New Orleans 2025

[Grant Lamontagne]

We continued our walk through the park and, yes, I know I have mentioned it before but the trees here fascinate me.  These giant (and I mean GIANT) limbs that stretch out 90 degrees from the trunk and stretch 75-100 feet outwards must weight tons- literally.  And then you add the leaves and these other plants that apparently enjoy living on them.... the wood in this tree, at least at it's junction point must be ultra super dense to support that kind of weight.

Especially in the wind.

It's absolutely crazy to me to see it- we have some big trees in Canada as well, but the branches usually are angled upwards and not very large because they have a shorter growing season and have to deal with snow load, which can add hundreds of kilos to the weight f the branch in short order.

Anyways, enough about trees.... as freaking cool as they are....

After our walk around the park we decided to change gears and head to another landmark we intended to visit, the Sazerac House.  This is the distillery and distribution for Sazerac, a liquor that is as entwined with New Orleans as the French Quarter and Bourbon Street.  It is one of the cornerstones of New Orleans, and one I had been looking forward to trying, and it has amazed me that we have made it this far into our vacation and not yet drank any of it.

But along the way to the Sazerac House I got a bit distracted by a candy store.

#fatguyproblems

I ended up buying a sizeable box of bulk Pez candy and some freeze dried gummi worms for my father.  He loves gummi candy, so I am sure he will be amused and confused by the freeze dried version of it!   

On the way out I noticed these urine sample candy and was tempted to go back and buy some more, but my bulk Pez purchase largely deplated my candy budget.  I will be eating Pez for a long time.... and that's fine with me.   

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

With my sweet tooth satiated and Megan's eyes ready to roll out of her head I went back to pretending to be a responsible, well adjusted adult and we went  back to our plan of visiting the Sazerac House.

Holy smurfsnacks, what an experience.

We took the self guided tour which we were pleasantly surprised to find was free, and included three separate tastings and many, many fun interactive displays.  I would love to tell you about it, but even thinking back to it, it is still mind blowing.  No expense was spared, with lots of information in easily digestible displays and extremely friendly, knowledgeable and helpful employees everywhere.

If you ever find yourself in New Orleans, this is a stop you absolutely must make.  The rich history of New Orleans and the development of Sazerac going back to a distillery in France that produced absinthe, the effects of Prohibition and so on- it's more of a history lesson than it is an attempt to sell bottles of booze.

And it's absolutely free, and you could easily spend a couple of hours in there, or you could fire through it in about 15-20 minutes if you really wanted to.

Naturally we bought a bottle (or two) on the way out, and we expected the price to be a bit on the high side to support the multi-story experience above, but in fact the bottles were cheaper than anywhere else because they didn't need to add distribution costs.  Free tour, free samples and discounted product?  THAT is how you run a business!

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

After coming back to the Airbnb for a bit of a rest we ventured out to a local bar called Port of Call where we had gone after arriving on our first day here.  We enjoyed it and it was convenient, with good food and good drinks. 

We each ordered a drink and a burger and the drinks came in large plastic cups- about the size of a medium pop at McDonalds.

I don't know how much booze was in each drink, but neither of us was feeling any pain on the walk home.  I didn't get any pics there but I'll try and post pics of the cups later since we kept them.

Today's plan (I think) includes a cemetery tour, a trip down Frenchman Street and a stop in at Marie Leveau's for some souvenirs for friends.  I am also thinking today might be the day for a Hand Grenade, which we have also missed out on so far.   

I am also going to follow these posts up (probably on the trip home) with some pics of the extremely cool cars we have seen on this trip  We don't see a lot of cool cars at home as the rust pretty well eats everything pretty badly by the time it's ten years old.

They don't seem to have that problem here!

Oh, and one other thing I keep forgetting to mention- there is a joint military base just outside of town and while I haven't managed to get any pictures of them, we have seen F-5 Tiger II's and F-15 Eagles fly overhead.  I have also seen a C-130 Hercules, but those are everywhere, so I couldn't get too excited about that.

