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The French Quarter Festival in New Orleans is a great way to escape the late winter New England weather. We had beautiful, sunny 70's and low 80's weather for 8 consecutive days, without a drop of rain.

A special thanks to Hugh and Mary at the Banana Courtyard B&B (504-947-4475), for their gracious and generous New Orleans style hospitality. Their B&B is a wonderful large 1870's home, tastefully decorated with many beautiful antiques, and most comfortable. It is located right on the edge of the French Quarter, which allows one to get to where the action is quickly on foot, but return to a quiet and safe neighborhood.

Hugh and Mary are wonderful hosts, and have comprehensive knowledge of the area. They are very service oriented, and will make all your reservations and arrangements for you, if you wish. Hugh is a masterful storyteller, and has a comprehensive knowledge of the history and culture of the area. Mary is very "well connected" in the community and has the ability to get almost anything done in no time at all. Best of all, Hugh and Mary truly enjoy running a bed and breakfast, and that attitude really makes you feel at home at the Banana Courtyard.

New Orleans offers an endless variety of things to see, hear, and do, and we have listed a few of the ones that we particularly enjoyed below.

MUSIC

French Quarter Festival - This festival lasts 3 days, and has 12 stages set up throughout the French Quarter. All stages are running at the same time. The jazz musicians are both from down the block, and across the ocean. The music was superb, and best of all, it is all FREE! We loved this event!

Street and Club Music - There are many local musicians, clowns, magicians, mimes, artists, and tap dancers, that perform on the street for tips. This is where some of the best entertainment in New Orleans can be seen and heard. Keep an eye out for "Darlene's New Orleans Jazz Band" and the "Other Hood Jazz Band". These bands have a core group of players, but additional musicians come and go throughout the day. These are two of the best shows in town!

There is an endless list of club, restaurant, bistro, cafe and bar venues in New Orleans to hear great jazz. Take your pick. For a special treat go to Preservation Hall (726 St. Peter St. in the French Quarter). It is an old run down, and very small place, but the music here is "in the bricks". Many of the New Orleans legends of yesteryear have played here, and you can feel it in the air. Doors open at 8 PM for the 8:30 show. There is room for about 90 people in the hall (50 seated and 40 standing), so if you want a seat, the line begins to form around 7:00 PM (on weekdays - earlier on weekends). You can still get a standing room spot if you arrive between 7:00 and 7:30 PM (earlier on weekends). The Preservation Hall Jazz Band is wonderful.

FOOD

New Orleans cuisine is world famous and if you "know the ropes", you do not need to pay a great deal to taste this wonderful cooking. Don't let me discourage you from dropping $100 (or more) for dinner for two at Brennan's, Arnaud's, Remolded, or any of the countless other New Orleans restaurants. Some are great, but many are not so hot, and you may be getting "genuine" Creole food cooked by "Chef Louie" who learned about this style of cooking in New Jersey; NOT NEW ORLEANS.

Some inexpensive and high quality restaurants where you can taste real Cajun cooking are:

The Praline Connection (524 Frenchman Street) - A small restaurant run by locals. The atmosphere is basic, but the food (and low prices) can't be beat. We suggest you try the chicken dishes, or red or white beans and rice with a side of mustard or collard greens. Dinner for two will run under $30. They call it "soul food".

The Gumbo Shop (630 St. Peter St.) - A nice restaurant in the heart of the quarter. Lunch for 2 with an appetizer will run around $25. We really enjoyed the blackened fish, as well as their gumbo, which was our favorite in New Orleans. If the weather permits, get a table in the lovely courtyard. It is delightful.

King Roger's Seafood Market (N. Rampart St.) - This is a local business where you can pick up home made Cajun cooked seafood dishes for take out. Try their Crawfish. It is superb. Their boil mix is very flavorful - a bit spicy with a hint of nutmeg. We also liked the fried catfish. Their gumbo is not true Cajun thick style but is very flavorful just the same. For a change of pace give King Roger's a try. We think you will be pleased.

Avoid Rita's!! - They do a lot of advertising, and actually walk out into the street to invite you in for lunch. The food was not very good, and was certainly no match for the check. Perhaps dinner is better, but the lunch was not fresh, and quite possibly could have been the leftovers from dinner of the previous evening.

(I recently received an E-mail from a person who indicated that Rita's is indeed a high quality establishment, with excellent food and service. Since this person indicated that he has (on numerous occasions) been pleased with his experience at this establishment, I am willing to entertain the possibility that our experience was not typical). If you have eaten here, I would appreciate it if you would take a moment to drop me an e-mail. I would be interested in your opinion).

(I have received another an E-mail from a person who indicated that our unpleasant experience at Rita's may have been an anomaly. He indicates that he has had consistently good food and service at Rita's, on numerous occasions. In that no restaurant can be perfect, I would say that you might want to ignore our experience, and check Rira's out yourself.

E-mail to: Howie

THINGS TO DO

John James Audubon Eco-Cruise - Pick up the riverboat ferry at the Aquarium, and ride it up and back down the river. It is a narrated tour, and you will see many interesting historical landmarks, and learn a great deal about New Orleans as well. The best approach is to board the ferry at the waterfront in downtown, and ride it 7 miles up river to the Audubon Zoo (see below). Spend the day at the zoo, and return on the 5:00 PM ferry. This make for a wonderful full day.

