By Mary Herczog,
New Orleans, or N'awlins, as the locals call it, is a tasty gumbo stew of African, French, Spanish, Italian and German cultures. It's a place of lush tropical courtyards hidden behind unassuming building fronts. It's where you eat sugary beignets at 3am at Café du Monde while watching the passing human parade. It's also where America comes to party. Think Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest and street musicians in Jackson Square. It's the birthplace of Louis Armstrong and jazz, and where, above the water line left by Hurricane Katrina, the good times still roll.
Things to Do
New Orleans buzzes day and night. Watch the artists, tarot card readers, street performers and horse-drawn carriages in the French Quarter's Jackson Square. The red-brick walkway in Woldenberg Riverfront Park cuts a tranquil path through magnolia trees between the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas and the Mississippi River. City Park -- an oasis of towering oaks, Spanish moss and duck-filled ponds -- invites joggers, anglers, and leisurely walks. Get out of town to kayak through pristine marshes or search for alligators on a swamp tour in the bayous.
Shopping
Buy Mardi Gras trinkets, voodoo dolls or love and passion spells on Decatur Street in the French Quarter. Arty people retreat to the Warehouse District to browse the many galleries that line Julia Street. Fashionistas browse the elegant boutiques that line Magazine Street or stroll the shopping malls such as Canal Place. Don't leave without stocking up on pralines and Creole spices.
Nightlife and Entertainment
The birthplace of jazz still swings. Hear old-time jazz at the tiny but legendary Preservation Hall or drink a fruity Monsoon cocktail to the sound of something more contemporary at Frenchman Street's Snug Harbor. As night falls, sip quiet cocktails at the revolving Carousel Bar. Partygoers can join the revelers on Bourbon Street. Pat O' Brien's rum-filled Hurricane can make you feel like your head has been inside a storm.
Restaurants and Dining
New Orleans rewards food lovers with its zesty culinary diversity. Traditional Creole or New Orleans fare is rich and flavorful in French Quarter dining rooms, with specialties like oysters Rockefeller (in cheese and spinach sauce), shrimp remoulade and rum-infused bananas foster. Spicy Cajun is represented in gumbo (a brothy combination of okra, spices, rice, shrimp, sausage) and jambalaya (a thick hodgepodge of spices, rice and meat or seafood)). Freshly shucked oysters at Acme Oyster Bar or meaty turtle soup at Commander's Palace should not be missed.
New Orleans is also where America comes to party. Think Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest and street musicians in Jackson Square. (©Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World and NewOrleansOnline.com)