Also stationed at that base are Huey Super Cobras and I am really crossing my fingers that I get to see one of those while I am here.  I have seen an Apache up close and that was an impressive thing to behold.  The Super Cobra has also been a favorite.  Attack helicopters are extremely cool because they manage to be some of the most lethal and effective aerial weapons despite being some of the most difficult things to get (and keep) off the ground.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

What a day we had yesterday!!!!

It started with a coffee shop right around the corner, which wasn't really anything that special, but was very close by, had good coffee (according to Megan as I don't drink coffee) and lemonade, and we had soma pastries for breakfast that were also quite good.  Unfortunately no pictures there- there was literally so much happening yesterday that we missed taking photos for a lot of it- sorry about that.

After the coffee shop we headed off to a Cemetery Tour- ordinarily we avoid guided tours for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that I walk slowly and can't hear a damned thing most of the time.  But, the only way to see this cemetery was in a guided tour, so we went.  We saw all kinds of cool crypts and learned a lot about them... but I am getting ahead of myself.

Upon arriving at the place where we had to sign up for the tour, we found it was an old railway station for the Southern Railway.  I like trains, and I know a lot of you do too- and I will be sure to post a lot more photos shortly, but for now, here is a taste. 

When it was time for our tour to begin we followed the group and saw all kinds of interesting tombs, including some of the founding fathers of the city and Jazz, as well as the actual tomb of Marie Laveau (worth a few minutes on Google if you don't know who that is) and, oddly enough, Nicholas Cage.  Yes, yes, I know, he isn't dead, but he has pre purchased and built his own tomb because apparently he really likes New Orleans and would like to be laid to rest here.

I can't say as I blame him, I am also really falling in love with this city.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

During the tour we learned a lot about New Orleans culture and history and, while I already knew a fair bit about both of those prior to coming here, I still found it informative and enlightening- at least the parts I could hear.   

Also, I don't mean to brag, but we not only saw ghosts, but had an intense enough paranormal experience that I was able to take photos.  I know, some of you may believe what is posted is photoshopped, but I swear on my immortal soul that the picture below is exactly what we saw, and 100% accurate. 

After that, we took a walk through Louis Armstrong Park- if you don't know who that is, Google "Louie Armstrong- What A Wonderful World" and thank me later.  I love Satchmo, and he has been an inspiration to me since I first heard that song.  It provides a nice antithesis to my natural born pessimism.

It's  beautiful park, but we were warned previously that it might not be a good place to find ones self after dark.  I can neither confirm nor deny that, but I will say that you should be careful of strangers in the park as we narrowly avoided a gentleman who was randomly approaching people, telling them some history and asking for money.  I don't think there was any threat there, but be aware that inside the park that may happen.

That having been said, literally everywhere else we have been on this trip absolutely everyone was polite and helpful and extremely welcoming.  I literally cannot say enough good things about this city and our experiences in it so far.

But wait, there's more!

After the park we went to a place called Lil Dizzy's for fried chicken, and let me tell you, this was an amazing experience.  Ordinarily we try to avoid the tourist restaurants and try to find the places where locals eat- it's usually the absolute best place to get food, but in this case, Lil Dizzy's is both.  It is so good and so popular that tourists (like us) flock there and the locals have not moved on- it is great food, great prices, great atmosphere, but expect to wait for a table because it is busy and they are only open for a few hours at a time.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

Sorry, no pictures of Lil Dizzy's- the food was so good I forgot to take any.  If you are anywhere within a block of the restaurant the smell will have you craving fried chicken like there is no tomorrow.  They have other things on the menu, but I have no idea why.  The fried chicken we had came with a side of baked macaroni and cheese that was so good.... I mean, I wouldn't sell my children for more, but I would think about it for a while!

After that, we met up with Jerry and Louise, who are also visiting here!  After a brief chat, we told them we'd see them in the spring when they came home, and wished them all the best.   

Then we headed off to another spot called the Calas Cafe where we had something called Calas.  It was amazing- kind of like a small beignet but made with rice to give it an extra crispy covering and more texture, as well as a honey lemon sauce to dip it in.  This is literally a cafe someone has built on their front lawn, and it's well worth visiting.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

I hit Post before finishing that post, and I seem to have accidentally duplicated a photo.  Sorry about that!

