Getting Beyond Katrina - Who Dat Nation Stands Strong!

As Dana was completing his conference yesterday afternoon, hundreds more of festival attendees were pouring into the Quarter; therefore, it seemed the perfect time to head out of the Quarter and to start exploring some of New Orleans' other neighborhoods.

After lunch on Frenchman Street, we took a driving/walking tour of the Esplanade Ridge area, where Maddie instantly declared her allegiance had now shifted.  On a "coffee break" at Fair Grounds, the local coffee shop, where clearly only locals gathered, Maddie determined that this area was superior to even the Garden District.  We briefly visited one of the famed St. Louis cemeteries (#3), then walked through the Besthoff Sculpture Garden at NOMA (New Orleans Museum of Art) before heading out to a multiplex in Harvey to see the new Tom Hanks/Julia Roberts flick (which is perfectly enjoyable, the critics be damned).   The photos below are just a sample of the sculpture on display there (and, don't worry, Daniel is climbing an actual tree; he did not climb on the sculptures, though some of them tempted him mightily).

Our dinner in Dante's Kitchen, another totally cool, totally local restaurant capped off a wonderful day.  As we slowly weaved through bumper to bumper traffic to return to the overwhelmed valets at our hotel, we knew we had made the right call and planned to repeat it today. 

So... off we went to Plantation country. We drove to three plantations - Destrehan, Oak Alley and Laura: A Creole Plantation, where we actually took the tour (which has rightly been deemed "the best history tour in the U.S." by Lonely Planet Travel). The drive was beautiful, the plantations fascinating, and our tour guide, Jay, a charming and informative guide through Louisiana's Creole heritage and history.

Before heading off to Plantation country, however, we made one imperative stop in the Quarter - to the Presbytere, home of the Louisiana State Museum, to visit the Katrina Exhibit.  This is the second time we've been to New Orleans since Katrina, and everywhere there are stories that inspire or bring tears to my eyes.  Still, to see so many of those stories collected in one place, in the heart of the city where the "man made disaster" occurred, was particulary overwhelming.  One local couple who appeared just to be visiting the exhibit wound up serving as guides and witnesses, sharing their personal story as it coincided with the various artifacts we were viewing.   Fats Domino's piano, captured in a memorable photograph, is the first sight that greets you when you enter the building.  Dana and I remember being incredulous at the time that he was living in such precarious circumstances, but seeing the upended piano next to the photograph of it caked in mud, brought all of that incredulity - at not only his situation but at everything that happened in New Orleans over those few weeks - flooding back.

Tonight we ate at Mandina's, which has been owned and operated by the Mandina family since the 1800's.  They, too, got hammered by the storm, and when they started fixing the damage, they wound up having to make all sorts of other repairs to the 100+ year old building.  Still, they reopened, employing most of the longtime staff as soon as was possible.

Last night we had ice cream at Angelo Brocato's Ice Cream & Confectionary, another long-standing family owned business.  As Fodor's touchingly describes it, "in a constant stream of heartbreak, the sight of this sweet, genuine ice-cream parlor, which was celebrating its 100th birthday... under 5 feet of water, its classic sign askew, was particularly painful.  By that same token, the news that the Brocato family... would be back was particulary joyful and inspiring."  This is a resilient city filled with resilient residents, and it's hard not to be inspired by how much progress they have made.

Jay explained to us how Katrina didn't hurt Laura (the Plantation) more than a dozen other hurricanes and tropical storms, but the lack of convention business and tourism has caused much more harm.  So many hotels and restaurants here suffered tremendously because people around the country and the world coudn't get the post-Katrina images out of their mind to begin to think about taking a vacation here.  I, for one, couldn't be more pleased that Dana had a conference here, or that we're now having to wait for 20 minutes to get our car from our packed hotel.  And I hereby urge you all to consider taking a vacation to New Orleans in the near future (and, when you come, be sure to visit Laura!)

One of my very favorite aspects of this, my 5th, visit to this wonderful city, is how many new things I'm doing.  Yes, we've eaten the ubiquitous beignets (and hope to do so again before we leave on Tuesday!) and strolled the cobblestone streets, but we've also dined in more "local" spots than ever before, driven and walked through neighborhoods I've never visited before, and will finally enter the BAYOU tomorrow...   Until then, I'll leave you with some images from two of New Orleans' most famous/infamous ladies - Laura and Katrina (along with a couple of shots taken around Jackson Square; I trust you'll be able to sort them out ;).