A trip to the New Orleans Wax Museum

Museum entrance

Hey!  Guess who went to the wax museum?  If you guessed your humble narrator, you're right.

Officially called the Museé Conti, the New Orleans Wax Museum is a real treat, especially on a hot day.  The museum was established in 1964 and the exhibits date from then.

I took enough photos in that wax museum to go on for weeks.  I know.  You can't wait, can you?

Let's start off with the Rediscovery of the Mississippi in 1699:

A plaque in the New Orleans Wax Museum

No complaints about the photo quality, please.  It's dark in the wax museum.  The dim lighting makes everything more lifelike.

Rediscovery of the Mississippi

This is either Iberville or Bienville talking to some Native Americans, Choctaws, I believe.  It's probably Bienville.  They were brothers, but I think Bienville spent more time here.

Fun fact, the first streets off Canal Street headed downriver are Iberville and Bienville.  They run up as far as City Park Avenue in Mid-City.  I like Bienville Street in particular because it has a neutral ground after it leaves the French Quarter and it's lined with oak trees.  

There's a good Creole restaurant on the corner of Bienville Street and North Jefferson Davis Parkway called Neyow's.  We went once and I ordered smothered pork chops.  The cook brought out our plates and she looked my two pork chops.  "Those are too skinny," she said, so she brought out another.  It was already more than enough food.  I don't remember what Frau Schmitt ordered.  I'm sure it was good.

You should click on the link to Neyow's website and watch the video of how they chargrill oysters there.  What's that they're ladling over the oysters?  If I were to guess, I would guess butter.

Clouds in City Park, New Orleans, LA

After we left the wax museum, we headed over to City Park at the end of our street to watch the clouds go by.

À votre santé,

La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.

Small Town New Orleans

Two New Orleanians

New Orleans is a big city.  It's big in the sense that wherever you go anywhere in the world, if you tell people you're from New Orleans they know where you mean.  It's a city that is world famous.  It's the birthplace of jazz, after all.  

When we talk to people over a breakfast of buttermilk drops from the Buttermilk Drop Bakery and sausage from Terranova's, our guests often say that there is no place in the world like New Orleans.  The city is unique in the whole wide world.

I think that's true.  Frau Schmitt agrees with me and she's usually right about these things.  Of course, every place is unique.  Like fingerprints and personal histories, every city has its own feel.  Every city has its own story.  New Orleans doesn't feel like anywhere else.  As to the history of New Orleans, it's a complicated doozy of a tale.  If you have the time to listen, I'll try to disentangle it for you.  It's so convoluted it can make you woozy.  Just soak it in.  You'll be a changed person when all is said and done.

A bicycle tour passes in front of our house

About 360,000 people live in New Orleans.  We're still missing about a fifth of our pre-Katrina population.  Even though it's a big city, relatively speaking, it's like a small town.  Spend enough time here and you'll find yourself running into people you know.  Most of them are friends.  The ones who aren't friends, just aren't your friends yet.  They'll be friends the next time you bump into them.

Bicycle tours stop in front of our house all the time.  We live on a picturesque and historic street that is interesting to tourists (our street has a dedicated bike lane) and our orange house with the blue shutters tends to attract attention from shutterbugs.  

I like to sit out on the front porch to smoke a cigar and read the newspaper, so I get to hear a lot of what the tour guides tell their tourists.  I think it's alright to call people taking a tour a tourist.  I hear a lot of tour guide palaver and patter while I sit on my front porch and I'd like to tell you which bicycle tour I think is the best.  Ready?

Here's that picture again

It's Crescent City Bike Tours.  I know I've mentioned them before on this blog but good things bear repeating.  Kristine and Richie really do a world class job showing off the world class city those of us who live here call home.  

I happen to know Kristine.  After all, she passes by our house almost every day.  When our guests want to take a bike tour of the city, I refer them to Crescent City Bike Tours.  I don't do this because I keep bumping into Kristine's tours when I'm walking our dog around the neighborhood.  I do it because I listen to what she tells people.  It's the real deal.  New Orleans is a place full of stories, some of them true, some somewhat less so.  There really  isn't any need to make anything up.  The city is a magical granny knot of history.  Kristine, who was born and raised here, who's family has deep and famous roots, will tell you the truth.

