you get.  La Belle Esplanade is no Hilton.  

That's a good thing, too:

La Belle is the orange house in the middle.

I don't like to boast or to brag, and, even though I usually post our TripAdvisor award badges at the end of each post, I don't think too much of them.  Not that I dislike them, mind you.  Frau Schmitt and I are humbled that La Belle has been ranked the #1 place to stay in New Orleans since April 2014.  And, we are even more humbled to be counted among the 0.0001% of hotels awarded the Travelers' Choice Award every year.  For those of you who don't know, this award is bestowed on the top 25 places to stay in each country and then the top 25 in the whole world.  We've been named the #2 place to stay in the United States and the #16 place to stay in the world.  Price is what you pay.  Value is what you get.

That said, the wall next to our breakfast buffet table is starting to look a little TripAdvisor heavy.  We don't really need all these framed certificates to go all the way to the ceiling.  We have twelve-and-a-half foot ceilings in the house:

Sure, there's still empty space but when is enough enough?

We just got two more certificates in the mail today: our 2019 Certificate of Excellence and our 2019 induction into the TripAdvisor Hall of Fame.

I haven't framed them yet.  They're just laid out on a table.

Again, I'm not complaining but I don't think anyone outside the hotel industry, knows what it means to be in the TripAdvisor Hall of Fame.  While La Belle Esplanade is flattered and humbled to be inducted, once again, does Joe or Jane Doe care?  They will when they get here and experience what we offer as a small artisanal hotel but before they see the certificates on our wall and ask about them, will they know what the Hall of Fame even is?

It means we've been awarded a certificate of excellence five years in a row.  A certificate of excellence is not a Travelers' Choice Award.  One is a chicken egg, the other is caviar.  Both are good but one is commonplace while the other is sublime.  We're aiming for five Travelers' Choice awards in a row.  Three to go.  

Our TripAdvisor ranking is all based on reviews from people who have stayed at La Belle Esplanade.  Frau Schmitt and I have no control over our ranking.  It is all driven by how our guests have experienced their stay at our small craft hotel.  You know how the best beer comes from a small craft brewery?  It's the same way with hospitality at a small craft hotel.  The best New Orleans memories are made on our street.  Visit like you belong in this wonderful city we call home.

Let your imagination be your guide.

As of this moment, we've received 646 reviews on TripAdvisor.  634 of them rate our inn Excellent.  12 rate our inn Very Good.  Nobody has said their stay is Average, Poor, or Terrible.  Why would they?  La Belle Esplanade is like the Ritz, if the Ritz were in a colorful old mansion and run by only two people.  Only a churl could not be delighted by a gourmet curated breakfast accompanied by good conversation about all things New Orleans.

Price is what you pay.  Value is what you get.  We try to deliver better value than what our prices lead you to expect.  Why?  Because in New Orleans there is the theory of lagniappe.  Lagniappe is a Creole word that means something extra.  At La Belle Esplanade you will always get something extra, be it personally tailored recommendations, candies on your bed, a selection of locally brewed beer and soda, or, most importantly, a chance to be inducted into the authentic New Orleans state of mind.

There is touristy New Orleans.  You don't need me to tell you about it.  You'll find it.  Your friends who have already visited for bachelor parties or professional conventions or destination weddings or cruise ship stops have already told you about that part of New Orleans.  Then, there is real New Orleans, the authentic city where people live, laugh, and love as they go about their lives raising families and building legacies.  Ours is a city with a culture that is densely woven and richly textured.  You never know what pleasant surprise you'll find when you turn a corner.  New Orleans is not just sugary alcoholic drinks, dueling piano bars, and novelty tee shirt shops.

Walk your boots to La Belle Esplanade.  This is real New Orleans.

When you are ready for real New Orleans off the usual tourist treadmill, you know where to find us.  We are the bright orange house with blue shutters on Esplanade Avenue.  New Orleans is called "America's Most Interesting City" for very good reason.

Check out our website: LaBelleEsplanade.com.  Read our blog there.  There are three years (at least) of archives.  If you think we'll be a good fit for your New Orleans expectations, make a reservation.  The "Check Availability" button is in the upper right of every screen.  Plug in your dates to see what suites we have available.  We only have five suites so we tend to fill up early during the busy seasons.

