New Orleans Likes: Food, Music, the "Vibe",Feel of History, Smell of Flowers Everywhere, Friendliness (to humans and dogs), Weather,
Outdoor Lifestyle, Walkability, Festivals, Drew Brees
New Orleans Dislikes: Mosquitos, Heat, Broken and Bumpy Sidewalks and Streets, No Recycling
Jack and I have been in New Orleans now for almost a month and it has taken me that long to start feeling settled in. Jack seems to feel right at home here and has said more than once that he could see living here. He loves the heat and humidity (and it's only April!) and of course, the great food and music.
While I like it here in New Orleans, I don't get the feeling of "home". We really enjoy the Garden District neighborhood where our rental house is located so it's not that. Our current home is one half of a double shotgun style house with high ceilings and hardwood floors. It's certainly not a fancy place but it's clean and safe. We laugh and say that it's like your dream first apartment after college - close to retail, lots of bars and restaurants, public transportation and Walgreen's.
Jack and I really enjoy the four block walk to yoga class at Shanti Yoga Shala and then stopping at Martin's wine store to pick up a bottle or two of wine on the way home. You cannot beat their selection and prices! On another day, we might stop at Mahoney's to sit outside and split a veggie poorboy and some amazing onion ring straws washed down with an Abita beer. While we hiked when we lived in Illinois, we rarely walked to anyplace like a restaurant or store and we are both really enjoying the walkability of New Orleans. It's also fun to take the trolley that runs between Uptown and Downtown. The wooden seats, no air conditioning and the open windows give the trolley that old time feel that is one of the things we enjoy in New Orleans.
Last Friday, we walked down to Perlis Clothing so that Jack could get some new work clothes (shorts). Perlis is an old time department store that sells Men's, Women's and Children's clothing. Unlike in many stores today, every sales person seemed glad to see us and talked to us. Pleasantly. They made eye contact. The owner came over and told me about living behind the store when he was a boy, Jack's salesperson told him about her grandchildren and her recipe for stuffed peppers, and I learned all about the young shoe salesperson who taught himself English at school after his parents immigrated to New Orleans from Korea, earned a scholarship to Tulane and is now headed for medical school. Such a different way of interacting here.
We love the beautiful homes here in the Garden District and Uptown and, as always, we wonder what these people do for a living? Some of the homes are amazing, and while you know that they have to be less expensive than a similar home in a city like New York or Chicago they still must cost a great deal.
Last week, while I was out walking Coco in the neighborhood, I came upon the film crew preparing to shoot scenes for Quentin Tarantino's new movie, Django Unchained. A neighbor of the home the studio had rented for the shoot told me that it was a Tarantino film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Morgan Freeman, and Sacha Baron Cohen so I Googled the film name when I got back home. Unfortunately, no celebrities were spotted that day.
Jack and I feel very lucky to be able to spend some time in this beautiful city. We've walked and driven through almost all of the neighborhoods and have found a lot to like. In the next several weeks, we have both the French Quarter Fest and Jazz Fest to look forward to along with trips to the Rock and Bowl for Zydeco Music and trips to Mandina's and Mother's for local food. I'll keep you posted!
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