New Orleans
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Take the weather with you
In recent years there seems to have been a shift in the hospitality sector. Hotels have taken a “back to basics” approach in order to save on costs – toiletries are not always provided in bathrooms, rooms are only cleaned on day three of a stay. There is, though, one constant that appears in just…
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Take it slowly. Very slowly.
Traveling from an airport into a city can be a challenging task. So it’s good that so many American airports offer shuttle services; a halfway house between an expensive private cab rise and the confusion of trying to find a bus that’s going anywhere near your accommodation. Over the years I’ve found the shuttle service…
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Local heroes and the next big things.
Most cities would struggle to persuade a couple of thousand people to show up after work midweek for what is essentially a fundraiser. Even with the incentive of live music and food. But most cities aren’t New Orleans. In Lafyette Square, a series of Wednesday gigs are put on by the Young Leadership Council, a…
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Intimate, public and in your face
“Are you witness? We are all witness!” I could easily be in a gospel church. The preacher has converted even the most sceptical among the congregation. But this is the Blue Nile on Frenchman Street, my third venue of the evening – more of which later. The evening begins, though, in an altogether different setting. Whils most…
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Bagpipes, sheds and shacks
“I’m just practising really,” says Tim. “Security don’t seem to minds me being here so I just stand up and play.” Tim is typical of them many street musicians I’ve seen performing in New Orleans over the years, with a sense of confidence and determination that people will stop and listen, and – if they…
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Treme-ndous
The Mississippi is arguably the river that can claim more stories than any other in the world. The earliest settlers in America quickly realised its importance for establishing crops, for travel and later for trade. Today, Ol’ Man River is just as impressive – and still a busy place around the port of New Orleans.…
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I Get Around
“We opened a water park just a few miles out town,” explains Glen over a drink in the hotel courtyard, casually adding, “about five weeks before Katrina.” Glen was born in New Orleans and moved back with his wife Melissa a few years back. It’s one of the hundreds of ordinary stories about an extraordinary…
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History : Past and Present
Louis Armstrong airport is about a twenty minute drive from downtown New Orleans, and the cheapest way to get there is by using the shared van Airport Shuttle service. The driver tells me his family were from England – Exeter to be precise – but that was around 300 years ago. He’s full of facts…
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An Easier Way To The Big Easy
Heathrow has its merits. Despite being an awkward hop from Nottingham, it has scale. And when you’re flying with British Airways it also has class in the shape of Terminal 5. In the middle of a Monday it’s also relatively quiet. Except for the jazz band. But this is more than a happy coincidence, because…
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A Reservation At The Preservation
Every night from about 7pm, a queue gathers on St Peter’s Street in New Orleans. There aren’t many venues in this town which attract quite so much attention, but the Preservation Hall is on the “must do” list of almost every guidebook. So it’s strange that on my three previous visits here, I’ve never got round to…
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