At any point in the night and sometimes day, you’ll find them: mobs of tourists gathered around an animated, young, usually black-clad, non-Louisiana-accented guide, repeating legends of mysterious hauntings and ghost sightings in the French Quarter. This Ghost Tour phenomenon was probably helped as much by increased tourism as by the season of “American Horror Story” shot in New Orleans. For lower Quarter residents, the problem is the proliferation. Tours block footpaths/sidewalks, clog front stoops and gates, and the crowds lean against renovated shutters and parked cars. In the thick of this, we set up our New Orleans base through the generosity of a friend. It seemed appropriate as we started to revisit the ghosts of our own past.
R
To this kid growing up in a small town, New Orleans was the big smoke. We drove in to visit family, walk around the Quarter, shop for school clothes in the husky department of big-name stores, and most often for doctor’s appointments. I loved the arrival -- seeing the lights of what I thought was a massive skyline -- and the adventure that followed. When I finally moved into Treme in 1986, I thought it was for good. I was settling down after traveling for 3+ years and this was connection and a feeling of belonging. It is also when I grew up and came to terms with who I was. I came of age in the late 80s on the corner of Bourbon and St Ann and knew this would always be home. I never thought I’d leave. But I fell in love and committed to that adventure that follows, all the while thinking I could find that connection again no matter what, every time I came back to the “big city”.
E
Coming back to New Orleans was about testing the waters to see what it would be like to return at some point down the road. When I arrived here in 1991, I only expected to stay for 6 months while I got on my feet after graduating from college. But that six months turned into almost ten years. I started my career, got another degree, made friends, but most importantly, began the most significant relationship of my life. It took me many years to get comfortable in New Orleans and to actually understand its culture, history and sense of humour. I had said to Robert at the beginning of our relationship that I didn’t want to stay in New Orleans because I didn’t see a lot of opportunity for myself there. By the time we left in 2000, I was very ready to go. Over the years, it has held a significant place in my heart as I really came of age there. Many of the things that frustrated me about living there have faded away and been replaced by the idea of New Orleans and what it represents. I was hoping to discover that ideal in our month-long stay.
The music
How else to start a visit to New Orleans than with the 50th Anniversary Jazz Fest. – another 2times25 celebration. We love a good music festival and have been multiple times to Byron Bay Bluesfest since moving to Sydney, but there’s nothing like the original. . . a dose of home. Jazz Fest is bigger and busier and just as much of a visual feast as one for the ears. The Thursday of the second weekend was our first visit, getting the lay of the land with our friend Tom, never stopping too long in any location. We heard and saw everything from gospel to blues to zydeco to the Mardi Gras Indians. Our final visit Sunday included the closing acts of Jimmy Buffet followed by Trombone Shorty including good laughs with friends Jeff and Dustin. What a way to come home.
The place
This is the most time we have spent in the city since moving in 2000 and one thing is for sure, there is definitely a new, New Orleans. The city has moved beyond Katrina, not in forgetting, but in capitalising on the strength of its culture and the fresh perspective from a clean start. Areas of the city that in our time we wouldn’t drive into, let alone walk, are now pedestrian friendly neighbourhoods, all with their own vibe. A friend of ours from San Francisco who relocated to New Orleans said he lives in East Riverside. We had no idea where that was, ultimately learning it was west of the Irish Channel – an area of Uptown that used to be called . . . well “Uptown”. During a breakfast wander, we found ourselves in a new part of what we would’ve called the CBD/Warehouse District, now known as South Market. Like Sydney’s city of villages, New Orleans is now much more than Uptown, Quarter, River and Lake.
After living without a car in Sydney, we now opt to walk most everywhere and that was what we did in NOLA. We spent mornings on a run/walk through Crescent Park which gave new views of the river and the city. In the afternoons, we wandered through Uptown, Mid-City, City Park (with a new world-class sculpture garden!) and the Bywater -- inspired by all of the renovation that has occurred. Treme and Armstrong Park are transformed and Robert’s first apartment in what was once a no-go zone is fresh and inviting. That revitalisation also touched public buildings, and schools in these neighbourhoods look like new after post-Katrina dollars helped to restore them.
