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26 July 2015

The Smell of Decadence

The one thing you can't avoid in the Quarters in New Orleans is the smell. It is the smell of four centuries of stale tobacco, beer, wine, & spirits, plus pot, piss, puke, & perspiration. The heat bakes the smell into the pavement and brick and mortar, and it rots in the humidity. Wisdoc asked me what I thought it smelled like. "It smells like decadence," I said, before breaking it down into its constituent elements. The smell stays with you for days after you leave, lingering on your clothes, in your hair, in your car.

Notwithstanding, New Orleans is a grand old American city, and its French Quarter is one of the most picturesque and interesting places I've ever visited. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a great restaurant, each with its own take on the region's unique cuisine. Remarkable colonial and antebellum architecture, often looking rundown on the outside but elegant on the inside. Courtyards full of gorgeous tilework and wrought-iron balustrades and semi-tropical plants. It almost feels like a different country. This was my fourth time there.

(As always, click pics to embiggen a slideshow.)
An Omen? An interloper who wanted to come with
Former slave quarters where we stayed 2 nights
Shrimp Creole at Galatoire's: The Best Anywhere!
Yes, Please
Typical Quarters House
Typical Quarters Structure
Spare Not the Wrought Iron
Apparently a Selling Point in the Big Easy
Around Jackson Square
Four Styles of Architecture
Trouble Makers 
French Market Goods
Maybe the Most Picturesque Square in America—Reputedly the inspiration for the Disney Castle
More Typical Local Architecture
Ditto
Are Your Oysters This Large?
Since New Orleans is below Sea Level, burials are above ground
More Architecture
Sunset on the Mississippi
Night Scene
Mummer and Street Musician
More Oysters & Beer, Please
Bourbon Street at Night
Spooky Jesus Shadow off Bourbon Street

1 comment:

  1. Looks fantastic! Especially that shrimp creole.

    I can't believe you drove the whole thing!

    I just got to W.V. from Columbus (OH, that is). 334 miles is usually the most I do anymore.
    ~

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