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The saga continues at Jeremy's Cool Travel Blog 2.0.

Louisiana, Part 3: Where y'at? Back in New Orleans.

We were back in New Orleans on Tuesday, April 15. The drive back from Arnaudville was uneventful and we arrived at our Airbnb accomodations just after lunch. For the next two nights we rented a groovy shotgun house in the Marigny district, an up-and-coming neighbourhood about 15 minutes walk northeast of the French Quarter.

Once we dropped off our stuff at the house, we returned our car and walked around parts of the French Quarter we'd not previously explored. We also checked out Frenchmen Street, which is known for its live music venues. After walking around that neighbourhood a bit, we stopped for a mid-afternoon beer at a sunny restaurant / bar called Dat Dog. There we started chatting with Dan the bartender, who had a good sense of humour and who clued us in to a few local attractions that we could check out, including a well-known brass band playing that night. We ended up having a second beer and Dan bought us shots of bourbon, so we left in - and filled with - good spirits.

Rebirth Brass Band

That night we took Dan's advice and went uptown to The Maple Leaf bar to see the Grammy-winning Rebirth Brass Band. These guys combine traditional New Orleans brass band music with funk, jazz and hip-hop. The band has been around since the early 80's and has since evolved into a New Orleans institution, playing at the Maple Leaf Bar most Tuesdays when not touring the world. When we got the bar it was still pretty empty (though we met a girl who lives at Harbord and Shaw), but when the band started the place soon became packed. From what we saw (we only stayed for an hour or so) it was a lot of fun, but I will say that all of those horns make for a loud show. Afterwards we scarfed down some street-side hotdogs and jerk chicken and headed home.

Dat Dog!

We weren't exactly in top shape the next morning, but we took advantage of the sunny day to stroll down to and along the Mississippi. Afterwards we enjoyed some delicious jambalaya and a po'boy at the local hang-out Coop's Place in the French Quarter. On our way home we stopped in at Dat Dog for a beer and to say hi to our friend Dan. That night we met up with Ayesha and her boyfriend Nate who happened to be in town as well. It turned out that they were staying just a block north of us in Marigny. We met at our place at 6:30 pm and walked about 40 minutes southeast to a popular wine bar-restaurant recommended by Dan. We sat outside and had a nice time catching up with Ayesha and getting to know Nate over dinner and a couple bottles of wine. Unlike the previous evening, we called it an early night as we were all leaving town the next day.

On Thursday morning, Jérôme and I got a cab to the airport (our cabbie was a very lively lady named Pamela) and went our separate ways: me to Boston for Easter and Jérôme to Toronto. Both of us left very happy with our ten days of 'buddy time' and tourism in Chicago-Louisiana. We both agreed that it would definitely be worth returning to both places.

Good jambalaya at Coop's Place

Steamboat on the Mississippi

French Quarter stuff

St. Louis cathedral

Our apartment

 

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Louisiana, Part 2: Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler

On April 12 we picked up our rental car and headed out of New Orleans to Arnaudville (pop. 1,500), a village northeast of Lafayette where we'd be staying for three nights. Arnaudville interested us because it's in the heart of Cajun country and close to many local points of interest, including the Bayou Teche waterway and historic plantations. In greater Louisiana, French is prominent in family names and names of streets, shops and towns. But in the Arnaudville area of St. Martin parish and beyond (Louisiana is divided into parishes, not counties), about 30% of people actually speak French or Cajun French. We were looking forward to meeting our francophone cousins and learning more of thier culture and cuisine over the next few days.

Les bons temps à Pont Breaux's

On our way to Arnaudville, we took regional roads as much as possible which brought us through some nice countryside and small communities. In the town of St. Martinville, we stopped to check out a local sight and met two middle-aged couples having a drink by the river. We ended up chatting with them for about 30 minutes (people are so friendly here!) and they gave us some tips on things to visit in the area, including a popular restaurant in nearby Breaux Bridge called Pont Breaux's. We ended up at Pont Breaux's for dinner, which is a popular spot with locals and tourists alike for its food and live music. There, we were entertained by a live Cajun band and dancing locals, both young and old. Breaux Bridge is known as the crawfish capital of the world (Louisiana supplies 95% of crawfish harvested in the US), so while Jérôme went for alligator and gumbo, I went for the local delicacy: 4 pounds of boiled crawfish (aka. mudbugs). What I didn't expect was that I'd be served an enormous mound of these small crustaeceans, which resembled a mass of large insects. I didn't even know how to eat these things, so the server had to show me the technique for taking them apart. Each one requires a delicate deconstruction to get at the tiny bit of meat in the tail. For me, the whole process was not visually off-putting, but required a too much effort for too little reward. With the staff looking on in amusement, I toughed it out for a good 45 minutes and only got halfway the serving, so I called it quits and we bagged the rest. Thankfully the dish came with a couple potatoes and some corn or else I would'a left pretty hungry.

