A First Taste of New Orleans
Everything
is a bit muddled in New Orleans. The accents,
the spices in the Gumbo, the waters of the Mississippi,
even the history.
At first brush, the French Quarter seems a historical center-point spoiled by tourism. The bars that literally line the streets, separated only by Voo-Doo T-Shirt vending tourist traps, have great walls of rotating slurpee machines, all ready to dole out multi-flavored lightly alcoholic beverages at the pull of a lever.
As you get closer to the essence of New Orleans, though, you begin to realize that this isn't a seedy surface painted on by tourism - this is the continuance of a tradition that goes back almost 300 years.
At different times in its history, New Orleans has been controlled by the French, the Spanish (during the inquisition) and then finally, the American Government. Code Noir, or a set of laws which allowed but limited slavery, contributed to the large population of Free People of Color and that population helped further diversify New Orleans' history.
All of this history even predates the Civil War, and the well of history for each tour guide to draw from is rich and long.
If you make your way to New Orleans, expect to be surprised by the grit of the real industry driving this city: tourism. New Orleans is and always has been a "Service Oriented" city, and it's current status isn't a corruption of the history, it's a celebration of it. Once you embrace that, there are tales waiting to be woven by the expert guides in almost every square inch of soil here.
Photos of the trip