These are the Hand Grenades I was talking about earlier- we walked down to Bourbon Street and got them.  Honestly, they are worth the experience, but they were pricey and nowhere near as potent as any of the drinks we have gotten anywhere else.  They are fun to have as pretty well every bar sells them, but not really a good bang for your buck as far as drinks go.

I think the best part of the walk down Bourbon Street is that there is a lot of construction going on, even though we are technically in the Carnival Season.  This week is a bit of a lull between events (which is why we chose to come here now!) and I guess the city is trying to get as much done as they can before things ramp up gain for Mardi Gras in a couple of weeks.

naturally as I work in road construction I had to send pictures to my team saying "Imagine trying to pour concrete on Bourbon Street during Carnival?"  We can absolutely commiserate with these poor workers trying to get a job done while drunk tourists stumble around them and try to get involved!   

After that we walked down to Frenchman's Market and eventually drained the cups which we will keep as souvenirs.  I also grabbed some souvenirs for one of my coworkers, and then we headed up Frenchman Street.

Along the way I was finally ale to capture a (horrible) pic of these two F-15 Eagles flying together.  Sadly my iPhone is an older model without a zoom lens, so this is taken at max digital zoom.  Still, if you know what an F-15 looks like, it's pretty easy to see.

I wasn't ready for the next jets we saw though.  there are F-15's and F-5's stationed at the local military base, so I am guessing the F-18 Hornets we saw must be visiting.

Def

[nate j]

I’ve been enjoying following along.  Sounds like a great trip so far!

[Grant Lamontagne]

We have been having a great time!

I forgot to mention that we are a couple of doors down from a bar called Little People’s Place.  We missed it last weekend and didn’t realize it was closed during the week.

Apparently it was open every night years ago, but in the post Katrina gentrification of the neighborhood they were determined to be too loud, and were forced to only open on weekends.

They were open last night and, exhausted as we were, we went in and we were very glad we did!

I’ll tell you all more later, we are at another restaurant now!

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

Okay, just to catch up on the story from Little People's before I get started on yesterday's adventures.

First off, it is a historic bar that has been family owned since 1947.  Naturally it was closed during Katrina as most things were, but many of the great jazz players played here in their early days.  Kermit from Kermit's Mother n Law Lounge that we had been to last week got his start there, as have many others.  We know this because the owner lives across the road and sat down with us and chatted for a very long time.  It was absolutely great- I didn't hear much of the conversation, but I can't recall the last time I'd been made to feel that welcome anywhere.

And all of this in a bar the size of an average, city home living room, which is probably what it started out as.

Unfortunately as people bought up the houses super cheap after Katrina and started renovating them, they complained that the music was too loud and that lead to Little People's Place being closed most of the week, only allowed to open on weekends.

While we were there we had a couple of beers each (Megan rarely finishes one beer, so to have gone through TWO was impressive) and we may or may not have been served some local sourced moonshine that may or may not have been legal.

But I'll tell you this- if it did exist, it was some really god stuff.   

Now on to yesterday.

Megan found another cemetery that she wanted to visit and so that was our destination for the day, and our only real plan.  We grabbed a bite for breakfast at a place called Fatma's, also not far from where we were staying and off we went on a fairly lengthy bus journey and a hefty walk at either end to get to LaFayette Cemetery No. 2.

Knowing what we learned about the above ground cemeteries from our tour guide the day before, we were able to more fully appreciate this one as we wandered around at our own pace, looking at each and every burial site.  I won't tell you about them because the few things I recall from the tour are probably garbled and misheard, but I highly recommend looking them up if you are interested.

In short, bodies are stacked in there in coffins where they decompose, and when someone else needs to be buried in there, the new body basically goes right on top of the old one that has broken down enough that the slightest touch turns them to dust.  In this manner, hundreds of family members over many generations can be buried in one of these.

Since this was a big expenditure at first, many of the bigger tombs are organizational tombs- unions, local clubs etc.  This way the organization would front the cost, or bear most of it, while allowing each member to have enough space for them and the next few generations of their families.

