Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?

[dado potato]

We are going back for about a week at the end of March. First time back since before Katrina. Will be staying in a hotel two blocks south of Bourbon Street... walking as desired.

[razz]

Report on your experiences please and do a comparison for those of us who will likely not make it there. I am curious about the swamps that surround New Orleans, have they been restored to prevent the same damage from occurring again?

[Spartana]

Hey Dado I do know what it means to miss NOLA! I was stationed in New Orleans on Lake Ponchatrain (a rescue/law enforcement small boat station and lighthouse next to the bridge) for about a year and (now ex) DH was stationed close to downtown (on a ship at a Coast Guard base on the river) for 4 years so I visited him alot (I was stationed in Maine). It was a great place then, and I've been back a few years after katrina and much of it has been re-built since then. The Quarter didn't suffer any damage so that will be the same as always - and completely wild as usual for Mardi Gras. Most of the Bayou areas (of which I have spent a huge amount of time boating in while in the CG) is also undamaged and they places that were hit hard in the cypress groves, are pretty much regrown. There are areas, such as the 9th Ward, that are still devastated but those aren't tourist areas and most people going to NOLA wouldn't even see that.

Some of my favorite areas are outside the Quarter - Magazine Street down to Audobon Park (street cars along bordering St Charles St with great old mansions!!) which is on the Mississippi, the City Park and Museum that borders Lake Ponchatrain, John Lafitte Nat. Historic area, and a small plantation (can't remember the name) just east on Hwy 90.

here's some wikipedia info on City Park and Audobon Park and John Lafitte Nat Park:

City Park, a 1,300 acre (5.3 km²) public park in New Orleans, Louisiana, is the 6th-largest and 7th-most-visited urban public park in the United States. City Park is approximately 50% larger than Central Park in New York City[1], the municipal park recognized by Americans nationwide as the archetypal urban greenspace. Although it is an urban park whose land is owned by the City of New Orleans, it is administered by the City Park Improvement Association, an arm of state government, not by the New Orleans Parks and Parkways Department. City Park is very unusual in that it is a largely self-supporting public park, with most of its annual budget derived from self-generated revenue through user fees and donations. In the wake of the enormous damage inflicted upon the park due to Hurricane Katrina, the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism began to partially subsidize the park's operations.[2]
City Park holds the world's largest collection of mature live oak trees, some older than 600 years in age. Its founding in 1853 also makes it one of the oldest parks in the country.

Audubon Park (historically French: Plantation de Boré[1]) is a city park located in the Uptown neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana in the United States. The park is approximately six miles to the west of the city center of New Orleans and sits on land that was purchased by the city in 1871. It is bordered on one side by the Mississippi River and on the other by St. Charles Avenue, directly across from Tulane University and Loyola University. The park is named in honor of artist and naturalist John James Audubon, who began living in New Orleans in 1821. The land now housing the park was a plantation in colonial days. It was used by both the Confederate and the Union armies in the American Civil War, and as a staging area for the Buffalo Soldiers. At the time of its establishment it was the last large undeveloped parcel of what was to become Uptown New Orleans

The John LaFitte Nat. Park consists of six physically separate sites and a park headquarters located in southeastern Louisiana. The sites in Lafayette, Thibodaux, and Eunice interpret the Acadian culture of the area. The Barataria Preserve (in Marrero) interprets the natural and cultural history of the uplands, swamps, and marshlands of the region. Six miles southeast of New Orleans is the Chalmette Battlefield and National Cemetery, site of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans and the final resting place for soldiers from the Civil War, Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, and Vietnam. At 419 Decatur Street in the historic French Quarter is the park's visitor center for New Orleans. This center interprets the history of New Orleans and the diverse cultures of Louisiana's Mississippi Delta region. The Park Headquarters is located in New Orleans.

[dado potato]

Spartana,

Merci for all dat information. We went to Audobon Park last time, and I loved everyting about it... including d'ride dere and back. I look forward to a rendez-vous.

[jennipurrr]

I love New Orleans! Apparently the only way DH can convince me to travel for a football game is to lure me with a trip to New Orleans...we just got back yesterday :) We also visited in 2007 and 2010 and each time the city looks more and more rebounded. I am not sure what has been done to prevent flooding in the future though.

We had a wonderful time...did lots of walking to balance out all the food we ate (my favorite part!). If you've never done a walking tour of the Garden District I highly recommend it.

We always love a restaurant called Jacques-Imo's. Its uptown and from the Quarter you can usually take the St Charles street car just a couple blocks away, but they had part of the line down so we took a cab. Also, this time we tried a half price pizza happy hour at an Italian restaurant called Dominca in the Roosevelt Hotel and it was an amazing bargain. The gourmet pizza easily feeds two, is only $6.50 and the atmosphere was gorgeous. Also did a Sunday jazz brunch which was pricey but a fun three hour event.