Aquarium of the America's (1 Canal St.) - We have been to many public aquariums, and this one is truly top shelf. The exhibits are very diverse and tastefully done. Of all the aquariums we have seen only the one in Maui Hawaii ranks higher than this (at least in our opinion). Attached to the aquarium is the Entergy IMAX Theatre. If you have never been to an IMAX theatre (and even if you have), this is a must do. We saw "Great Migrations" which had been just released at the time of our visit.

New Orleans Audubon Zoo (6500 Magazine St.) - This is the best zoo we have ever visited ! The caveat is that we have not seen the zoo in San Diego, CA. Bring comfortable shoes, as this is a very large zoo. Their exhibits are spacious and diverse. The animals all have enough habitat, and the settings are natural and well thought out.

Don't miss the white lion. He is unbelievable. The Orangutans are also unique, and most humorous to watch as well. There are many nice bird aviaries, and a reptile center, as well as a fantastic Louisiana bayou exhibit. If you plan on seeing the entire zoo, we suggest planning a full day to do such. There are many places to eat on the premises, or bring a picnic lunch and eat by one of the exhibits.

*** Do not buy ferry, aquarium, or zoo tickets, (like we did) a la carte! Packages are available at significantly discounted prices for any combination of these. You will save a surprising amount of money if you purchase a package. Tickets are available at the kiosk where you board the ferry (as well as other places I suspect), and from numerous Web sites.

Historic Algiers Point - Take the free ferry from downtown to the area known as Algiers Point. It is about a 5 minute ride across the Mississippi River, and enjoyable in itself. Have lunch at the DryDock Cafe. Relax and enjoy the sights and sounds of the many boats traveling along the river. The food is inexpensive and authentic. Although this place is more of a tavern than a restaurant, they make a wonderful lunch, and will serve it to you at an outdoor table. Both food and service here were excellent, and we suggest you drop by. It is the first place you see when exiting the ferry, so you can't miss it. Spend an hour or two walking around this little town. It is a beautiful, peaceful place, with many beautiful little new Orleans style homes. There are a few that are owned by local artists that are painted in unique and colorful styles. There is a nice coffee shop in Algiers, and we recommend their iced cappuccino (make mine a double).

St. Charles Streetcar - Ride the oldest electric powered streetcar in America. This car is a piece of history and should not be missed. It will be the best dollar (that's right - only $1) you can spend in New Orleans. Get on at Canal Street and ride it to wherever you wish. Pull the bell cord running the length of the car before your stop to signal the driver you want to get off. You can get off and on at any point without having to pay the fare again. We suggest you ride the car to the end of the line and enjoy the scenic ride, picking the places you wish to stop on the way back. Riding back, get off where you wish, and enjoy many of the wonderful attractions and quaint neighborhoods you saw on your outbound trip. DO NOT PUT YOUR HANDS, FEET, OR HEAD OUT THE WINDOW!!! Even though the windows are open for ventilation, the car is often only inches from utility poles and you could very easily be seriously injured.

Swamp Tours - This is a must do!! - The swamps (actually bayou's) are generally mosquito free, and absolutely unique and beautiful. You will see many species of animals, flora, and fauna. On our tour we saw owl, alligator, heron, cottonmouth snake, and nutria. Our guide was a genuine Cajun, and he knew the swamp inside out. When at the beginning of our trip he said "If ya see any critter what interests ya all, let me know, and I'll catch him fer ya", I knew we were in good hands. There are many different swamp tours ranging in price from $ 20 to $ 60 per person. I strongly suggest you go with a $ 60 tour. The less expensive tours use keeled boats with outboard motors, and will carry as many as 30 passengers per tour. Since they draw a few feet of water they can only navigate the canals, and this is not the true bayou. You will miss a great deal. The next level up uses a true airboat (fan propelled), but may carry as many as 28 persons. Although this better than a keeled boat, it is not very intimate due to the number of passengers, and because of the boat's size, it is unable to go into the narrow passages that a smaller airboat can easily handle. We used Airboat Adventures (1-888-GO-SWAMP). Their boat carries a maximum of 8 passengers, and for $ 60 per person, one gets a full 2 1/2 hour guided tour. You can easily converse with the guide, and the boat is comfortable, and not cramped. Additionally, because of the small size of the boat, it can enter even the narrowest and shallowest waterways and get VERY close to the wildlife. Our guide "Donny", a former Dept. of Wildlife Conservation ranger, had a comprehensive knowledge of the swamp, and its inhabitants, as well as a warm and entertaining personality. On our trip, in an attempt to get the airboat into a very narrow and shallow area to view some "gators", he got boat high-centered on submerged stumps. Out came the power winch, and when that failed he pulled out a chain saw from the boat's storage hold and cut down two trees! I wondered if this was not a staged part of the adventure. After the tour Nancy and I asked him in confidence if this was the case? His response was "After all the years I been doin' this, if that were the case, there wouldn't be a darn tree left in that thar swamp"! We left it at that.

Nancy's Tip - Bring a comfortable pair of walking shoes and good padded socks. New Orleans is a walker's delight. The city is well laid out and most places of interest can be reached on foot.

Howie's Tip - Travel by taxi in poorly light areas after dark. Although New Orleans is a very safe city by day, like any city, things change at night. Although it is not likely that you will encounter a problem, taxis are very inexpensive here, and it is well worth the comfort of knowing you will not have any problems.

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