We got to our Airbnb accomodations in Arnaudville later that night, one of two small cottages run by a local artist, Jacqui. The place itself was very nice and very clean, but we were less fond of the three large cockroaches that we saw within a few minutes of our arrival. We soon discovered that our place had a hole under the stove, so they were getting in through there. It turns out that these guys are indigenous to the area and in our case, hung out in the pine tree on the front yard. Luckily the manager of the property, George, was staying in the cottage next door and offered to switch with us, since his place was roach free. So we did, but that didn't stop a flying roach from getting in later on when the door was open and landing on Jérôme's chest while he was reading in bed.

Rosedown Plantation

The next day, Sunday, we drove northwest of Baton Rouge to the town of St. Francisville to see its impressive historic homes. There we also visited a beautiful cemetary filled with enormous oak trees, as well as the impressive 19th century Rosedown Plantation, which is designated as a National Historic Landmark and which once 'employed' around 450 slaves. That evening, we went to the Whiskey River Landing bar in Henderson to see Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band kick out some lively zydeco jams. Whiskey River has live music every Sunday evening from 4:00-8:00 and it gets packed with people of all ages who tear up the dancefloor. Like salsa or swing, people dance in pairs to this music and each couple dances with thier own unique style. It's all super casual and everyone was having a great time. I can't think of any place in Toronto where people from so many different age groups and backgrounds come to dance together. It's amazing and the way it should be.

Cherie no. 1

On Monday morning we headed back to Henderson for an airboat tour of the bayou in the Atchafalaya Basin. Our guide and captain of the boat was Kirk Guidry, a good-humoured, French-speaking Cajun who enjoyed having on board two francophone cousins from the north. For the next two hours, he toured eight of us through the bayou swamps of the Atchafalaya Basin. The basin is filled with large cypress trees that give the impression of being in a flooded forest. On our tour we visited a couple female alligators and fed them morsels of meat and marshmallows (females generally stay in the same area and are easy to find if you know where to look, as Mr. Guidry did). One of the females had a few babies with her and was fiercely protective of her territory, hissing and snapping. You did not want to get close. Mr. Guidry visits these ladies regularly as part of his daily tours. He affectionately calls them 'Cherie' and speaks to them in French. Apart from the wildlife, it was great to cruise around the bayou on an airboat, particularly when we went under the highway, which is built on concrete pillars crossing the swamp for miles.

That afternoon we visited the Bayou Teche microbrewery, located in Arnaudville, for a tour of their small plant. The company is about four years old and produces a diverse series of beers. The company is loyal to the French roots of the region, so all of its beers have French names and they even produce a few beers in collaboration with breweries in Belgium and France (they're working on a similar collaboration with a Quebec brewery). Even though we showed up unannounced, one of the staff, Carlos, was happy to give us a personal tour of the plant and give samples of their several beers. Carlos and his colleagues were really generous with their time explaining the brewing process to us, as well as some history in the region and recommendations of food to try and places to visit.

Our plan was to visit Lafayette following the tour, but it started raining pretty hard. Instead, we drove around a bit and then followed Carlos' recommendations to stop at Poché's market for some boudin (a type of cajun sausage) and cracklins (fried pig skin and fat). With those in hand, we spent the evening watching reality shows on bayou alligator hunters and on buyer-seller guys in New England. Good times.

We left Arnaudville the next day to make our way back to New Orleans, very satisfied with our three days in Cajun country. Apart for a stop for fried chicken in a small village, it was an uneventful drive.

 

Bayou Teche Brewery

Boiled crawfish

Church and cemetery in St. Francisville

Gardens at Rosedown Plantation

Bayou of the Atchafalaya Basin

Morsels for Cherie no. 1

Cherie no. 2

Jérôme with M. Guidry

Airboat (smaller than the one we took)

 

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Louisiana, Part 1: Who Dat? New Orleans!