You have two friends on Esplanade Avenue,
-La Belle Esplanade   

Price is what you pay.  Value is what you get.

Who Was Paul Morphy?

Paul Morphy

People who play the ponies in New Orleans often wonder who Paul Morphy was.  That's because there's a street named after him on the way to the Fair Grounds.  Have I mentioned recently that our house is only a ten minute walk from the Fair Grounds?  That tidbit of information is valuable if you are going to Jazz Fest next year (NOT this year, we don't have any vacancy).

Paul Morphy Drive runs through a neighborhood that is called the Fair Ground Triangle.  The neighborhood designation seems to be a fairly recent invention, but I like it.  It fits.  The Seahorse Saloon is in the Triangle, too.  I enjoyed reading the reviews for the Seahorse Saloon on Google+.  

I don't know what Paul Morphy Drive was named before it was named Paul Morphy Drive.  I assume it had another name at one time and it was renamed posthumously.  It is a mystery.  I wish I had a little emoji of a ghost to put here, but I don't.

Paul Morphy died in 1884 at the age of 47.  That's a little younger than your humble narrator is as of this writing (I am, also, thankfully alive, I should add).  Paul Morphy's life was a tragedy of sorts.  During it, he was known as "The Pride and Sorrow of Chess."  People who know who he is still call him that.  I do.  So does Jennifer, who lives next door.  So do the bartenders at the Seahorse Saloon.  

Paul Morphy was born in New Orleans and he died in New Orleans.  Between those two important periods, he traveled extensively, most notably for two years, between the ages of 19 and 21, during which he was proclaimed the greatest chess player in the world.  All he really wanted to do was be a lawyer, so when he reached the legal age to practice law in Louisiana, he retired from chess.  He never played again.

He never made a go at law.  According to Wikipedia, from which I'm cribbing all this information, he "ultimately lived a life of idleness, living off his family's fortune." That's pretty nice work if you can get it.  Unfortunately, Frau Schmitt and I have never been able to get that kind of work, so we picked a profession that is equally nice.  That's why we're innkeepers.

If I may put forth a personal opinion for you to consider, Paul Morphy had a beautiful head of hair.  Look at that photograph at the top of this blog.  If you're curious who's hair that reminds me of, specifically the prominent swooped upward bangs, it's Morrissey.  

If anyone wants to start an online fanzine about La Belle Esplanade, let me know.  I'll give you exclusive access to the behind-the-scenes workings.  You can even interview Tammie the Housekeeper if she agrees.

Tammie the Housekeeper

Scratch that last part.  Tammie the Housekeeper, reading over my shoulder, tells me she isn't interested in dishing the dirt.  Her job is to clean it up.

As usual, another salute to Tammie the Housekeeper, the most valuable member of our team, aside from Frau Schmitt, of course, who is the nicest person you will ever meet.

À votre santé,
La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.

Outside New Orleans

Facing Uptown on Chartres Street

We don't leave New Orleans often.  When you live on a beautiful street in a beautiful city, there isn't much urge to venture too far.  We do get some guests who rent a car in order to take a trip out to the plantations. 

We always recommend a plantation tour, if you're interested in that.  There are tours, though, that will drive you out to the plantation so that you don't have to rent a car.  On the bus, there's a guide who will describe what you're driving through and the history of the area.  It's very interesting.  On the way back, most people nap.

Some people want to rent a car anyway.  If you want to, there's no reason not to.  Some people say, "We don't want the touristy version.  We want to see the real Louisiana."  Renting a car is certainly one way to do that.

If you want, I can tell you the exit number for the best gas station upriver.  It's past Destrehan.

Gator's One-Stop

Since we get our wine from a winery upstate, we always stop at that exit.  Nobody says "upstate" here, but you're not from here either so you know what I mean.  I can't put my finger on it, but there's something about that gas station that makes me want to pick up some cracklin's and a bottle of Gatorade.

Gas station off the Interstate 10

People ask what it's like outside New Orleans.  Well, it's Cajun country, to start with.  It's a different world out there.  The food is different, for one thing.  The accent is different, too.  It's much more rural, i.e. there's more wildlife.

