Down the Mississippi to the Bayou.. (Sights & Attractions in New Orleans)

Member Name: abababbey

Product:	Sights & Attractions in New Orleans
Date:	10/11/01 (95 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: wonderful ethnic city

Disadvantages: hot summers

**I'd like to update you all on the city of New Orleans..or what used to be the city....I went back with my daughter after the apocalypse named Katrina, to try to retrieve my daughter's belongings....What was left was death and destruction all around. The stench of death and debris was everywhere. What was once a thriving tourist city and a wonderful place to live has now turned into a grand mass of mangled homes and businesses. Boarded up windows are everywhere. Big red "X's" on doorways marking where bodies have been found dot the once brightly painted doors of the 100 year old plus homes. The iron fences are mangled and rusted, the shops on and around the famous Bourbon street are for the most part closed. Only 49,000 of the 600,000 residents have returned to what is left. Some are lucky to have running, potable water and electricity. Most are not. My daughter lost all she had and has chosen to try out California and leave the memories of New Orleans behind he, as most others have done as well. We have lost an American treasure.**

Hi everyone, I'd like to tell you about where I am going, next week for a vacation. I'm going to visit my daughter, where she lives..New Orleans, Louisiana.

My daughter lives in the center of New Orleans, known as the French Quarter. The French Quarter sits along the edge of the mississippi river and is home to the ''birth'' of modern day music here in the U.S. Dixieland Jazz. The French Quarter also houses some of the best and most well known clubs, restaurants and shops in the U.S.

It is the home of Mardi Gras. The once a year festival of merriment, music and food. It is two days(up to a week) of fun where 10's of thousands of people, jam into a small area known as Bourbon Street, to do nothing but party!

New Orleans is also where streetcars were first introduced to America, at the World's Fair of 1884. You can still take a scenic ride in a streetcar along an electric track that runs up and down St. Charles Avenue. Or if streetcars are not to your liking, you can also take a tour in a beautiful horse drawn carriage to see all the sites of the city. A city where graceful and elegant wrought iron lacelike enclosures surround the balconies of the homes.

In the center of the french Quarter sits Jackson Square, which is a parklike setting housing the magnificant St. Louis Cathedral. Right down the street, you can walk around in the Open air market,where you can buy everything from freshly roasted cajun/creole coffee beans to hand made furniture and unique regional clothing.

You can dine in outdoor cafes, expensive formal restaurants or eat traditional cajun food from the street vendors.

When you tire of the excitement of the French Quarter, you can take a tour of the beautiful Garden District,where you can see old mansions and universities surrounded by towering oak trees and beautiful, colorful and fragrant flowers. Don't forget to make you way to the Louisiana Audubon
zoo!

For those of you wanting to experience a bit of the macabre, New Orleans is also known as The City of the Dead,because of all the unique burial vaults, above ground.(To escape intrusion by high water in this low lying area) And also because of the tales of VooDoo and Witchcraft of this area(which many natives still practice and believe in)

New Orleans is a city of rich history and modern marvels.
It is full of booming business, universities, skyscrapers and is also home of The Superdome(football stadium).

It is a wonderful place to visit or live.

(summer is hot & humid 80º-100º--winter is cold 25º45º, spring and fall are the best times to visit with temperature in the 65º-80º range)

make it a point to visit New Orleans, Louisiana if you ever have the opportunity. You won't be disappointed!

Summary: It will now never be the same