Sight seeing

October 9th/09 - New Orleans, LA
Royal Hotel, French Quarter

Hopped on a street car and went to Washington Street and hiked to Magazine Street. Magazine Street is out of the tourist area and more typically the New Orleans life style. Interesting shops etc. Deby loved it.

The street car ride and the hike through the neighborhoods was really interesting. The architecture and the old, old houses were jaw dropping. This whole city is old and bylaws prevent radical changes. Every residence had a history.

Later in the day we took a bus tour. The tour guide spoke Louisianian, but I caught half of it. Deby caught the rest. Amazing place. It would be nice to rent a pad here for a month and tour every day. You just can't grasp it all in a stop over.

One of the areas we toured is one of the most prestigious areas in the US. Of course we looked at it from the outside. No one is allowed down the gated street unless they live on it. Huge old mansions, so prestigious in fact that the guide said if someone decides to sell their house the neighbors buy it so that they can decide who the next resident will be.

We also toured the 9th ward, the area that was so badly flooded by Katrina. Brad Pitt, sexual orientation unknown as I think Angelina is probably just a front, is building new houses there. Despite his humanitarian efforts, the victims of the flood are not moving back. Would you? Having sat in the heat on your roof top for two days thinking that you were going to be swept out to the Gulf of Mexico at any time! Good luck! We were amazed to see that the levees were only 18" concrete walls and the expectation was that they would hold back the ocean.

I think that it is crazy to rebuild anything there again and that Brad Pitt should be building those people houses on higher ground if he is so inclined. The tour guide was thoughtful enough not to give Brad Pitt all of the credit for his generosity. He said that he is working with a Canadian, last name of Holmes, and said that Brad Pitt is the name, but Holmes was the soul behind the houses being built. He also pointed out that other groups such as Habitat for Humanity, Jimmy Carter, Mennonite Disaster Relief and several other church groups are also building houses as well.

Since Katrina the population of New Orleans has dropped from approximately 500,000 to 250,000. A census still has to be completed. 1,800 people died in the flood. The crime rate has apparently skyrocketed and they still have lots of problems to conquer. I haven't seen a cop in this city who looks happy. I think they are all worn out.