The Walk
Well, I am home after the whirlwind weekend visit to the Big Easy. After getting to the hotel on Friday I took some stuff out of my travel bag and grabbed one of my maps and headed out.
I was initially headed to the riverfront, and decided to hop on the ferry (free to pedestrians) to cross over to Algiers; I came back on the immediate return as I primarily had wanted to get some photos of the city from on the might Mississippi. Then I started to walk. Along the riverfront and then into the "Vieux Carre" itself.
I had just finished re-reading Jim Grimsley's Boulevard, which is set completely in the French Quarter, albeit in 1976. Because of the research I'd been doing for my trip, all the locations in the book made a little more sense now, and I even scouted around a bit for the building that the main character would have lived in. In the midst of doing that, I noticed a parade going by a few blocks ahead. I hurried up there and got to see a bunch of Red Hat Society women on floats, tossing red and purple beads. This was all something to do with a musical called "Hats" which was opening that night at the Harrah's casino.
The area I was in at that point was primarily residential, so I found my way to Bourbon Street and headed back into the more commercial area. I criss-crossed my way around the streets and eventually ended up back near the river. I passed the Cafe Du Monde and noted the location for future reference. I finally headed back to the hotel at around six or six-thirty pm, having mostly been walking for nearly five and a half hours.
More about the rest of that day, and the weekend later.
I was initially headed to the riverfront, and decided to hop on the ferry (free to pedestrians) to cross over to Algiers; I came back on the immediate return as I primarily had wanted to get some photos of the city from on the might Mississippi. Then I started to walk. Along the riverfront and then into the "Vieux Carre" itself.
I had just finished re-reading Jim Grimsley's Boulevard, which is set completely in the French Quarter, albeit in 1976. Because of the research I'd been doing for my trip, all the locations in the book made a little more sense now, and I even scouted around a bit for the building that the main character would have lived in. In the midst of doing that, I noticed a parade going by a few blocks ahead. I hurried up there and got to see a bunch of Red Hat Society women on floats, tossing red and purple beads. This was all something to do with a musical called "Hats" which was opening that night at the Harrah's casino.
The area I was in at that point was primarily residential, so I found my way to Bourbon Street and headed back into the more commercial area. I criss-crossed my way around the streets and eventually ended up back near the river. I passed the Cafe Du Monde and noted the location for future reference. I finally headed back to the hotel at around six or six-thirty pm, having mostly been walking for nearly five and a half hours.
More about the rest of that day, and the weekend later.