There are alligators out there.

There are alligators out there

Gator's One-Stop is in Mississippi, not Louisiana.  It's in the small print in the photo above.  These aren't pictures of the gas station I'm talking about.  That one is even better.

A votre santé,
La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.

How much do cigarettes cost in New Orleans?

Sign in a Pullman car

There's a special train that runs between Chicago and New Orleans that is made up of restored Pullman cars.  If you don't know what that means, here's a link.  Whoever designed that site is a little more enamored with cascading web pages than I am, but if you poke around, you'll get the idea of what it's about.  Here's the wikipedia entry for those who like their information dry, yet informative.  It's a non-smoking train.

Most people don't leave personal things behind when they leave our inn.  The most common thing we find is a stray sock.  We don't contact you if we find one of your socks because we figure you would lose it in the laundry anyway.  Besides, it will cost more to mail it than the cost of two new socks.  

Anything important, of course, like passports, we Fedex overnight to wherever you may be.  I had to do that last week.  We don't do it for free, of course, but we don't make a profit on it, either.

Speaking of non-smoking trains, this brings us to a topic I've been meaning to discuss: How much do cigarettes cost in New Orleans?

Gas station fence, New Orleans

We were at Orleans Grocery and Gas the other day and that reminded me that I had taken a few pictures there a few weeks ago.  I made a mental note.  "What are you doing now?" Frau Schmitt asked, and I told her our guests might be interested in how much cigarettes cost in New Orleans.  "I don't think that's very interesting," she said, but she doesn't smoke.  She is usually right about these things, but I'm betting she's not... this time only.

Orleans Grocery and Gas.  Po' Boys-Deli-Seafood

I took these pictures a few weeks ago, so the photos are not up to date.  I doubt the prices have changed much.  Cigarette taxes are laughably low in Louisiana compared to other states.  You see, our governor, presidential hopeful Bobby Jindal, is against taxes of all kinds.  Most of the citizens of Louisiana seem to be against receiving government services, so it works out just fine.  Frau Schmitt and I?  We're agnostic on this matter.  

For an extra $5.00, though, you can have "I'm a Cajun" printed on your driver's license or state-issued ID card.

Between two cars in New Orleans

If you stay with us, we don't encourage you to sit in your room and watch TV.  We only have basic cable.  If you really want to watch TV, do it the way New Orleanians do it.  Go to a bar.  They do all sorts of things in the bars in New Orleans, including their laundry.   They even allow smoking is in bars.

Next to an ice machine in New Orleans

You can't smoke in every bar, but there are plenty where you can if that's your thing.  You can't smoke in restaurants anymore, though, so don't get any smart ideas. 

Cigarette prices in New Orleans

The city tried to pass a local cigarette tax this year.  The city's budget is in dire straits and the mayor wants to raise new revenue.  If the city wants to pass a new tax, it needs to get permission from the state.  The matter was briefly debated in the legislature this session, and the bill died in committee.  The governor never would have signed it anyway.

I don't smoke cigarettes either, but I've been known to enjoy a cigar.   You don't have to go to a cigar bar to enjoy a cigar in New Orleans.  It's all live and let live, laissez les bon temps rouler!  You can smoke on the balcony, just don't smoke in our house.

Cigarettes are cheap in New Orleans, but life isn't.

A votre santé,
La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.

Your New Orleans questions answered

Knights of Electra Mardi Gras parade poster

I don't know what most people do as their first night of the second weekend of Jazz Fest winds down, but I imagine a few of you readers go through our archives of blog posts.  One such reader emailed me recently with a question.

Dear Mr. King,

I recently read your blog post dated April 2nd, 2013, "Weekdays in New Orleans."  I would like to commend your unique ability to evoke what it is like to live in the City Care Forgot.  I have learned so much about the Crescent City from reading your blog.  You have true talent.  Reading your blog has brought me new appreciation for the Big Easy.  You've made me want to move to New Orleans.

In April 2013, you wrote:

"Why are people serving up waffles off a gas grill on their front porch?  Why is a man doing a word search puzzle by flashlight in the middle of the sidewalk at 6:00AM?  What's a Rhode Island Red rooster doing in Louisiana?"

