"In a STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, Blanche Dubois said it best: "Don't you just love those long rainy afternoons in New Orleans when an hour isn't just an hour, but a little piece of eternity dropped into our hands-and who knows what to do with it?""Musicians" in pastel by Karen Cole.
Yes, this "travel slut"....and thank you Ms."pinkflowers" for coining this term and for the award...... was just in the "Big Easy". There is some debate over where this term originates....a movie, a street corner....but EVERYONE should be aware of the fact that life isn't so easy at the moment. I'm glad you all had the opportunity to just sit for awhile.....this post is a bit longer.
Husband Bob and I were lucky enough to be able to combine a wedding of friends that are dear enough to us to be considered family and a business trip. Below, you will find some of my impressions. The biggest message here though, is .....PLEASE VISIT NOLA (NEW ORLEANS LOUISIANA) AND SUPPORT THEIR ECONOMY. There is not nearly enough that has been done to get these dear people back on their feet. IT'S BEEN TWO YEARS GUYS!!!!
Yin and yang, doesn't even begin to describe the mix of what you will see and do on your visit to this city that is trying to come back to life......1. Voodoo shop window 2. Sign on Bourbon Street 3. Homes in the French Quarter.
We went to the wedding of dear friends David Sobel, an incredible drummer with the New Orleans Klezmer Allstars and Jenny Bagert, a talented photographer and manager for Herman Leonard, a photographer famous for his photographs of musicians.
The beauty of this wedding is indescribable. We were told in the invitation to wear "Mardi gras/funky/picnic type clothing. The trees were draped in colorful fabric. Seating was bales of hay covered in the same fabric. The talent attending was mind boggling....musicians and artists.
1. Jenny and David getting married 2. Jennys parents walking her down "the aisle"...Herman Leonard photographing from behind....note Jennys decorated camera! 3. and 4. Artsorted guests 5. Bob buying a hat to wear to the wedding 6. Bob wearing said hat......pretty cute, huh?No post about a wedding would be complete without a fashion statement section. I could be here for weeks.....but, I hope you get the idea. First picture.....the brides shoes!!!
This last photo above, is me....feeling ridiculously under dressed without a hat. I took some of the moss from the tree and proceeded to weave a "ring" of moss to wear.REALITY SET IN.....when we were taken on a tour of the areas of the city that were and ARE STILL DEVASTATED by hurricane Katrina. Two years after this storm, most remains the same. Below is a house with a table on the roof. It floated there.
This mop, leaning against the railing at Jennys parents house seemed to be mocking our visit. They can no longer live there. If you look closely towards the top of the photo, you can see a brown line on the white part of the house. THAT IS A WATER LINE. IT SAT THERE FOR WEEKS.THE GOOD NEWS is that the merchants I visited said that business has just started to pick up.
We ate at some GREAT RESTAURANTS. I saw some wonderful ART EXHIBITS.
BELOW.....sign on a street corner.
If the following quote weren't so sad.....it would be funny."We've got a lot of rebuilding to do ... The good news is — and it's hard for some to see it now — that out of this chaos is going to come a fantastic Gulf Coast, like it was before. Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house — he's lost his entire house — there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch." (Laughter) —President Bush, touring hurricane damage, Mobile, Ala., Sept. 2, 2005
