Driving on towards New Orleans the roadsides are still full of sugar cane, big industry is sprouting up as well, huge oil and gas refineries are regular features on the roadside and we seem to be getting closer to the swamp that New Orleans grew out of.
The ground is watery, cypress and tupelo groves are still apparent from the motorway. The motorway itself goes for miles, built on piles like a bridge spanning the swampy ground. This picture shows the motorway split in two direction’s with the water below.
On the way we pass through Vacherie, this is where the most famous plantation house in Louisiana is, Oak Alley Plantation. You have seen this before, it has been used for so many movies.
Its beauty lies in the visual feature of the double row of oak trees that make the canopied path leading up to the house. The canopy of trees is 240 metres long and were planted in the early 1700s….the avenue was planted before this house was built. Rosie and The Operator had seen their share of plantation houses already on this trip, we didn’t want to go on a tour of the grounds and house, Rosie just wanted the money shot.
Normally these houses are tucked away not to be seen from the main road. Rosie was in luck, the avenue of trees lead from the original house to the river…the property had a fence in front of the road and a levee on the other side of the road…there was also ‘no stopping’ sign in front of the house, it was early, it was quiet. The Operator ‘hesitated’ the car, Rosie jumped out and took some snaps through the fence.
We stopped at a wee shack on the side of the road for a coffee before we hit New Orleans…they had a very friendly disposition and very strange decor in their store…
We decided to drop the rental car back early…New Orleans airport is a breeze and we hire our third Uber driver Corey to take us into town. He is a giant round ball of a black man, Rosie is squashed behind his seat as he talks a mile a minute about utter crap…he loves the sound of his voice, and he loves New Orleans too. He too thinks trump is a clown who only wants the office to profit himself.
These are our first sights in the French Quarter as we rolled with Corey into town.
Corey and his wife are both Uber drivers….he claims to have thought and started the concept of Uber…they even stole his name, so he claims, changing it slightly so he wouldn’t make a penny if he sued….he called his company UBra…as in ‘yo bra, you want me to give you a lift home?’
He is a little bit of a wheeler and and a dealer, he told us the tale of how some guys used him for a lift and just because, ‘Im a big, black mother fucker they thought I was a drug dealer…they thought I could hook them up with some cocaine..I said to them, I’m a God fearing family man bra, I don’t do that kind of shit….they offered me a $300 tip…well, who turns down a $300 tip, Jesus knows I have to feed my family, I took them straight to the projects and they said it was the best blow ever….so if you want anything during your stay….’
The conversation kind of petered out there….Rosie and The Operator couldn’t have looked as square as we know we are if we were having that offer put to us.
The Bourbon Orleans Hotel is one of the Grand Old Regal Ladies in town, it spans the whole block and we are just around the corner from Bourbon Street and Jackson Square, right in the heart of the French Quarter. This is the area closest to the Mississippi first settled by the French.
This Hotel started life in 1815 as a Theater primarily for those of mixed colour, a ballroom was added and The Famous Quadroon Balls were held in the grand salon. Quadroons were those of mixed race, typically one quarter African. These balls were famous for the beauty of the quadroon woman, because of the social set up there was no place in society for them, not white and not totally accepted by African communities…rich white men went to the balls and negotiations were made by the girls mother to get a good deal for them to become mistresses of the wealthy Frenchmen. This was the only way for these ladies to become secure in society as a kept lady. In 1881 The Sisters of Holy family brought it and it became a convent.
These coloured nuns were some of the first to begin pushing for woman’s rights and they opened the first Catholic secondary school for coloured girls.
In the 1960s the Convent was sold to the Bourbon Orleans Hotel group, this hotel is on the nightly New Orleans ghost tour, it is supposed to be haunted by various ghosts although Rosie and The Operator never encountered any. We did have to sign a disclaimer though to say we wouldn’t have more than 20 people on our balcony and no kegs of beer…Rosie laughed at reception and said we wished we knew 20 people here to have over on the balcony…the receptionist said, ‘you will be surprised what goes on here at Mardi Gras’.
What a place New Orleans is! Faded colour, shuttered windows, balconies dripping in wrought iron, ferns and plants dripping from the balconies…it is a mass of one way streets that are so narrow.
