New Orleans: Part One
First in a three part post; times and dates of posts approximated
I don’t even know where to begin this post. I am currently in my hotel room in New Orleans…current time 3:30 am, give or take. I obviously can’t post this live because the internet in the hotel costs a whopping 10 dollars per day, but alas, since I am incredibly sober and wide awake I figured I would write a little something before bed. My colleagues are either still out on Bourbon Street getting trashed or in their rooms getting trashed, which is just fine. I have had a great time this weekend; I mean, this is the most insane, crazy, unbelievable town I have ever seen in my life. The endless opulence (that’s the buzz word of the day) is incredible. Like I said, I don’t even know where to begin describing this place.
I thought of Kristin a lot today. Not only because I missed her company a whole lot (I’ll discuss this later) but because I know if she were here her head would be spinning (in a good way, of course). But yeah, I ended up breaking off from the group today…to make a long story short they went to the Aquarium, which is fine and dandy, but there was just so much more to absorb down there in the French Quarter that I decided to keep wandering on my own. I am glad I did; we had gone last night to Bourbon Street and I was totally taken by surprise at the craziness of the scene, the numbers of people, the overwhelming drunkenness…but I was even more floored to witness the scene today. It was a writer’s smorgasbord, which is why Kristin continued coming to mind. She just has this insane ability to describe anything and everything in the most vivid detail I’ve ever heard. And so as I was traversing the French Quarter by my lonesome, mumbling to myself in amazement and awe (I find I talk when I’m by myself than with a large group…proof of my personality, maybe?) I just tried to put myself in her shoes. I could see her mind buzzing: qualifying the overwhelming smell of stale alcohol; describing the juxtaposition of elderly couples swing dancing in the streets while teenage girls were ripping their tops off in various clubs at three in the afternoon; expressively reenacting that crazy cacophony of jazz music, techno beats, car horns, and pedestrian noise; attempting to explain how one block is simply one raunchy club after another and how the next block is entirely upscale and ritzy boutiques and lavish antique shops. It was definitely a sensory overload to say the least.
Even if getting drunk and being reckless and carefree isn’t your style, I would still highly recommend (and even consider forcing) you to visit here at some point in your life. Even if you aren’t college age you can still have fun, and I saw that today. Never in my life have I witnessed such a scene. It is funny because frankly, the place isn’t very pretty, the Mississippi River is completely over-exaggerated, and the smell down there in the French Quarter is atrocious. But that somehow doesn’t detract from the fact that it was one of the most off-beat places I’ve ever visited. But I am getting tired, so I am going to pass out now. I will post more later.
I don’t even know where to begin this post. I am currently in my hotel room in New Orleans…current time 3:30 am, give or take. I obviously can’t post this live because the internet in the hotel costs a whopping 10 dollars per day, but alas, since I am incredibly sober and wide awake I figured I would write a little something before bed. My colleagues are either still out on Bourbon Street getting trashed or in their rooms getting trashed, which is just fine. I have had a great time this weekend; I mean, this is the most insane, crazy, unbelievable town I have ever seen in my life. The endless opulence (that’s the buzz word of the day) is incredible. Like I said, I don’t even know where to begin describing this place.
I thought of Kristin a lot today. Not only because I missed her company a whole lot (I’ll discuss this later) but because I know if she were here her head would be spinning (in a good way, of course). But yeah, I ended up breaking off from the group today…to make a long story short they went to the Aquarium, which is fine and dandy, but there was just so much more to absorb down there in the French Quarter that I decided to keep wandering on my own. I am glad I did; we had gone last night to Bourbon Street and I was totally taken by surprise at the craziness of the scene, the numbers of people, the overwhelming drunkenness…but I was even more floored to witness the scene today. It was a writer’s smorgasbord, which is why Kristin continued coming to mind. She just has this insane ability to describe anything and everything in the most vivid detail I’ve ever heard. And so as I was traversing the French Quarter by my lonesome, mumbling to myself in amazement and awe (I find I talk when I’m by myself than with a large group…proof of my personality, maybe?) I just tried to put myself in her shoes. I could see her mind buzzing: qualifying the overwhelming smell of stale alcohol; describing the juxtaposition of elderly couples swing dancing in the streets while teenage girls were ripping their tops off in various clubs at three in the afternoon; expressively reenacting that crazy cacophony of jazz music, techno beats, car horns, and pedestrian noise; attempting to explain how one block is simply one raunchy club after another and how the next block is entirely upscale and ritzy boutiques and lavish antique shops. It was definitely a sensory overload to say the least.
Even if getting drunk and being reckless and carefree isn’t your style, I would still highly recommend (and even consider forcing) you to visit here at some point in your life. Even if you aren’t college age you can still have fun, and I saw that today. Never in my life have I witnessed such a scene. It is funny because frankly, the place isn’t very pretty, the Mississippi River is completely over-exaggerated, and the smell down there in the French Quarter is atrocious. But that somehow doesn’t detract from the fact that it was one of the most off-beat places I’ve ever visited. But I am getting tired, so I am going to pass out now. I will post more later.
posted by Mark at 3:31:00 AM
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