Development is everywhere, seen as both good and maybe not so good. Currently there is a glut of apartments available in the French Quarter due to changes in regulations for short term rentals. At the same time, an over-scale Hard Rock Hotel is being built on the corner of Canal and Rampart and looks like it might cast a shadow on some of the existing residents in the Quarter. A Hampton Inn is slated for Elysian Fields on the edge of the Bywater - for some locals this is not the place for it. But this is progress, and if concerns like crime, potholes and street flooding are addressed, it will go a long way towards pleasing the tax payers rather than just the tourists and developers.
Getting the development balance right is a topic of concern for many New Orleanians: how is the culture, character and history maintained while progress happens? How are all of the residents brought along as opposed to just the wealthy ones? These questions and conversations came up often seeing the gentrification on so many fronts. The city is much more integrated than we remember, and it would be a shame for that to come undone in the name of progress. On one of our last days in town, we stopped in to see a local artist Simon and his wife Maria who run his art business and an antique shop near our old place on Magazine. A piece of art from Simon still hangs at home in Sydney and after 19 years he still recognised us. Our conversation was of the pre-Katrina city, our buildings during and after the storm and their take on the New Orleans that we now see. They have managed to maintain their passion for the city even with concerns of some changes. We also feel it; passion and New Orleans are inseparable.
The People
Our first family stop on this extended trip was some quality time with Robert’s mom, sister and the nieces and nephew. Traveling in and out from New Orleans to Morgan City is much easier than back in the day allowing visits in both locations. In Morgan City, being a part of the daily routine for a bit longer gave us more connection with kids now old enough to have a few laughs. Then in New Orleans, we had a night out with Robert’s mom and got to cheer his sister as she finished a 5K.
Returning to a hometown can feel like a personal ghost tour, but reconnecting can help make those ghosts more of the friendly variety. We shared a coffee with one of Robert’s oldest friends and that connection is unbreakable. Two more reunions in New Orleans with his high school tribe reminded us how much those early days shape who we are and how comforting it can be to revisit - even if it's just to reassure.
Besides family and childhood friends, it was a whirlwind of people and places in NO. We shared memories with theatre friends, work colleagues, a friend from Robert’s first UWP cast and those that supported our early days as a couple. For every person we got to see there were twice as many we missed. Thanks to those who made this an unforgettable part of our trip and we’ll try to see more next time: Tom, Oran, Mark C, Jeff & Dustin (and family), Bob, Ginger, Bill, Jacquee, Jim, Tiffany, Jane & Bob (and the Grand Krewe crew), Tag, Lisa & Katerina, Mark & Matthew, Julie, Keith, Shannon, Marilyn, Bobby H, Ricky, Mark & Ashley, Tray, Ashley, Susie & Beth, Dorothy & Katie, Bobby B, Lesa & Clare.
The food
You can’t reconnect with Louisiana without reconnecting with the food. We thought we would spend our meals sampling many of our past favourites, but instead ended up mixing some of those in with the new food scene thanks to recommendations from many of the people above. Fantastic meals were had at Palladar, Meauxbar, Cane & Table, Bywater American Bistro, La Petit Grocerie, Herbsaint, Poke Chan, Café Degas, Sylvain, Ralphs on the Park, Camelia Grill, Canal St. Bistro, The Vintage, The Daily Beet, Cavan, Mona’s, The Galley, Spahrs, and a trip to the Bourgeois and Kantrow kitchens on our way out of town.
We spend our whole lives revisiting our past – both the positive and the painful. Change can make you a stranger to your own story and a potential lack of connection was on our minds when planning this drop into where it all began. It turns out, we didn’t need to waste energy worrying about returning to our old haunts. Our time in New Orleans reassured us that that we still have a connection to this ghost tour town.
Comments