Very cool stuff.

On our way back we ended up on Bourbon Street again, at Canal.  There is a lot of construction there so the streetcars have to stop as they aren't very good at detouring.   

We could have hopped n a bus but we decided to walk a bit and we had a good laugh:

Band?

Check.

Crowd of drunken party people?

Check.

Cement Mixer?

Check.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

This was our third or fourth time near the site of the incident a couple of weeks ago, but our first time walking straight through it.  There were memorials all around, and you can see how deeply this community has been affected by it, and more importantly, how determined they are to recover and move forward, while never forgetting.

It was beautiful, humbling and inspiring all at the same time.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

I felt that last one deserved it's own post, but back to the usual stuff.....

I was able to finally get a picture of the F-5 Tiger II and another shot of the F-18 Hornet.  I really do love military aircraft, and I am a bit disapointed that I didn't get to see any Super Cobras.  We did see a few Hueys fly overhead but for some reason both Megan's camera and mine went all blurry the moment the cameras picked them up.  It was weird.

There are also a lot of common phrases here in NOLA, and one of them is Who Dat?  You see it everywhere, and in fact the wifi password in our Airbnb is whodat9911 (or something similar).

So when I saw this brand of porta potties, I just laughed and laughed until I needed to use one!

Last night we ate at a bar called Bacchanal Fine Wines, but since we got there during Happy Hour we didn't actually have any wine.  Instead we had their Punch, which was basically a lemonade and tequila, and it was quite enjoyable.  We sat and drank and ate for a couple of hours and shortly after the show started we decided we were too tired to stay much longer.  We called an Uber to pick us up (we've been using mostly public transit or walking since we arrived) came home and went to sleep shortly afterwards.

Def

[nate j]

First off, it is a historic bar that has been family owned since 1947…Unfortunately as people bought up the houses super cheap after Katrina and started renovating them, they complained that the music was too loud and that lead to Little People's Place being closed most of the week, only allowed to open on weekends.

Seems a bit like buying/building a house next to a meat packing plant, and then complaining about the smell.  Being there first seems like it ought to carry some weight, but the majority usually wins out…

[Grant Lamontagne]

That is absolutely correct.

We have the same problems in Halifax.  Megan’s boss is  :facepalm:the federal government representative for the area and regularly fields calls complaining about the noise from the local air bad that predates most of the city by a significant time period.

We also suffered this problem when loading ships with grain or wood pellets from the local granary. People living in a condo building called The Granary because it is next to the granary complained repeatedly about the dust…. Coming from the granary. 

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

I don't have much time for an update this morning as we are getting everything packed up for the long trek home. 

I will be in and out as we try to get a few last things done, clean up the Airbnb, pack and get to the airport.  Once there I should have some time to get caught up here, but until then we will be running around.   

We have stayed in a lot of Airbnb's over the years nd have cleaning and packing pretty much down to a science, so that's not a big deal.  Also there are professional cleaners coming in behind us, and there weren't many cleaning supplies left for us, so I expect they weren't expecting us to want to sweep up.   Often we leave Airbnb's cleaner than we found them!

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

One more thing I have been meaning to mention:

I love New Orleans.  this has been an amazing city to stay in.  If I had to live in the US, this would be the city I would choose.  Everywhere we went we were outsiders, tourists, but were made to feel like we belonged here.  Everyone has been polite, friendly and helpful.  I have not had a negative experience anywhere....

BUT....

There are no multitools or SAKs available anywhere in this city, save one Classic SD in an Ace Hardware on Rampart.

No multitools or SAKs in any of the markets, tourist shops, no specialty knife shops (at least not in the reasonably large area we covered) , nothing even remotely local on FB Marketplace.... I was desperate to buy a knife while I was here.  I bought a Spartan in Greece, I bought a Victorinox Nail Clipper in San Francisco , and I had intended to buy one here, but there was absolutely nothing anywhere.  No pawn shops, no knife shops, not even any knockoffs, fishing knives, anything.

