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Too Many Sites; Too Few HoursA First Look at New OrleansBy Joyce DaltonHow could someone who’s been travel-crazy for decades have waited until…let’s just say, a “certain age” to visit New Orleans? And once there, had only two nonnegotiable days to explore a city that surely demands months or years to cover all the sites, let alone unravel its complexities. The only up side of this dilemma is that I now can claim a modest expertise in suggesting how first-time visitors can pack the most into a short stay. Acknowledging that one person’s “must see” is another’s sigh of boredom, I offer the following tips: Stay, Don’t Stray
Always Time for a Stroll
While strolling, resist the temptation to check your watch. Enjoy the street performers and the sounds of jazz wafting from bars and cafes. Survey the scene over coffee and a beignet at one of Café du Monde’s outdoor tables or observe artists at work in Jackson Square, situated along the Mississippi River. Idle hours are often the most well-spent. Voodoo and Cemeteries
Do not, however, omit a visit to one of New Orleans’
famed cemeteries. For those staying in the French Quarter, St. Louis
Cemetery #1 is the best (plus, most convenient)
choice.
Culture of the More Usual Sort
A number of 19th century homes in the French Quarter have been restored and are open to the public. The Hermann-Grima complex, composed of a Federal mansion, courtyard gardens and the only horse stable and functional outdoor kitchen remaining in the Quarter, reflects the lifestyle of a prosperous Creole family. A New Orleans architect, James Gallier, Jr., designed his own residence, known today as the Gallier House. The interior of this mid-19th century townhouse has been authentically refurbished and “living history” demonstrations are held on Wednesdays between October and May. Built in 1826, the Beauregard-Keyes home features Doric columns and a twin staircase. Beauregard was a noted general, while Keyes refers to the novelist, Frances Parkinson Keys, who lived here for almost 30 years and authored a book about the general. There’s a Jazzland Theme Park, a wax museum and others devoted to children, pharmacy, D-Day and Ripley’s Believe It or Not. If time allows only one, head for the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, which opened in 2003. Considered the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of Southern art, the Ogden is an affiliate of The Smithsonian and houses more than 2,700 works. The museum offers an in-depth understanding of the South’s past and present, as well as a glimpse of its future. Located in the historic Warehouse Arts District, the Ogden requires transportation from the French Quarter. We opted for out hotel’s complimentary shuttle van. Lunch, Anyone?
Coming and Going
Nottoway, the largest remaining ante-bellum house in
the South, is a grand, white structure boasting 64 rooms with some 200
windows. Triple Corinthian columns support arches that separate the
ballroom, all white, into two sections. My personal favorite bit of décor,
probably because
it seemed so Southern, was the moldings of pink
With an exterior painted in shades of yellow, pink and
blue, Laura Plantation, dating to 1805, recounts the lives of a wealthy
Creole family. Furnishings, clothing, ledgers and heirlooms are housed
within. Laura’s memoirs have been The town of St. Francisville offers two particularly
pleasant attractions: Myrtles Plantation and Afton Villa Gardens. The
Myrtles’ house-length verandah is framed by intricately scrolled pale blue
metalwork, a gentle introduction to a home filled
with superstition and mystery. Next TimeI left New Orleans determined not to wait another decade for a return visit. While I’ll still stay in the French Quarter and do even more strolling, there are other areas of the city that I definitely want to explore. The Garden District, for one, with its fine homes and Lafayette Cemetery #1, a film site for Interview with the Vampire. I’ll wander among the fresh produce at the riverside French Market and take in several more museums. I’ll sample Cajan cooking and check out far more shops and galleries. Although I don’t care to fight the crowds thronging the streets at Mardi Gras, I’d like to learn more about New Orleans’ most famous event. And I want to visit the haunts of a few of the famous writers associated with the city – Tennessee Williams, William Faulkner and Anne Rice, to name but three. Unlike my first trip, I’ll allow enough time to wait for an un-packed St. Charles streetcar, the oldest continuously operating street railway in the world, and ramble along its 13-mile route. Whenever the second trip rolls ‘round, you can bet it will be more than two days. If you go…. New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau Dauphine Orleans Hotel Ogden Museum of Southern Art Court of Two Sisters Laura Plantation The Myrtles Plantation Nottoway Plantation Images by Joyce Dalton. |
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To
maximize limited time, choose accommodations near your major sightseeing
goals. If the majority of attractions are at the other end of a lengthy taxi
or bus ride, precious lost minutes quickly turn into precious lost hours.
For most travelers, the French Quarter IS New Orleans. If you share this
vision of The Big Easy, it only makes sense to base yourself here. My friend
and I did just that, choosing the Dauphine Orleans Hotel, a boutique
property situated within walking distance of numerous popular sites.
