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Photography and Web: Kurt
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Photography and Web: Kurt
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| Tuesday, May 14, cont. We docked about 12:30, but they really didn't let us off the boat until 1:30 p.m. We went on a walking trip of the French Quarter. The Jean LaFitte National Park, which is in a building, was pointed out to us, but we did not go in it. We walked all about the French Quarter noticing a myriad of mask shops, and stopped in one to buy some masks for our grandchildren. Days later we found we could get cheaper and better ones for the money at the Flea Market. We walked down Bourbon Street, found a bar with a jazz band playing and had a couple of cold ones before buying a CD. Then we wandered around on Royale Street looking for a hotel we once stayed at, but couldn't agree if we found it or not. Then we headed back to Jackson Square and when we got there Doreen's Jazz Band was playing to quite a lot of people sitting on the curbs and sidewalk. We pulled up a piece of the concrete and listened to that band. This was just like it was many years ago; we loved it! We listened to them for an hour or so and bought their CD. From the web we found out that Doreen Ketchens, called the "Queen of Jazz," leader of Doreen's Jazz New Orleans has taken her group to international performances and well as playing for three U.S. Presidents. |  |
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We got back to the barge about ten minutes before the next program, which was a talk by Bruce Boyd Rayburn, Curator, Hogan Jazz Archive, Tulane University, "Ethnic Diversity and New Orleans Jazz. He had film clips of a number of jazz musicians, and many interesting anecdotes about people who became musicians from the New Orleans area. Immediately following the talk was more piano jazz and ragtime played by Richard Raichelson. Dick played the "Elderhostel March," a piece written by him, which we really liked. At dinner a jazz group, "Ready, Willing, and Able" was playing and people were dancing as well as eating. |
| We packed up our stuff in preparation for disembarking from the barge on Wednesday and went to the auditorium to hear another terrific program, "New Orleans Jazz," by Don Vappie's Creole Jazz Serenaders of New Orleans. The group plays classic early jazz arrangements, including Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver, Sidney Bechet, etc. They are one of the few bands that incorporate French Creole jazz songs in their Repertoire. Reviews stated, "they exemplify that delicate balance between intricate arrangements and free improvisation…there will be few chances to hear a band as steeped in the tradition as this one." "Besides that," Don Vappie informed us, "they can all read music, which makes practice time a lot more efficient." We bought their CD as well. We bought CD's with gay abandon all day that day. |  |
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Wednesday, May 15.
As part of the post trip extension, it was planned that right after breakfast we would be first to get off the
barge, get on a bus, and have a sightseeing tour of New Orleans and be taken to the Commander's Palace for lunch.
Not all things go as planned. The bus they sent was not large enough for the group and as a result we were the
last to leave the barge. While waiting for transportation we met the owner of the River Explorer, who told us about
some of the other trips the barge makes. Finally the bus arrived. Due to our late start, we didn't get to ride
out to see Lake Ponchatrain, but we did wander about the streets of New Orleans, seeing houses with Spanish influence
architecture, areas of New Orleans; bawdy past and rich heritage. One of the stops was at a New Orleans cemetery, St. Louis II, I think. It was not where Marie LaVeau , the voodoo queen, is buried. We were told that it was too dangerous to go to that cemetery. Maybe it is now, but I went there a number of years ago. Everyone in New Orleans is buried above the ground so the cemeteries have one crypt after another. People are not buried in coffins. We think we saw a truck carrying a body wrapped in a shroud. It was going, perhaps, to one of the monuments. Having been forewarned to be "properly dressed," we were dropped off at The Commander's Palace, a posh, well-known restaurant in the Garden District. We did have a lovely lunch. As promised, we did get a fast walk-through of the kitchen and the courtyard, inviting stares from the other diners, wondering at this tour group tromping by them. We walked over to a main street where the bus picked us up and subsequently dropped us off in the French Quarter. |
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| Most of the group went to the Mardi Gras Museum in the Presbytere at Jackson Square, which was very interesting and well-done. One of the most interesting things we learned there was that people bought step ladders with a child's seat at the top for watching the parades. Mom and Dad could climb up the steps and the child could be belted to the chair at the top to see over the crowds. Also, at that height,the child was more likely to catch stuff being thrown from the floats. We acquired more strands of Mardi Gras beads daily. |  |
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From the museum we wandered around the French Quarter for a
while, stopping to hear Doreen's Jazz Band at Jackson Square one more time, and then walking to the Hotel Provincial
on Rue Chartres. The hotel had rooms around a swimming pool and a patio, and except for a spastic, noisy air conditioner
in our room, was a very nice, well-located place to stay in the French Quarter. After a short rest, we met for a horse drawn carriage ride to the New Orleans School of Cooking. To visit this Cooking School was one of the reasons we chose to take the post barge trip extension. The carriage ride was a lot of fun and the driver showed us where Chez Paul Restaurant was located. Had there been time, I definitely would have gone to Chez Paul's. I have been cooking from Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen Cookbook for years. The Santa Fe School of Cooking, started by our friend Susan Curtis, was fashioned after the New Orleans School. From our experience in New Orleans, in my opinion, the Santa Fe School is far superior, and, in fact, the New Orleans School was a big disappointment. The cooking demonstration was minimal and the recipes we were given were nothing special. The instructress acted as if we had never cooked before. When I got home I made Chicken Creole from Paul Prudhomme's recipe and it was a more delectable dish. |
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| Some of the group chose to go bar hopping, or at least looking for some
more music, but we headed back to the hotel. Thursday, May 16. We had coffee and beignets (a kind of doughnut) at the nearby Cafe Beignet for breakfast and then walked over to the flea market. We should have gone there sooner. First of all, we bought a couple dozen strands of Mardi Gras beads for the price of one strand in the French Quarter. There were also lots of masks suitable for children (also cheap) and we got a couple of those as well. Kurt got two T-shirts ("Don't Forget My Senior Discount" and one with a flowchart of what to do if your computer won't work. They are a big hit here at home.) We met up with the group to walk to the Jazz Museum which is located in the Old Mint building. We had a guided tour of the Jazz Museum and we found it fascinating. |
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It was a short walk to the Café Sbisa on Decatur
Street for our going-away brunch. We acquired more strands of Mardi Gras beads, which we wore on the airplane home. |
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Part II. Memphis, the Barge, Jug Band |
