Working 2 Live, Living 2 Travel

Want to know our favorite city? Of all time? It’s the Crescent City, the Big Easy, New Orleans.

We fell head-over-heels in love when we spent New Year’s there, ringing in 2009 listening to one of our favorite bands, native sons Better Than Ezra at the House of Blues. From the music to the architecture to the food to the people, there is just a culture and vibe there that can’t be found or topped anywhere else in the world. Somehow, someway we plan to make a home here one day.

Part of the reason we fell in love with this City Care Forgot is the resiliency of its people. After Hurricane Katrina devastated the area in 2005, the city struggled to return to its former glory. Chris was fortunate enough to see pre-Katrina New Orleans in 2002 and comprehend the overall destruction through comparison. We saw major improvements between 2009 and 2012 when we returned for Mardi Gras. The city and its people never gave up on rebuilding, and little by little it has been returning and becoming better than ever.

Our Favorite Places

Jackson Square

Beautiful in its own right, we love to walk around the Square and admire the many paintings on display by art vendors. The walls of our living room in Virginia were decorated with the scenes of jazz musicians and French Quarter homes. At night, the sculpture of Andrew Jackson on horseback and the St. Louis Cathedral cast remarkable shadows over the square.

St. Louis Cemetery
Anywhere we visit, we enjoy walking through the cemeteries. The resting places for the departed can serve as art museums all on their own with magnificent sculptures and beautiful inscriptions. Some of the stateliest of these graves can be found in all three of the St. Louis cemeteries of New Orleans. Home to massive angles and other spiritual works, you’ll find the grave of Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau in St. Louis Cemetery 1 marked with three Xs and statues desecrated by the stars of Easy Rider. Since the cemeteries can be sketchy, especially at night, we recommend taking guided tours.

Marie Laveau House of Voodoo

You won’t find Bourbon Street on our list of favorite places in New Orleans, but everyone should experience walking through the craziness at least once, as that will probably be all it takes. It’s the best way to get to the end where you’ll find a unique store that sells all the charms you need to conduct any voodoo ritual. Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo is full of interesting artwork and you can receive palm and tarot card readings here by an unique staff of New Orleans locals.

Mardi Gras World

Mardi Gras is one of the most extraordinary events we’ve ever witnessed. The atmosphere in New Orleans is even more extreme during this time, and it’s an experience you’ll cherish. It’s not just about co-eds flashing for beads and drunks acting like fools (but if that’s your thing, you’ll find more than enough on Bourbon Street), but there is a sense of community and family pride. The floats that carry the krewes down Canal Street are masterpieces; the rich traditions behind these parade clubs are masterful; and the regalia of the Mardi Gras Indians are stunning.

If you can’t make it to the city in February for the festivities, check out Mardi Gras World across the Mississippi River in Old Algeirs. Here you can take a tour and see how the floats are made, learn about the history of Mardi Gras, and try a piece of King Cake.

Backstreet Cultural Museum

Found in a small house on Henriette Delille Street, this museum is the life work of Sylvester Francis, starting with photos of Indians as the marched in the streets of the Tremé neighborhood. Francis is a grand storyteller, explaining the duties of a Wild Man and how the Chief personally works on his own suit for the entire year before Mardi Gras. One of the most intriguing activities we’ve ever watched, an Indian club practice is mesmerizing with the chants and drums.

New Orleans, like New York City, is a place we could write for days-on-end about. There is a plethora of sights to see and activities to enjoy no matter your taste.

Eats

Growing up, I have fond memories of my granddaddy and me watching Justin Wilson’s cooking show as he prepared everything from gumbo to jambalaya to alligator stew. Wilson was my first view of New Orleans cuisine and my cousin, Janet, a Louisiana native, gave me my first tastes of gumbo and jambalaya. I was hooked.

When I first visited the beautiful city, I couldn’t seem to get enough of its famous foods, especially the red beans and rice. So, first time to ever happen on our blog, but we don’t have any restaurant suggestions for New Orleans (other than you must at least once try the world-famous beignets and coffee at Café Du Monde in the French Quarter). This is because we try new restaurants, from upscale to hole-in-wall type places, every time we’re in town. There are so many great places to go. We usually get muffalettas somewhere on Decatur Street; red beans and rice can be found at quick places off Canal Street; and we had a delicious gumbo at a more upscale restaurant at the entrance of Bourbon Street.

Have a restaurant recommendation for New Orleans? Let us know, and we’ll try it out during our next visit.

Working in New Orleans

Jobs have been coming back steadily in the Crescent City since the recovery from Hurricane Katrina. For Bullet Miller, a waitress working six days a week in a Midcity restaurant, the tourism trade is alive and thriving in New Orleans. She says the ease of finding work in the city’s service industry is the best thing about working in the Big Easy. She adds her customers are friendly, even more so than other Southern locations she’s been in, and she’s making good wages.

Bullet enjoys the city for its laid-back nature. “One of the most fun things about NOLA is that you can legally drink alcohol out on the street. You can go into a bar and order your drink to go and just stroll around with it. I love that simple freedom of living here.”

Her best recommendation for visiting the city is the New Orleans Museum of Art in City Park. Admission is free Wednesdays, and the portrait of Marie Antoinette is amazing.  “I always get so inspired and find something new.”

We give New Orleans a 10+ on our favorite places to be. What is your favorite city of all time?

-Chris & Monica