The Operator did a good job, ditching the car…we don’t need it, everything is so close and easily walkable. We went for a quick trip around the block, everything is so close, it was midday Monday and there were just a nice amount of people wandering around, a jazz band was already playing in the street, and folk were walking, some staggering, with drinks in hand already. Wowza, this is going to be a cool place. Rosie is excited!
We took a free hotel shuttle bus to the Port of New Orleans to visit Blaine Kerns Madi Gras World.
They have a huge hanger out their where they craft, build and store the gigantic floats for the New Orleans Mardi Gras that are held every year on Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday when Lent starts. It is the last hurrah to excess before the Lenten fasting begins. These floats are incredible in every way, size statute, design and colour.
The French started Mardi Gras back in the early 1700s when New Orleans was established they held masked balls for the gentry, similar to those of Venice. It evolved over time and just got bigger and bigger with street carnivals and processions becoming the norm. In 1947 Blaine Kern, who was an artist/illustrator designed the biggest floats ever seen for that years Mardi Gras and the rest is history, he carried on making them bigger and better every year and now his son is doing the same.
Mardi Gras has a new theme every year and alot of the floats are recycled and up cycled, Krewes are different organisations that sponsor and finance the floats, there is stiff competition between the krewes on who is going to win the best float…and this place makes them.
The floats are pulled by tractors and are that big that they are multi level and can hold up to 50 people….there is even a toilet on them as once you are on the float, you on it for the next 8 hours! The phot to the right is how they start out…the pic below is the finished product.
Alot of the big centre pieces are made out of polystyrene, many layers glued together and then sculpted, they have a hot laser knife (pic right) which they can use for this. Then, once cut out they papier mache the piece and then paint it.
Everyone riding the floats must be anonymous and wear masks, its actually a law, this ensured no class distinction back in the day, and everyone can have a good time and could mingle with whoever they chose. Gifts are thrown to the crowd, these are in the form of beads, cups and coloured dubloons which show the parade king and are collectors items.
King Cake is eaten at this time, a baby Jesus statuette is baked into the cake, if you get the piece with the the baby Jesus baked into it, you get good luck for the whole year. 500,000 King cakes are sold every year in New Orleans.
Mardi Gras generates over $840 million for the city and the 37,000 motels rooms are 98% booked over this time.
The Fat Tuesday parade features 350 flatbed floats with over 15,000 masked people on board…you can see why they would have toilets on board and why it would take 8 hours to travel the circuit.
Yes, they had a wee Mardi Gras costume area and they encouraged us to put on a costume and take some pics…we don’t need to much encouragement for this carry on…..
Rosie thinks she is a bit faint hearted for the Mardi Gras…it looks totally amazing but all those people packed into those narrow streets…Rosie has a sweat up thinking about it.
The Operator said it would be OK if we had our hotel balcony….seeing as we would be allowed 20 people on it he reckons we can rent a crowd…have people pay us for a good view. Shame the parade doesn’t go around the French Quarter cause the roads are way to narrow…..
We went for a walk up Frenchmen’s Street in the evening, it is the area of town the locals hang out in, the street that has all the Jazz clubs and the best bands playing.
It is a grungy, grimy and colourful area. Kind of like a hipper and bigger Cuba Street. The wooden buildings are brightly coloured, the power poles angle in a jaunty fashion and thick ropes of cables lead to birds nest tangles on the front of the houses, the pint is faded and chipping, the footpath is positively treacherous and the sounds of squealing trumpets was amazing.
Jazz quartets were in full swing as the sun set and sky darkened the lighting came on and softened the edges on everything.
An Art market had just opened as the darkness fell, a talented and amazing space which was fantastic to wander around under the twinkle of fairy lights.
The cool artistic spaces were just so classy. The pic on the left is where the artists/stallholders were unpacking their wares from…
We stopped at a bar called Bamboulas who had a jazz quartet playing and had some dinner. What a great vibe and sound, Rosie has found her music preference on this trip, definitely groovy Jazz. The tip jar was whipped around when the band had a break and then we wandered back to the hotel.
Tomorrow Rosie and The Operator are going on a French Quarter Carriage Tour, we are digging this horsey thing and method of getting around. We are also travelling into Ward 9 to gain an insight into the devastation Katrina wrought, plus, what is a visit to New Orleans if you dont visit a cemetery.
