Located by the banks of the mighty Mississippi river and not far away from the Atlantic Ocean, New Orleans rakes up quite a few special attributes. It is definitely the home of modern jazz music. It is one of the oldest cities in the United States of America. It is one city that has re-invented itself after the devastating Hurricane Katrina.
It is a fairly influential port. It is so very different from other cities in the United States. May be, that is due to its rich and well preserved French and Spanish past. And also may be, it is due to its proximity to Cuba. It has sizzling nightlife with dangerous sounding, yet interesting cocktails such as ‘Hand Grenade’, ‘The Hurricane’, ‘Sazerac’ and more.
Be it delicious Creole food, the insanely popular Mardi Gras carnival, the many swamps filled with alligators and other wild creatures, scenic boat cruises on the Mississippi, oodles of colonial culture, jazzy nightlife and so much more, New Orleans has it all.
No wonder, domestic and international tourists seem to absolutely adore this city. When I first landed in this city as part of my US road trip from LA to NYC, I didn’t know much about this city as it was my first time here, but the more I got to know her, the more I fell in love with her.
Starting with hot, soft and sugary beignets at breakfast in the French quarter to enjoying the nightlife at Bourbon street with some iconic New Orleans cocktails, each of my New Orleans day was filled with so many precious gem like activities that I was left starry eyed all through. I was not on drugs and you have to believe me on that! But, boy, I was definitely high!! This culturally rich city does that to you.
The thing that captivates you the most in this city is its awesome music. From street artists playing jazz or some other type of music to the refined band playing some great jazz music in an iconic jazz club, you are bound to have a great time wherever you are. This is one place where you will feel and connect with the music even more.
While I was in New Orleans, I visited so many Jazz clubs and heard so many street artisans. I felt like I connected with their music at such a deep level that their music seemed to follow me in my head wherever I went to. It was like I was always humming the tunes. It didn’t matter if I was taking a night boat cruise over the Mississippi, digging into some delicious gumbo or simply ambling the streets of the city, those tunes just kept playing and re-playing themselves in my head.
The French quarter, Bourbon Street, Maison Bourbon, the music festivals, the river walk, St Louis cathedral, the Victorian style houses, the Mardi Gras Masquerade masks, the Voodoo dolls, the creole food, the friendly people and definitely the Jazz music, I connected with each one of it. Each place, person or activity is deeply etched into memory and I so want to visit this city again…
And this time, I hope to spend a much longer time exploring the city, its suburbs and the many swamps around it. May be, I will also time my next visit with Mardi Gras carnival. I have heard it is quite a surreal carnival!!
Have you ever visited New Orleans? If not, do remember to add it to your itinerary on your next USA visit. Due to its proximity to Florida, Washington DC and New York, you could easily club it with a visit to these cities. And I am pretty sure that this city will become one of your favorite cities in the United States, lest alone the most favorite city.
Trip Courtesy: Discover America, the tourism board of the United States of America.
Trip Hashtags: #DiscoverAmerica #RoadTripUSA
New Orleans
Facebook: @neworleans and @LouisianaTravel | Twitter: @louisianatravel and @VisitNewOrleans | Instagram: @louisianatravel and @visitneworleans
No comments:
Post a Comment