New Orleans - Last night in the city

A few random photos taken at various locations to show the city.   A beautiful home and an alley leading to a restaurant in the back.

These two photos were taken against the sun, Each photo is composed of three photos at different exposures and then processed in HDR mode  I think they came out really nice even though they were taken without a tripod.

Local musicians playing for tips.  This saddens me because these people have no careers, no work, no future.   I was chatting with a nearby store owner and he tells me these people survive by picking up leftovers from restaurants.  They live in groups and share homes.  What will become of them as they age?  What happens when they get sick?

I felt sad when I saw this beautiful lady working for tips too.  She had an old typewriter and the sign said "Poet for hire".   I chatted with her and when I asked permission to take her photo she said, sure for a tip.  I ended up giving her a nice tip.  I crossed the street and when she wasn't looking captured another photo, she looked sad just sitting there.

This lady on the other hand was very colorful, she had amazing tattoos.  I didn't ask her permission to take the photo, waited for her to start crossing the street and took a photo of her back.

On my last post I had just sat down for a drink and to take a break on my return from the WWII museum.   This was my view of the Mississippi River from the balcony.

As I walked back I stopped by the steamer Natchez which was preparing to leave on a river cruise.  It appears the sun had just set in this photo, but this is an handheld HDR photo too, it was already pretty dark.

In this photo, taken a few minutes after the above photo, I'm standing by the entrance to the Nachez, you can see how dark it was.  This lady was walking near the Natchez with her pony with little bags of popcorn in the bucket.  I bought a bag and fed it to the pony.   The pony knew it was for him as soon as I grabbed a bag.

This photo was taken a few minutes later as the Natchez departed for the river cruise.  The camera is on top of a garbage can with the timer on.  One of the problems of traveling alone, how to take a selfie.

Most "bums" travel with a dog.  I felt sorry for the poor dogs, this one must have been tired and decided to take a nap in the middle of the street while his owner stopped to chat with a tourist.  Not sure what he was dragging behind his bicycle or why the dog was wearing glasses.

After another wonderful dinner in one of the bars, I walked to the end of Bourbon street, turned around and headed back down Bourbon one last time, it was a little after midnight.   With a cacophony of music reverberating through side streets, people dancing on the balconies, tourists marching up and down Bourbon street, the French Quarter was alive but my visit had come to an end.  I had to get up early, visit the St. Louis Cemetery number 1 and then head west to Texas.

As I walked back to the hotel St. Pierre, I took one last photo.  I'm crossing Orleans street, I look to my right and down the street is a statue of Jesus casting a shadow on the back of the St. Louis Cathedral.  It's as if Jesus is saying, "I give up, I can't help the wretched on Bourbon Street".

New Orleans - Day 2

With no riding planned for today and my Super Tenere nicely tucked away in the small parking lot of the Hotel St. Pierre, I had the whole day to explore New Orleans on foot.  Just two blocks away from the hotel is the Louis Armstrong Park and it would be the first place on the route.  In the park you can see the New Orleans Municipal Auditorium, the Mahalia Jackson Theater of the Performing Arts, Congo Square and the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park.

Next I walked south towards the Mississippi River passing charming old homes, the colors fading as time passes by, the wood drying with age, too many pictures to post but here's two that caught my eye.  These Creole cottages are scattered throughout the city.

The balconies of the French Quarter are well known and the flowers hanging from them make the city very colorful and picturesque.

As you walk around the French Quarter you see a lot of these street signs, most referring to the time when New Orleans was the capital of the Spanish Province of Louisiana.

Most of these buildings are from the late 1700's, early 1800's and you can see the age, balconies and floors out of alignment or dropping, the only thing supporting them is the wrought iron columns.

My first taste of Beignets was in Biloxi, they are similar but I was told the New Orleans are the originals and better.  Beignets are pastry made from deep-fried choux paste served with powdered sugar on top.  I stopped for beignets at two different places, they are super delicious.

My next destination was the Jackson Square and the St. Louis Cathedral, one of the oldest cathedrals in the United States.  In the center of the park stands a statue of Andrew Jackson erected in 1856 after the victorious United States general.

These streetcars run along the river and through the city and are an easy way to get to different places and see the city at the same time.

Once you cross Canal Street you can see various tall office buildings and the city is just like any other big city in the USA.

 

Two places I didn't have the chance to visit were the Civil War and the National World War II museums.   I would have loved to have an extra day in the city to visit them.  Next time, I will return.

I arrived a little after 4 and the WWII museum closed at 5.  I had a long chat with the security guys about the planes hanging above our heads in the main lobby of the museum, one of the guys was from New York but now lives in New Orleans.  He knew quite a bit about the history of the Supermarine Spitfire and the Douglas C-47 Dakota, two very iconic warplanes of WWII.

I must have walked over ten miles since I left the Hotel St. Pierre early in the morning.   I was tired but the day was not over yet, I find a mall facing the Mississippi River with tables outside on the balcony, I get a drink and sit down to get my energy back.

More to follow.