New Orleans: A Colorful City
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7/6/2008
Affectionately called 'NOLA' by locals and natives alike, the City of New Orleans offers the casual visitor, habitual tourist and passionate local much to experience on a daily basis. While there are many setbacks in and around town due to the rebuilding post-Katrina, the energy is more optimistic than ever before. While the people in and around town are just as resilient and colorful, they are slightly more pre-occupied with their own rebuilding needs than with those of tourists and neighbors alike just now, so don't expect quintessential customer service or niceties on the street as was once the case. That being said, the majority of folks here are wildly passionate about this patch of soggy earth, and few of them can fathom life off what is essentially an island, so you'll experience some very friendly folks. The city has many cultural attributes to offer from The N.O. Jazz and Heritage Festival in Spring to the two plus week Carnival(Mardi Gras) celebrations. The nightly offerings cover the hip neighborhoods of the Lower Garden District, French Quarter, Marigny and Mid-City neighborhoods with a plethora of nightclub and bar scenes that encompass the economic spectrum. Great antiques can be found among the spectacular historic French and Spanish architecture of the oldest neighborhood in New Orleans, with its iron galleries and balconies, riverfront park, and Jackson Square. You'll never go hungry in this food capital of America. Much is offered by this rich culinary heritage of French, Spanish, African, Creole and Cajun influences, not to mention the strong German, Italian and Vietnamese infusions.
Kenneth | New Orleans, LA