I m a bit disappointed in that if I'm honest..  Megan says maybe there are laws here that prohibit it, maybe it's because of all the stupid kids and excessive alcohol, maybe it is in response to the recent incident... I have no idea, but I would have loved to have a knife to remember this trip with, as I have with the others.

Otherwise, this is an absolutely perfect city and I love it.

Def

[nate j]

Megan says maybe there are laws here that prohibit it, maybe it's because of all the stupid kids and excessive alcohol, maybe it is in response to the recent incident... I have no idea, but I would have loved to have a knife to remember this trip with, as I have with the others.

A quick review on the Legal Blade app didn’t turn anything up.
 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yeah, I didn’t see anything either when I searched.

Also, first leg of the trip down- we are now in Toronto!

We have a two hour layover here before heading home to Halifax.

We should get there by midnight ish and home about an hour after that.

Glad I had the sense to take tomorrow off too!

Def

[SteveC]

Just catching up on this now, Looks like you guys had a great time   

[Grant Lamontagne]

We absolutely did have a great time. 

On to what we did yesterday:

There is a house in New Orleans that they (allegedly) call the Rising Sun.  It's been the ruin of many a poor boy, and God I know I'm one.

https://youtu.be/SJUhlRoBL8M?si=G7_44AFjt1KQbOgD

There are several houses that could be the house that inspired the Animals to write that song, and more when you realize they aren't talking about daybreak.  The House of the Rising Sun was code for a brothel or house of ill repute.

Allegedly the house on Ursalines (a few blocks from where we stayed) was one of the more likely Houses of the Rising Sun, but it could have easily been others.  There were a lot of houses of ill repute in the city at one point, which leads me to another, adjacent story to that one.   

Apparently a very puritanical city alderman named Sidney Story wanted all of the bordellos shut down.  After much fighting and arguing, it was agreed that they would create a red light district that the brothels would operate out of.  Because of his efforts that created the need to move it all to one place, they named the neighborhood after him, and to this day it is called Storyville.

Imagine trying to get all of these types of businesses wiped out and your name gets associated with the district packed with them!   

At any rate, this is the building in question.  Supposedly it is a hotel now, but it did not appear all that open when we were there.

Fortunately, around the corner was another fascinating attraction, the Pharmacy Museum.

It was a fascinating (and crowded) museum showing why people of previous generations were a Hell of a lot tougher than each successive generation.  You had to be tough to survive any accident, and then tougher still to survive the medical treatment!   

Some of this stuff was very cool (complex machines in days before mass production or automation) and some was nightmare inducing, like the forcepts used to hold open the lids for eye surgery.  Just typing that gives me the heebie jeebies, the willies and the chills, in that order.

As this is a family site, I will refrain from posting the pics, but if anyone would like to see the ones I dared to take let me know and I will send them on.  Don't blame me if you are as disturbed as I am, and I didn't get pictures of the really weird stuff.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

No surprise that most of the younger generation paid close attention to the medicinal marijuana section, but there was also all kinds of other things, such as the invention of sodas to administer liquid, foul tasting drugs.

After that we went to supper (hard to believe we could eat, but some very potent drinks helped wash away the memories.  We had steak at the Port Of Call, a place we had eaten at twice before, and the first place we ate in New Orleans.

After that I took Megan to the Airbnb and I had to go run an errand.  Naturally the closest pharmacy (actual, not historical!) was a number of blocks away and so I ended up taking the bus to Canal Street, and it was MUCH prettier after dark.

I ended up walking the several blocks back to the Airbnb, and got to see more of the city in the dark- mostly places we had passed repeatedly in the day time, but it was cool to see them after dark too!

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

Afterward I had returned from my solo adventure we decided we had better go next door for another drink, despite already feeling pretty good from the hefty drinks we had with supper.

We had promised Rodney, the owner of Little People's Place that we'd be back, and as last night was literally our last night, we were running out of time to fulfill that promise!

I want you all to promise me this- if you re ever in New Orleans, you will visit Little People's Place in Treme.  I guarantee that you will feel as welcome as if you have been going there your entire life.

As I was having such a good time (and a few more drinks  ) I didn't get any pics last night, but I did take this pic of their sign this morning as we attempted to get as much NOLA in as we could before we left.

