New Orleans Aug 2008

I was in New Orleans (yes, again) from July 26-30. The city recovers more each time I am there. This is my third trip since Hurricane Katrina. There are areas of the city that you would have no idea were flooded and leveled. Vegetation is doing a nice job covering up some of the mess. There are still abandoned houses and FEMA trailers in some the farther out areas of the city. We stayed at the Dauphine New Orleans. A small hotel with a pool and on the day it was 99 degrees-that was nice. The rooms are recently renovated and nicely sized for an older property. The property claims to be haunted by 3 ghosts. (On a Haunted Tour the tour guide confirmed that info). The bar is a former bordello and even has red lights! We did several house tours, The 1850’s house and the Williams Residence. Old Southern living is very charming to look at-not live. The Gumbo Shop is as good as ever and we also ate at K-Paul’s. I have not eaten there recently but the food was wonderful. The Cajun Cabin is always fun for Creole Food and great zydeco music. There had been an oil spill about a week before we got there and river traffic was at a stop. While there the barge hit a pillar and even more oil spilled. What a mess, you can just see the slick on the river and the smell is very pungent. This is costing the city a lot of tourist dollars as the riverboats cannot run nor the ferry to Algiers to see Mardi Gras World which is an amazing time to see those floats up close and watch them actually work on the ones for next year. July is not necessarily the best time to go due to heat and humidity, but being that it is my favorite U.S. city-I am there in a heartbeat.
Joyce K.