Wednesday 19 December 2018

New Orleans Vol.1


We have been in New Orleans almost a week already. As we have plenty of time we are taking it easy and going through less known/ visited neighborhoods.


Although the houses are amazing and colorful, the streets are in terrible disarray and in desperate need of some new asphalt throughout the city which gives the streets something sad.


In lots of streets are wandering lost souls, clearly under the influence of drugs which also has something sad. Lots of homeless people, like San Francisco. But also lots of Music, lots of Mardi Grass beads everywhere, an interesting combination.



While in Miami you heard more Spanish than English due to Hispanics, here are a lot of African-Americans, the South was the place where thousands of slaves were brought in with ships, and you still see lots of historic buildings reminding that horrible and shameful part of history.



Other homeless or drunks just want a little chat, which is super fun, as soon as you reply them they can give you the funniest reactions. Like a 'good morning' to one guy gave me a reply of: 'You take good care of my Mama, girl', as my Mum was right next to me and I promised him I would :)




Or when I gave a dollar to a homeless girl and petted her dog, the boy next to her said, 'I have fur too' so I stroked him too :)



The colorful houses and little chats with people makes it a very exotic city.






While some neighborhoods are clearly rich and calm, others are not without danger, we have seen drug deals and a guy holding his gun in his coat, clearly not at ease and scared for his life.





But as we are enjoying the city during the day and stay safely inside after dark we haven't felt unsafe.



These two beautiful houses are the Steamboat houses, the first steam boathouse was built in 1905 for Milton Doullot and his wife, both riverboat captains (the house is right near the Mississippi River). Seven years later a second was built right across the street for their son. Funny enough these are not very known and the street was totally quiet as they are not in the popular French Quarter.
Apparently, their interior is very special too, with walls and ceilings covered in embossed metal panels.





The city also loves its Vampires, Voodoo and the supernatural. And it has 45 cemeteries, which some of them are also Touristic favorites.





You see that cross on the door? I have only seen two, most people have by now painted over them. It is the Katrina stamp. FEMA and rescue workers went house to house after the flood, looking for survivors or dealing with the dead. After inspection, each house received a spray-painted X with each quadrant carrying specific information. The top displays the date the house was searched. The left side identifies the rescue team, the right indicates any hazards present, and the lower quadrant is the most somber motion, the number of dead bodies found on site.





I'll post more on this interesting city in a few days :)

3 comments:

  1. Oh that was such an exciting post! Thank you! AriadnefromGreece!

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  2. So many beautiful houses, oh so many... :) but it was interesting to read about the darker side of the city as well. I knew that everything was not as perfect as traveling brochures would tell you and your post confirms it...

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  3. I guess the derelict feel of the city works somehow...but it's still sad that the US won't spend money on its own citizens...

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