When you're visiting New Orleans, think about taking a bike tour.  If you're thinking about taking a bike tour, let me provide this link again.  There are plenty of bike tour companies in the city.  I've heard them all.  Go with best.  Let somebody else take the rest.

Frau Schmitt doesn't know Kristine on a first name basis, only by sight from across the street.  I asked her who she thinks offers the best bike tour in New Orleans.  She told me, "That lady with the short black hair who always dings her bell and waves to you."  Frau Schmitt is usually right about these things.  You just heard it from a reliable source.  

À votre santé,
La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.

The Singing Oak in City Park

Singing Oak, City Park

Some people mistake it for an ordinary oak tree, though an old one.  Other people know its secret.  If you want to know it, read on.

Attribution for the Singing Oak

So, while from a distance, it may seem like an ordinary oak tree.  Closer inspection reveals a little sign that some people stumble over.  It turns out this extraordinary oak is a piece of artwork.  I how much did it cost?

According to the sign, artist Jim Hart was born in 1948.  According to his gallery, he was born in 1952.  According to wikipedia, as of this writing, he was born in the early 1950s.  Who's a body to believe, here?  Let's just say that Jim Hart's birth is shrouded in mystery, the way many things are in New Orleans.  Mr. Hart is Canadian, but the mystery surrounding his birth year puts him in good company in this city.

Interestingly, though the name of this sculpture is "The Singing Oak," the tree itself is not listed as one of the materials.  Mr. Hart only takes credit for aluminum alloy tuned to the pentonic scale.  The living wood is sui generis.  Only God can make a tree.  

So, what does all of this mean?  It means there are chimes of various sizes and tones hanging from the oak tree's branches.  It's enchanting when the wind blows through them.

Chimes in the singing oak (upper half of photo)

Some people call it "the musical oak," or "the singing tree," or "the musical oak tree."  All wrong.  It's The Singing Oak.  The placard that dogs always like to sniff around makes that clear:

It' such an interesting picture I thought I'd show it again

I was standing under the Singing Oak the other day and for no reason whatsoever I thought of Carmen Miranda.

Carmen Miranda

I didn't really, but I've had this picture of Carmen Miranda sitting on my desktop waiting to be included in a blog post that I just had to use it so I could get rid of it.  There's no time like the present.

For those readers who are too young to remember, Carmen Miranda was the inspiration for the Chiquita Banana Lady.  You may be to young to remember the Chiquita Banana Lady, too.  I don't know, though, the image below looks pretty current:

Let's say this is copyrighted by the Chiquita Corporation

The last time I bought a banana, she looked like this:

Again, I'd place the copyright with Chiquita

The original Chiquita Banana Lady sure could sing:


What do Chiquita bananas have to do with New Orleans?  Well, if you didn't know, Chiquita is moving back to New Orleans, making the city once again a major banana port.  In fact, the company just rented a warehouse from Blaine Kern Enterprises (of Mardi Gras World fame) that's located on Earhart Blvd. next to where the new coroner's complex is being built.  

I know you're probably not interested in any of this, but this is the kind of thing you want to be interested in if you are staying in New Orleans for more than a weekend.  We have to talk about something besides Bourbon Street and Frenchmen Street over breakfast.  As a licensed tour guide, I'm able to tell you all about the history of the banana trade in New Orleans, from it's beginning up till yesterday.

Of course, the original Carmen Miranda sure could sing, too:




We have some fascinating conversations around our breakfast table.  Feel free to ask about anything.  Chiquita Bananas used to be imported by the United Fruit Company, headquartered in New Orleans.  Their building is still standing, on St. Charles Avenue.  I think it's a hotel now.  Carmen Miranda died in 1955 at the age of 46.  Hers was a career cut tragically short.  I'm not trying to be funny when I say that.

À votre santé,
La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.

Writing a B&B blog

New Orleans Museum of Art across Big Lake, City Park, New Orleans, LA

Some people ask why I bother to keep our blog so active when, sometimes, it seems like I don't have anything to say.  Can you believe people tell me that?  