Can you tell your eager fans if you're now able to shed some light on these things, now?

Signed,
An Anonymous Pal

A nice place to consider a response

Dear Pal,

Thank you for your kind words, but over-the-top flattery and phony enthusiasm will get you nowhere.  We don't offer government or military discounts.  We are negotiating with AAA, but nothing's final yet.  With that out of the way, I can answer your other questions.

When you see people serving up waffles from their front porch gas grill, or serving macaroni dinners out the side door, or fish fry plates from their kitchens, it usually means someone has died and the family needs to raise money for the funeral.  It's usually ten or fifteen dollars a plate, less for breakfast.  You can afford it.

When you see an old man doing a word search puzzle by flashlight next to the McDonough High School gym, you don't ask why anymore.  You just accept that some people do things for reasons all their own.

There are a few flocks of semi-feral chickens that run through our neighborhood.  Rhode Island Reds are the most popular cocks because they are hardy and they make the hens lay brown eggs.  In New Orleans, brown eggs are cheaper than white, and that's what you put in yak-a-mein.  In New Orleans, you can have yak-a-mein for breakfast.

This is what I have learned so far.  I may be wrong.  I'm sure someone will tell me if If am.  Then, I'll have more information and more better answers.  When you try to describe some things in New Orleans, the words don't always come out right.

I hope this both satisfies your curiosity and whets your appetite.  There are adventures to be had in New Orleans.  I know just the place to stay.

La belle Avenue d'Esplanade

Sincerely,
Your Humble Narrator
A votre santé,
La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast. 

A votre santé

Meanwhile, back in New Orleans

New Year's Day, New Orleans

We've rearranged some furniture in Les Saintes Suite.  It feels a bit more intuitively livable now.  I could spend a week there.  In fact, we have somebody staying a week there now.  According to their report, they couldn't be happier.

View of the sitting room in Les Saintes Suite

I didn't take a picture of the desk, but it's been getting a workout.  It's covered by a computer, brochures, and notebooks stuffed full of impressions and sketches.

I did take a picture of the marlin.

One wall in Les Saintes Suite

The marlin is a reproduction of a very similar fish that was caught in the Mississippi River off the Esplanade Avenue Wharf in 1963.  That fish's name was Merlin the Marlin.  If you take the time to read microfiche copies of the New Orleans Picayune in the library, you can learn the whole story.  It's a whopper.

The framed pictures below the stuffed marlin are:

1.) A portrait of Mother Henriette Delille.  It's a reproduction of a cross stitch portrait made by Sister Agnes who belongs to the Sisters of the Holy Family, the religious order founded by the Ven. Mother Henriette Delille.  I went out to their convent in New Orleans East and had a nice chat with Sister Agnes.

2.) A WWII era handbill extolling the patriotic duty Americans have to eat oysters.  I don't think this bit of propaganda was ever needed in New Orleans.

3.) A portrait of a young lady that many people call "La Belle d'Esplanade."  The caption says, "You meet the most beautiful people in New Orleans."  That's true.

4.) A label from a box of Mark Twain Cigars, c.1897.  The brand's motto: "Known by everyone.  Liked by all."  Every time I read that, I think of Frau Schmitt.

Everybody loves Hubig's pies

Imagine you're in Thailand in a resort hotel.  You're sitting in the lobby waiting for your in-laws to show up for an elephant ride that you've got scheduled for that afternoon.  Who should walk by but some jovial chap wearing a Hubig's Pies tee shirt?  Stranger things have happened.  Naturally, you would ask that guy if you can take his picture for your blog.  Naturally, he's the kind of guy who will agree.

A votre santé,
La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.

Dear guests...

Corner of Esplanade Avenue and Ponce de Leon Street, New Orleans

Yesterday morning I was on the corner of Esplanade Avenue and Ponce de Leon Street and I was struck by the dawning sunlight on the banana trees that grow in front of Canseco's Supermarket.  The site that Canseco's uses used to be a Whole Foods Market.  Whole Foods is going to open a few blocks away from us on North Broad Street in a couple of months, in an old Schwegmann's building.

