However, New Orleans was different. Walking onto Canal Street is like stepping into a never-ending party. Day and night, streets are filled with people singing, eating, dancing, and just enjoying life in general. You can't help but crack a small smile when you pass Cafe du Monde, the smell of freshly cooked beignets topped with powdered sugar filling your nostrils. The people are the same way, with a gaiety that is contagious.
For me, I fell in love with "New Awlins" when I dragged my family to a hole in the wall record store. Ella Fitzgerald's Dream a Little Dream of Me was playing and indeed, the store was like a dream; for rows and rows of shelves were filled with old vinyl records, walls plastered with posters of Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, and many other jazz icons. I spent hours there, gawking at various old vinyl covers. I bonded with the store owners over chickory coffee and they exposed me to tons of other jazz artists. From that day on, my knowledge and appreciation of jazz had increased exponentially.
But the dream was abruptly broken when I boarded a bus tour. We passed neighbourhoods with houses that were destroyed: entire roofs ripped off, smashed windows, and houses that were just flattened. Cemeteries that continued as far as the eye could see rolled by. It seemed that these places never left 2005, unable to recover from the terror of Hurricane Katrina. I noticed a side of New Orleans that I will never forget. But then I saw a construction crew lifting up the wall of an entire house. Repairs were in process.
As we started heading back, I heard jazz ensembles warming up for the evening crowd. I realized something: New Orleans wasn't stuck in 2005, it moved forward, with a smile on its face, just like its inhabitants. People from New Orleans were so strong that not even a hurricane could diminish their spirits. The jazz kept on playing.
A typical jazz ensemble
Jackson Square in the French Quarter
The backyard of an old plantation estate
It's interesting to think of New Orleans as two different cities. I like the pictures you give us, but it would also be cool to see some pics of part of New Orleans that's still being rebuilt.
ReplyDeleteI went to New Orleans over the summer, and I agree with your descriptions. I loved walking through the French Quarter and going to get beignets at Cafe du Monde. But it is eye opening to see the cemeteries and the destruction that is still there today.
ReplyDeleteReading went from super happy to super sad but back to happy, shows how good you are at writing that you can play with our emotions like that. New Orleans sounds like a cool place though, I want to go there sometime now.
ReplyDeleteNew Orleans seems like a really interesting place to be! Parts of it stuck in destruction, and yet working hard to move forward. The imagery that you use in your descriptions as well as the pictures really helped me "see" New Orleans. It seems like a really cool place to visit!
ReplyDeleteSounds like New Orleans is a ton of fun. I've never been there, however I've wanted to visit at some point, maybe I can even have a beignet for the first time (typical teenager thinking about food).
ReplyDeleteUgh you make New Orleans sound amazing. From your description I'm picturing it as France meets jazz and I'd love to be able to go. I'm impressed at how well you captured the atmosphere and articulated it using beautiful imagery. It's sad to think of the destruction and trauma many people and places must still be suffering from, but it's good to hear that repairs are taking place and the city is still thriving.
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