I snapped that pic as we headed off to Lil Dizzy's, a restaurant famous for fried chicken, and only a couple of blocks away.  We got there just as they opened and got fried chicken and baked macaroni and cheese, just as we had a few days ago when we were there previously.  Let me tell you, as good as it may look in the pictures, it's nowhere near as good as it is to eat.  I have eaten a lot of fried chicken in my time, but never anything like this.

Once we were done there we were really running out of time, but we also heard a parade starting up, and for the first time we felt bad for filling up on amazing fried chicken and macaroni at Lil Dizzy's.

You see, when there is a parade, it's not just people marching and waving and playing music in New Orleans- there are a lot more people barbecuing on the back of a truck- and not a food truck like you see on the Food Network.  I am talking about a 1997 Chevy Half Ton with a smoker or barbecue in the back, and a cooler full of beer.  There are several guys set up selling food and drinks, some people selling cigars and others popping open a hatchback and mixing drinks for people.

None of this is legal, but as the police are there to guide the parade, they are walking around seeing all of this.  The food vendors aren't inspected for cleanliness and proper facilities, the booze sellers aren't licensed (and probably aren't checking ID's!) and it is a complete free for all, and the police smile and wave to everyone because it happens all the time. 

That's New Orleans for you- if you aren't hurting anyone, you do you and it's all good.

And I absolutely love it.

I live in a town where the local councillors debate stupid crap all day like cat licenses because we have a lot of feral cats in the city.  Great, except who is going to hold the licence for a feral cat?  They pass idiotic bylaws constantly to make themselves feel important and make it look like they are doing something so they get re-elected and continue doing stupid crap.

But in New Orleans, cars are driving by without license plates, people are drinking in the street, selling booze and meat (good meat at that!) and just having a great time in a laid back atmosphere.  I have really never experienced a town like it.

If more of the world embraced that kind of lifestyle I am sure we would have a lot less problems!

That's about it for my trip.  I am sitting in the lounge in Toronto waiting for my next flight and catching up on a few things.  Allegedly it is going to be pissing down rain when we get home, then tomorrow I have to do some work over at Megan's parents' place and pick up our teeny dog who will probably try to eat us when he sees us.

Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

That’s it!

We just landed in Halifax safe and sound, and now to try and get our bags in time to grab a cab home!

Def

[Farmer X]

Glad you made it back safely. Clearly it was an amazing trip. For me, the highlight would have been the military aircraft. Thank you again for taking us along for the journey!

[Grant Lamontagne]

Growing up as a military brat on air and army bases, it's always the highlight for me too.  I love military equipment!

And, working in shipping for so many years I greatly appreciated all of the cleats for tying things down properly.

Def

[Farmer X]

Proper tie-down points are underappreciated, yet absolutely vital. And the bike maintenance station was interesting. I wonder if the tools were any good?

[Grant Lamontagne]

They seemed a little rusty but functional enough.  And, I would imagine that they are better than no tools at all when you are having issues. 

I was into long distance biking long ago, when portable tool kits were either not available, highly pricey and/or of extremely limited function, so I can really appreciate this kind of thing.  I had very long walks half carrying a bike on more occasions than I care to remember.   

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

They were talking about a snow storm in NOLA while we were there.  I didn't think it would amount to much but most folks there were quite worried- and rightly so as they may see snow once in 20 years.  No one has snow tires, they don't have snow clearing equipment, no road salt, no snow boots and even worse, no insulated plumbing.

I just had a look at the city cams and it is a very different place today than it was last week when we were there.

https://www.earthcam.com/usa/louisiana/neworleans/bourbonstreet/?cam=catsmeow2

I truly hope everyone down there is okay.  From a Canadian perspective, this isn't even a reason to be late for work, but for New Orleans this is significant and likely to grind the city to a halt.

Def

[ToolJoe]

Great posts and write up. I haven't been to Nola in nearly 20 years but would like to go and take Mrs. TJ one of these days..

[Farmer X]

We here in Michigan know to expect that smurf. I can only hope everyone down south who isn't used to it comes out unscathed.