It is wonderful to live in New Orleans.  I think this every day.  I often say it out loud, often for no reason except that I am struck by how lucky we are to live here.  Yesterday's reason was the light on the banana trees.

I have written an open letter to our guests that I am going to date tomorrow and leave on the table by the front door.  I hate marketing.  I hate advertising.  Neither of us is a salesman.  We like to think that we offer a good product and most people seem to agree.  I am going to copy the letter here without comment (and without being on our stylish letterhead paper):


"Dear Guest,

It is true we have your email address.  We won’t abuse it.  You will probably never hear from us.  Who likes an inbox full of form letters and ersatz sincerity?  In today’s travel and tourism market, we live or die by online reviews, primarily on TripAdvisor.  It is the nature of the beast, a Devil’s bargain, for better or for worse.

If you enjoyed your stay, we will appreciate an online review, but only if it is not too much trouble.  We won’t cajole you into writing one if you aren’t comfortable doing so.  If you did not enjoy your stay, we would like to know how we could have made it better.  You can tell the whole world if you want to or you can write us privately.  We really do want to know what is right and what can be better.  No hard feelings.  You have two friends in New Orleans.  Even if you don’t stay with us the next time you come to the city, ring the bell if you’re on Esplanade Avenue and our motor scooters are parked out front.  We’ll be happy to see you and tell you what is going on this week.

We want to be the inn of choice for people visiting New Orleans.  We like to think we offer a unique boutique experience that lets people experience the city the way we do, as citizens.  Ours is a remarkable city.  We live here.  We try to share that.  If we can be better ambassadors, we want to know how.

We hope you come back, not to fleece you through repeat business, but because we really enjoy what we do.  Good guests make good company.  Thank you for staying with us.  

We really do love where we live.  This is probably obvious.  If the levees don’t break, we’ll still be in business many, many more years, enjoying what we do.  If the levees do break again, we'll be here rebuilding.  We love it here.  Ours is a pleasant profession, mostly because good guests make good company.  Thank you for choosing La Belle Esplanade.  We hope you visit New Orleans again.  Good memories are made here.

A votre santé,
Matthew and Melanie"

Corner of Canal and North Rampart Streets, New Orleans

We went to the newly restored Saenger Theater on Canal Street this afternoon.  It is beautiful inside.  I took about a hundred blurry pictures to prove it.  Here is a picture of the starlit ceiling:

Saenger Theater ceiling

More to come.

Until then,

A votre santé,

La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.

Ginger envy

Gina Lollobrigida

There was something in the air this morning that made me think of Gina Lollobrigida.  I like to keep a tidy sidewalk, so I was picking up a chicken bone, a gum drop, and a penny (heads-up), while the 91 bus passed by.  The paperboy had just delivered my Advocate. 

As I was picking up the penny, Gina Lollogrigida's name popped into my head.  Then I said it again.  Then I said it again.  Try it.  Gina Lollobrigida.  

When I turned around, I realized what made me think of it.  Frau Schmitt called me over to chat with our neighbor in the blue house, and I forgot all about Gina Lollobrigida.  There is ginger in the air.

The ginger is in bloom on Esplanade Avenue

Our neighbor, who is the nicest fellow you'll ever meet, has a neighbor who lives on his other side, in the lavender house with green trim.  She is very nice, too.  We often chat when she's sweeping her sidewalk.  Her neighbors in the iris house that used to be a doctor's office are the groundskeepers for the rest of the block.  We all gathered around and admired each other's ginger.  

All the neighbors agreed that the ginger growing in front of the blue house had the most leaves and the most flowers.  The flowers have been unfolding all week.  Now that the temperature reached a humid 88 degrees, summer seems to have arrived.  It smells like ginger on Esplanade Avenue.

Our neighbors ginger

Aside from the ginger that grows around the oak at the bus stop, the ground in front of the iris house is pretty threadbare.  Mostly a little hardscrabble crabgrass, packed mud, and acorn tops.  The groundskeepers asked our neighbor in the blue house how he got his green thumb.  

"I fill my home with good memories," he said.  "Everything grows better when you take care of it with love.   Sure, the ginger in front of my house is lush, but it won't be the best on the block for long.  There are plenty of good memories being made in that orange bed and breakfast with blue shutters next door to me.  You should see their gardens in back," he said.

