What do you do when you have five days of vacation to use before the end of the year and two AirTran certificates purchased at a charity auction? Marge Purnell decided on Christmas in New Orleans. Her favorite U.S. city did not disappoint. It even snowed!
We knew we had made the right decision when the city rolled out an early Christmas for us on December 11th with a rare blanket of snow. I was unaware that New Orleans had snow only 7 times in 70 years and we were the recipients of this joyous event. The snow started around 7 a.m. and continued until noon.
All regular broadcasting was pre-empted for snow coverage. Roads, schools, bridges, businesses and some surrounding city halls were closed. There was dancing in the streets of the French Quarter. The locals were truly excited. The snow was melted by 2:00 P.M. and then nature’s snowy Christmas display was over.
Days prior to our visit I spent considerable time combing web sites and brochures with colorful Christmas displays, lights and decorations. Since we had never visited the Big Easy in December, we were expecting a real treat.
Much to our dismay, we heard Christmas music in only a handful of stores and when I inquired, “Where is Christmas?” the employees at the Louisiana School of Cooking replied, “Oh, people are really just starting to decorate for Mardi Gras –- they leave their decorations and lights up through the festival.” There were some private homes and balconies decorated and most hotels sported lights and greenery but for the most part, it was business as usual with little attention paid to the holidays.
The morning it snowed, we walked east on Chartres Street in the snow (slush) to Frenchman St. in search of the offBeat office. As a long time subscriber, I wanted to visit their office and meet the publisher and editor-in-chief, Jan Ramsey. It wasn’t an easy find as there was no sign but we finally walked through a door into a small lobby and up a set of stairs.
Much to our delight, we spent about 45 minutes jawing with Jan and her husband, Joseph Irrera, managing editor. We were also met with a lick from Poppy, offBeat’s stress relief –- a Maltese/Poodle mix. offBeat is all about Louisiana music and the venerate musicians. We enjoyed hearing some updates from Jan and were saddened to learn that many musicians are still struggling to make ends meet since Katrina’s wrath.
Saturday evening was spent on Frenchman St. at Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro, New Orleans’ Premier Jazz Club. The burgers were surprisingly delicious and we enjoyed an intimate performance by local favorite, Astral Project. We were pleased to note many new venues on Frenchman St., which is becoming music central.
We took the streetcar from Canal through the end of the line in the Garden District and back and enjoyed the historic homes that were decorated with a festive look. My favorite sight was the greenery and bows on every streetcar. The decorations looked spectacular on the newly refurbished red ones.
We enjoyed many gratifying moments during our five-day stay. Felix’s Restaurant and Oyster Bar on Iberville Street is once again open and boasts the best bartender and Bloody Marys in the world. The Gumbo Shop on St. Peter Street still serves up premier gumbo and Shrimp Creole. Their house salad dressing, a white remoulade, is to die for. We ate at Johnny’s Po Boys on St. Louis Street twice for lunch and timed it just right. Five minutes later it was packed as usual.
For a fabulous, grease free breakfast, our ticket is The Old Coffee Pot on St. Peter Street. The grits melt in your mouth and I believe the waitstaff are some of the nicest people in town.
Speaking of nice people, New Orleans is inundated with genuinely sweet, friendly people. From storekeepers to restaurant workers to taxi drivers and streetcar operators — most are wonderful and have interesting stories to tell.
Although the Christmas experience was minimized, our December in New Orleans was quite a gift!
Here is a collection of helpful websites, if you go:
http://www.neworleansonline.com/
http://www.neworleanscvb.com/
http://www.nola.com/
http://www.snugjazz.com/site/
http://johnnyspoboy.com/
http://www.gumboshop.com/
http://www.norta.com/
http://www.neworleansschoolofcooking.com/
http://www.astralproject.com/old/
http://www.offbeat.com/