Our train pulled into New Orleans on the afternoon of Thursday, April 10. Both Jérôme and I slept off-and-on throughout the night, but enough to keep us going for the rest of the day. The funny thing was that following breakfast service in the dining / observation car, people got into some serious drinking - likely helped by the attendant who announced over the PA that they made the best bloody marys on the rails. By about noon, the observation car was full of people in good humour, listening to music and drinking beer, wine and spirits (one lady was even passing around vodka-infused gummy bears). And it was loud. As we approached New Orleans, the train passed through sections of the bayou where we spotted many turtles and a few aligators.

At the train station in New Orleans, our Airbnb host, Clayton, picked us up to bring us to our accommodations - a traditional shotgun house. The place is in a trendy, historic neighbourhood called the Garden District, which is not far from the city center and known for its beautiful heritage homes.

Once settled, we went out for our first po' boy sandwich - a Louisiana-style submarine sandwich with meat or fried seafood in a baguette (delicious when done well) - and then strolled our way towards downtown to check out the famed French Quarter. True to its reputation, the Quarter is very charming and picturesque. But once we got to Bourbon Street, things got goofy. The strip is lined with dozens of neon-illuminated bars and packed with people, all with drinks in hand. None of the bars seem genuine and it all got boring pretty fast. We watched a blues band play at one place (they play there five nights a week) and then ended up at Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, a bar at the end of the strip that is in one of the oldest structures in the city (circa 1770). Some locals hang out there and we made a decent time it. No matter what you think Bourbon Street, you can't visit New Orleans without spending one night there.

The next day we strolled around the Garden District to check out the homes and a famous cemetary. We then took the streetcar downtown (note: heed the warnings telling you not to put your arm outside the window or it will hit a street sign) to check out the French Quarter Festival. The festival is the city's biggest draw after Mardi Gras and features dozens of bands over four days - all for free. There we enjoyed some live cajun music, delicious po' boys and a lot of people watching. We also took the opportunity to explore the French Quarter by day and enjoy its beautiful architecture.

By late afternoon our feet were sore, so we headed home to rest up before the evening. For dinner, we went for dinner in our neighbourhood to a place called Casamento's, a famous 'olde thyme' seafood restaurant specializing in oysters, gumbo and other regional delights. Unfortunately we were disapointed. We didn't enjoy the massive, tasteless Louisiana oysters, whereas the po' boys and gumbo were just OK. For a place of its status, we found it too bland and too expensive. Oh well.

Afterwards we intended to check out some live cajun music at a well-known venue called Tipitina's, but abandoned the idea when we discovered that the main band wasn't starting til midnight (we were leaving town the next day and didn't want to be tired for our drive). Instead we opted for a drink at an interesting-looking bar called Ms. Mae's that we'd passed on our walk over. The place is a dive, but with lots of character and characters. Apart from this, what stood out was the ridiculous drink prices: bottled beers for $1.50, shots and mixed drinks for $2, and doubles for $3. Plus, the place is open 24/7. For real. Talk about a recipe for disaster. One girl we met said the beers are so cheap she and her friends pay in quarters. Needless to say, one drink turned into many and we stayed til past 1:00 am. But we met many good people and it was worth it.

The next morning we made it to Avis by noon to get out car and get on the highway for three days in bayou country. Aieeee!

Some observations:

• People are really friendly here and very helpful. ...and they do say 'y'all' a lot.
• French is featured quite prominently around the city and many people do speak some French or have parents that do.
• They are also big fans of the New Orleans Saints and are still very proud of their Super Bowl win in 2009. The Saints slogan is 'Who dat?' and at first we were wondering why we were seeing this everywhere. We've since joined the Who Dat Nation.
• New Orleans is pretty much a black and white town. Unlike Chicago, there are not a lot of Asians or even Latinos here.
• Transit is cheap ($1.25), but service is slow and inconsistent.
• In Louisiana, the median of a boulevard is called the 'neutral ground'.

Bourbon Street

French Quarter apartments

More French Quarter apartments

Streetcar on Canal Street

Typical house in the Garden District

Deep fried shrimp Po' Boy!

Ms. Mae's

Prices at Ms. Mae's

 

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