The gardens behind La Belle Esplanade

The groundskeepers admitted they had ginger envy.  "You think you have it now?" our neighbor told them.  "Just wait another two or three years.  That New Orleans B&B is getting filled with so many good memories that the ginger in front is going to bloom like a flambeaux on Mardi Gras Day. "

Ginger on Esplanade Avenue

I tried to change the subject to Gina Lollobrigida, but the neighbors wanted to talk about something else.

Photo courtesy of the New Orleans Advocate

The Dalai Lama is in town.

A votre sante,
La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.

7th Ward Shooting, New Orleans

Our Lady of Prompt Succor

The day before the shooting that happened on the corner of North Villere and Frenchman Streets, I told two of our guests that if you read the police reports in the newspaper it seems like someone gets shot every day in New Orleans.  I said that we have have lived here three years and we have never heard the sound of gunfire.  Firecrackers, yes, but not gunfire.  I assured them that their likelihood of their being shot was slim.  

19 people were shot on the corner of North Villere and Frenchman Streets during the Original Big 7 Social Aid and Pleasure Club's annual Mother's Day second line.   The corner of North Villere and Frenchman Streets.  Even if you live in Black Pearl or West Lakeshore or Venetian Isles, that is close to home.     

Nobody we know was among the victims, or even in the area.  That doesn't make it any better.

Our Lady of Prompt Succor is the patroness of New Orleans.  Her national shrine is on the corner of State Street and South Claiborne Avenue.  

Our Lady of Prompt Succor

Ursulines nuns have a long history in New Orleans.  They used to live in the French Quarter.  Three blocks uptown of our street, they have an avenue named after them.  They eventually moved many, many more blocks uptown, where they also moved their girls academy, and they moved the statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor.  

On Sundays, and on every other day, at least a hundred twenty people in New Orleans say, "Our Lady of Prompt Succor, hasten to help us!"  It helped Andrew Jackson win the Battle of New Orleans.

St. Joan of Arc

We've only lived in New Orleans for three years: six months uptown and two and a half years downtown.  We know tragedies unfold every day in New Orleans.  Sometimes slowly, sometimes in a burst.  Sometimes private, sometimes public, sometimes both. This is one of those times.

I can't read anything written in anybody's heart.  All I know is what I see on the streets.  I have seen more saints than sinners in New Orleans than I have seen anywhere else.  

It doesn't take too many apples to spoil a good barrel.  New Orleans is shaped like a bowl.  We are surrounded by water, but you have to go looking for it to see it.  The only good thing that involves gunpowder happens on the Fourth of July.  It is shot harmlessly heavenward from barges in the Mississippi River.

The middle of Esplanade is home to Clio, the Goddess of Peace and Muse of History.  Her statue is in Gayerre Place, on a terra cotta pedestal.

Gayarre Place, New Orleans

Everyone who lives in New Orleans lives here by choice.  The city is shaped like a bowl and it holds a few bad apples.  The good of its neighbors and neighborhoods outweighs the bad.   

Is New Orleans safe?  Overall, I still have to say yes.

Sweetheart statue

Our Lady of Prompt Succor, hasten to help us.

A votre sante,

La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast. 

The highest point in New Orleans

One Shell Square, courtesy of wikipedia

The tallest building in New Orleans is One Shell Square.  It's roof is, of course, technically, the highest point in a city that hugs close to the water table.  Uptown, people say the highest place is someplace else.

We went to Monkey Hill today.

John James Audubon

Common knowledge has it that the highest point in New Orleans is Monkey Hill.  Ray, the electrician told me about it before I knew he was an electrician.  There's a bar on Magazine Street called the Monkey Hill Bar.  Ray told me about another place on Magazine Street, long gone, called Ace's Elbow Room.  

"Old Ace, he looked like a corpse to begin with," Ray told me.  "One Halloween, we rented a hearse and put Ace in the back.  Then we drove around town and scared the bejeezus out of the neighborhood kids."  