Additionally, all we had to do was step out the door to be immersed in the
ambience of New Orleans’ trademark district.
However brief your stay, start with a stroll of the
French Quarter. There’s no better way to discover the lazy dynamic
(contradictory, but accurate) of this unique 12-block area. Ever since a
slip-clad Kim Hunter sauntered down a curving metal staircase to Marlon
Brando’s agonizingly drawn-out cry of “Stel-l-l-la” in A Streetcar Named
Desire, New Orleans, the French Quarter and iron balconies have melded into
one in my mind. After exploring the area firsthand, the image remains
unchanged. Railings, balconies, galleries, verandahs, wrought iron, cast
iron, elaborately scrolled and filigreed, straight, curving, deep black,
pale green, light grey, hanging baskets of flowers, flowerboxes, garlands,
intertwined tinsel dotted with Mardi Gras masques, a single balcony, tiers
of balconies --- the styles are as varied as human creativity itself.
There’s nothing static about these beautiful old
iron-adorned homes, for humanity seems everywhere in the French Quarter.
Tourists, true locals, new locals, all appear enthralled with this place
they call home, whether permanently or temporarily. Residents actually seem
to enjoy sharing their city, not minding the crowds and cameras one bit. I
paused to admire a man’s Kerry Blue Terrier, my favorite breed of dog, and
we ended up walking two blocks together as I learned, in true Southern
fashion, all about the dog’s “mama” and “papa” (the owner’s terms). 
Ever since my first trip to Haiti 20-some years ago,
I’ve been fascinated by voodoo, its myriad gods and goddesses, its mystical
practices. The religion is woven into the multi-cultural web that created
New Orleans, particularly the French Quarter. At Chez Vodun, explore three
rooms of ritual artifacts, including traditional altars; there’s
also a
small shop. Near Congo Square, the VooDoo Spiritual Center offers a second
chance to soak up a culture that’s widely misunderstood. If you’re not
overly interested in the topic, I suggest skipping the latter.
As a guide put it,
“I know you’re dying to get in, so let’s go.” Clever enough, but I couldn’t
help wondering how many hundreds of times he’s used the line. The most
viewed tomb is undoubtedly that of Marie Laveau, a voodoo priestess and
expert in herbal medicine. Flowers, coins and beads, recently left tributes,
rest before the stone. Guides and guidebooks are rich in cemetery trivia:
after a year and a day, a tomb can be opened, the ashes or bones pushed
back, and a new body deposited; chimneys rise above some tombs, the better
to vent gases and odors as in pre-Civil War days, there was no embalming;
“immortals,” or beaded wreaths, used to be placed on tombs.
Excluding Antarctica, is there any destination that
lacks an abundance of churches, museums and historic homes? Certainly, New
Orleans claims its share, so choices have to be made. With a towering statue
of St. Jude outside, Our Lady of Guadaloupe dates to 1826, while the St.
Louis Cathedral is the official seat for the Archdiocese of New Orleans. The
Cathedral claims its own ghost story, that of an 18th century priest who
defied Spanish authorities by performing a funeral mass for five rebel
leaders shot by soldiers. To this day, Pere Dagobert can be heard singing
the mass, or so it’s said.
After a morning of walking and viewing, fuel up for the
afternoon at The Court of the Two Sisters’ bounteous buffet lunch. While
jazz musicians set an upbeat mood, diners relax at outdoor umbrella tables
and contemplate which food station to visit next. With turtle soup in
sherry, eggs benedict, boiled shrimp, Cajun pasta, BBQ pork ribs, veal
grillades and pecan pie --- to mention perhaps 10% of the offerings ---,
lunch at this flower- and fountain-filled courtyard assures that you can
sightsee far into the evening without longing for dinner. The restaurant’s
name traces back to the post-Civil War era when two aristocratic Creole
sisters owned a boutique at the site and from time to time, served tea and
cakes in the courtyard of this historic home in the heart of the French
Quarter. 
If your trip is by car, you might consider stops en
route at one or more of Louisiana’s stately plantation homes. My friend and
I visited three. Admittedly, this cut into our time in the city, but each
home tour was worthwhile and differed significantly from the others. The
three sites below also can be done as easy day excursions from New Orleans.
camellias which lined the
upper walls of one room.
published in book form.
Guides regale visitors with tales of murder
and psychic experiences that took place here. Afton Villa Gardens, on the
other hand, presents a drive- and walk-through array of moss-draped live
oaks, azaleas, wisteria, tulips, boxwoods, magnolias and hydrangeas. Though
the villa has been reduced to ruins, the gardens are guaranteed to enchant.