New Orleans - the Other Story

Mom reported to us that she went on the "Katrina Tour" in New Orleans Friday afternoon. As noted in the previous post, she is staying in a hotel on Canal Street in the French Quarter. That part of the city was damaged by Katrina, but is back in business for the most part. It's a totally different story for much of the rest of New Orleans-very sad. Mom shared a few photographs with us.





Many houses are severely damaged and their neighborhoods look abandoned. Others are under renovation as their owners live in trailers parked in the yard.

A hole in the roof indicates that its residents were trapped by the flood and had to retreat to the roof by cutting a hole in it and await rescue.

Harry Connick, Jr. and Branford Marsalis are the forces behind some Habitat for Humanity homes in the upper Ninth Ward. They are brightly colored. All houses are now on raised foundations. That's required for insurance coverage. (Photo taken from the opposite side of a tour bus)

The bus tour did have a pit stop at the Botanical Garden in City Park. It has been renovated and the flowers are gorgeous. It's quite a gem in the midst of so much devastation.

The Louisiana oaks are gorgeous. Many were lost in the hurricane, but many also still survive. This one has lovely ferns growing along the huge horizontal branches.

On a lighter not, Mom's conference group went to something called "Mardi Gras World" last night. This huge warehouse/tourist attraction is filled with Mardi Gras parade props. Some were absolutely surreal and even frightening.

Here's Chuckie with his bride. They are huge.

Mom said that after walking by the Cafe du Monde many times over the last few days, she finally stopped in for its famous beignets (French doughnuts). They were hyped up so much that Mom reports that she was disappointed by them.

Since this is a CAT BLOG after all, here's one of the feral cats in Jackson Square. Mom says that the kitties distanced themselves as the camera tried to focus in the dark.

~J&B

Thursday Thirteen - New Orleans

As we've mentioned, our mom is in New Orleans this week. She sent us a couple of pictures as well as some facts about the city.

This is St. Louis Cathedral with Jackson Square in the foreground in the French Quarter, or Vieux-Carré. Mom said that she saw a colony of feral cats in the square after dark. Someone had left dishes of dry cat food out for them.

Here are 13 Facts About New Orleans:

1. It covers 4190 square miles and is located 90 miles north of the Mississippi River.
2. It is surrounded by water and is shaped like a crescent, thus the nickname "Crescent City."
3. It sits below sea level, generally 5-10 feet below, and is higher closer to the Mississippi River.
4. The historic French Quarter (where Mom is staying) was laid out in a grid pattern in 1721 and measures 6 blocks by 13 blocks. It is considered one of America's greatest clusters of authentic Spanish, colonial, and antebellum structures.
5. Famous for Mardi Gras, crowds for its sucessful 2007 festival were estimated at 800,000, not yet up to pre-Katrina standards of one million, but much better than 2006. Hotels were at 95% occupancy this year.
6. The tourism industry is the largest employer in the New Orleans area.
7. Zagat rated it as the second most affordable restaurant city in the United States. (Don't ask us what's number one. We don't know. Mom tells us that the food is delicious. We wish we could sample the fresh seafood.)
8. The Pre-Katrina population of the metropolitan area was 1.42 million. In 2007 it is 1.27 million.
9. 62,300 out of 81,000 local businesses in 10 parishes affected by Katrina have reopened.
10. Prior to Katrina, Louis Armstrong International Airport had 162 daily flights servingg 42 cities. It now has 109 flights to 32 cities. Go visit!
11. Thirty percent of the seafood harvested in the lower 48 states comes from the coastal wetlands of South Louisiana.
12. The longest bridge over water in the world is the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway at nearly 24 miles.
13. It is considered the birthplace of jazz. Mom said that street musicians abound.

The residents want everyone to know that they are open for business, and they want you to come visit their culturally diverse and unique city.

The steamboat Natchez, which has a calliope that Mom can hear all the way from her hotel room back at Canal Street, is a local tourist attraction.

After morning seminars on Friday, Mom will be going on a "Katrina tour" in the afternoon to see the effects of the hurricane after nearly 21 months.

~J&B