"Where the f*%k was I last night? Isla Mujeres!"
I suggest getting that t-shirt made for our time in New Orleans, for at one point we found ourselves walking back to Bourbon St from the opposite end of the city from which we'd started and with absolutely no idea how we got there...
We had heard repeatedly that New Orleans is a city unlike any other, that we had to see it to believe it, that you can't possibly describe it to anyone who hasn't been there and actually do it any justice and it is true - I simply will not be able to capture the essence of a city that never sleeps.
We arrived around midnight, checked into our fabulous hotel (the French Market Inn) and headed straight out to the infamous Bourbon Street. Blocked off from traffic, there are just blocks and blocks (and blocks) of bars, frozen daiquiri and pizza outlets, live music venues, strip clubs, hotels and restaurants. Within a couple of doors from each other, you could have twerked on a dancefloor to 'apple bottom jeans, boots with the fur', watched some live jazz or rock music, bought a refill and a slice of pizza and been invited into the strippers.
Our first night was rather tame - we had a few drinks, hit the dance floor and went home to sleep in the most comfortable beds I have ever experienced.
By day, New Orleans is full of old world charm. Colonial buildings, cobbled streets, horses and carts, and glowing street lanterns. So we wandered; by Jackson Square with various street performers including a brass band, tarot and palm readers, and along Bourbon Street and the surrounds. On multiple occasions after lunch but before dinner, we found ourselves at the Krazy Korner where we were wowed by an incredible accordian player, a washboard player and their band.
The beauty of New Orleans is that, no matter what time of the day or night, you are guaranteed to find live music, somewhere to dance, food and drinks and better still, both drinking during the day and dancing in broad daylight is not only not frowned upon, but highly encouraged!
Being an avid live music fan, New Orleans (as expected) does not fail to deliver. Aside from all the bars and pubs, there are also venues for those who are seeking more than an alcoholic fishbowl and some dude singing / rapping along with whatever the DJ is playing. There is also Pat O'Brien's, where from 6pm every night, there are duelling pianos where the pianists take requests and will play anything from Adele and Goyte (our requests) to rock and jazz classics.
Or there is Preservation Hall, untouched and unchanged since it opened in the early 1900's, it is a small, intimate setting without sound equipment or lighting, where jazz musicians play with only their instruments in the most raw and hypnotizing of ways.
Or Frenchman Street, a collection of live music venues and restaurants away from the hustle and bustle of Bourbon Street but no less impressive.
And so, our four nights in the French Quarter in New Orleans passed. We wined, we dined, we danced (oh how we danced!), we got lost in the city, but most importantly, we watched an array of amazing live jazz, rock, and soul music.
Things I did not do but which were highly encouraged, if not mandatory:
- Twerk or grind on stage, up against a stranger or any type of bar furniture
- Show my lovely lady lumps in exchange for cheap, colorful, plastic beads. (Yes, it's true, men far and wide will yell, 'Show us your...' and in exchange, they will throw beads at you). I'm not sure why women would partake in such a trade when at the end of the day, men / boys get the privilege of having seen a range of naked breasts while the women just wake up with a pile or worthless beads that, I can assure you, they will never, ever wear again.
- Have an affair to remember with a soulful, handsome jazz musician (I am still terribly disappointed about this one...)
Now, from one music city to the next; our next stop - Nashville, Tennessee.
No comments:
Post a Comment