Your typical B&B blog will list recipes and things going on the area at the time, and list things, just things.  Blogs that list things are good for SEO traffic (SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization).  Now, regular readers know that I shy away from publishing recipes, schedules and reprinting things that you can find somewhere else.  I don't do this because I want to rank low in Google searches, but more because I don't find blogs that do that very interesting.  I have a confession to make: I don't read a lot of other B&B blogs.  I don't find them very interesting.

How interesting you find our blog is a matter of taste.  I write it, and I'll take my chances whether you find it worth your time.  Some days are better than others.  I admit it.

Sign for the Fair Grounds Race Track, New Orleans, LA

Our inn is located in the middle of Esplanade Avenue.  We measured it yesterday.  We are exactly one mile from Bourbon Street and one mile from City Park.  It's a mile and a half to the very end of Esplanade Avenue at the Mississippi River.  We say it takes 35 minutes to walk to either end of our street, which is an exaggeration unless you are walking slowly.  The first time you walk our street, you'll walk slowly.  There is a lot to see.  After that, it's much faster.

We are a ten minute walk to the Fair Grounds Race Track.  This is important for people who like to play the ponies (opening day is Thanksgiving Day, an important milestone on the New Orleans calendar) and it is important for people who want to go to Jazz Fest.  We are located in an ideal location for people who want to go to Jazz Fest.  We still have a few suites available for the last weekend next year.  We request a four night minimum stay during Jazz Fest.  Why?  Because we like people who are serious about coming to the festival.  Next year we are hosting a couple who got married at Jazz Fest and are coming to celebrate their anniversary.  We're looking forward to it.  We trust they are, too.

Oak trees in City Park, New Orleans, LA

This weekend is Voodoo Fest in City Park, at the lakeside end of our street, about a twenty minute walk away.  Voodoo Fest ends at 11:00 at night and some people are concerned about walking down Esplanade Avenue a little before midnight.  Is it safe at night?  It's as safe as it is during the day, which is to say, yes.  It is safe.

Some B&B blogs will talk about restaurants in the area and specials that are running.  I don't mind talking about restaurants, but Frau Schmitt and I tend to do that in person.  We talk about it over breakfast.  We've been to over 250 restaurants in New Orleans.  That gives us plenty of fodder for conversation, not that there isn't anything else to talk about.  

Regular readers know that I tend to just write about whatever catches my fancy at the moment.  I try to give you an idea of what it is like to live in New Orleans.  It's my perspective, skewed as it may be sometimes. 

Some people expect that Hallowe'en is a big holiday here.  I've never found it to be.  The big holiday in New Orleans is Mardi Gras.  Hallowe'en?  It's up there with Thanksgiving.  It's important and it's celebrated, but it's not that big a fuss.  If you want it to be, it can be, of course.  Like anything, Hallowe'en is what you make of it.

Dis and Dat, Banks Street, New Orleans, LA

A couple weeks ago we went to Dis and Dat on Banks Street.  It's a hamburger and hot dog place in Mid-City.  The guy who owns Dat Dog opened it.  It's alright.  Funky Nola.  I thought Cowbell was better, but Cowbell is even more out of the way.  You can walk to Dis and Dat from our house.

The guy who owns Dat Dog knows what he's doing and the location on Banks Street ensures that it will be busy.  It's a block away from where the new VA and LSU hospitals are being built.  That's prime real estate though the neighborhood looks a little crummy right now.  It will change for the better, the way most things are sprucing up in New Orleans.

So, if you landed on this page for advice on how to write a B&B blog, I hope I haven't disappointed you too, too much.  I haven't included any tips or lists of topics to cover or any how-to advice at all.  We call this showing not telling in the trade.  If you've landed on this page looking for a New Orleans B&B with a little personality, where the hosts do things a little differently, well look at the title of this blog, not at the title of this post.  I can recommend a unique boutique inn where you can stay if you're planning a visit to our fair city.  We live in a wonderful neighborhood as a perusal of our blog's archives will show.

À votre santé,
La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.