Besides that story, Ray told me that it snowed once when he was a boy.  It stuck in his memory because it was the first time he had seen snow while growing up in the Irish Channel.  "We all went sledding on Monkey Hill," he said.  "We didn't have real sleds so we taped together copies of the Times-Picayune to make makeshift toboggans."

Another argument in favor of a daily newspaper delivery.

Anyhow, we went to the zoo.

Fountain in Audubon Zoo

We saw some animals.

Giraffe at Audubon Zoo

Tiger at Audubon Zoo

Jaguar at Audubon Zoo

We also got to see the fabled Monkey Hill.  It is much more impressive than we expected.  At the base is a bench where tourists can get their picture taken, and Frau Schmitt coaxed a gracious tourist to pose on the bench.

A naive rube

It was a full day at the Audubon Zoo.  We've lived in New Orleans almost four years and this was our first trip.  That was too long a time.  We recommend the zoo.  $17.50 for adults, $12.00 for children over two, $13.00 for seniors over sixty-five.   Children under two are free.  It's money and time well spent.  

After the zoo, we went home.

La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.

A votre sante,
La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.

An Art House on Esplanade Avenue

One lane only

If you haven't been down Esplanade Avenue recently, the city is repaving the street between North Rampart and Moss Streets.  It's been an interesting public works project to watch from the front porch.  There is a hole in the pavement in front of our inn.  It looks like they were looking for a Cardiff Giant.

A hole filled in with sand

Tree trimming has already been done on the 2200 block of Esplanade Avenue and the oaks in front of La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast are safe.  Amply shaded on-street parking remains the rule.

When the work is finished, Esplanade Avenue will carry traffic differently.  Instead of two narrow automobile lanes on each side of the neutral ground, there will be one wide lane for cars, with a dedicated bicycle lane running along each side.  That and the pavement will be as smooth as Miss Alma's roux.  Most people are in favor of this change, but there a few people in favor of the status quo, as there usually are.

Remember the other day when I said that we don't get the Times-Picayune delivered to our house anymore and I had missed an important story?  Well, today, our neighbor, Johanna, told me I had missed something else.  I had missed an interesting letter to the editor.

It looks like a giant's grave from this angle

I happen to know the author.  Johanna and I rummaged through the recycling bin to find Friday's T-P.  We found it and I brought it into La France Suite where Frau Schmitt was straightening the pictures.  I asked her to guess who had his letter to the editor published.  "Probably some crackpot," she said.  She is usually right about these things.  

We were in La France Suite's bedroom.  Every room at La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast is a different color.  La France Suite is painted in the colors of the French flag.  The bedroom is red.  Over the mantle is a reproduction of Edgar Degas' famous New Orleans painting.

The walls are red like the blood of patriots

There is a reflection from the window across the room in the photo above.  It isn't 'Portrait of Estelle" that was purchased by the Delgado Museum.  It is "The Cotton Exchange."

Image courtesy of Edgar Degas

If your idea of excitement is reading the newspaper, this is the painting for you.  I've got something else in mind to replace it in the near future, but that is the subject of another post.  

What caught my eye wasn't the Degas.  I love to study it, and I pass the Degas House every day on my errands, and they also have a hole in front of their historic New Orleans bed and breakfast inn, and it really is a perfect composition.  A different painter came to mind.  It was Giorgio de Chirico.

"Love Song" by Giorgio de Chirico

I was looking at the corner of the mantle while I was talking to Frau Schmitt, at the bust of Napoleon positioned next to the tissue box.  It was a metaphysical landscape.

Bust of the emperor

"Able was I ere I saw Elba," I said.  New Orleans is the kind of city in which palindromes make up the patois.  Napoleon would not have lamented living here.  

What caught my eye was the plaster bust paired with a box of kleenex printed with a picture of a pier.  If I were a painter, I would have the subject to create a masterpiece. 

No matter what kind of frame of mind you find yourself in, you will enjoy staying at our inn.   The whole thing is a work in progress with new details being added and rearranged every day.  Every room is a different color.  Every suite has a different theme. We run an comfortably artistic New Orleans bed and breakfast that is full of curios and original work, as well inspiration for everyone who visits.

It is all in the details

Think about staying at La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast if you are visiting New Orleans.

A votre sante.