I wish y’all could have seen the big smile on my face when a message from the New Orleans Public Library turned up in my inbox a few weeks ago. The Milton H. Latter Memorial Branch on St. Charles wanted to know if I’d come visit as a guest storyteller on Dec. 29, you know, while the kids are out of school for their holiday break. I couldn’t get my fingers on the y-e-s keys fast enough!
Mike, Hanni and I have been to New Orleans many times, we all just love this city. The place is a blind person’s paradise, really. The smell of green peppers and onions cooking in butter, the sound of live jazz in the streets, the feel of warm air, the tastes of decadent meals and drinks…New Orleans is the only city I know of where sight takes a back seat to the other senses.
We arrived on Christmas Day and have already enjoyed long walks, terrific food and sensational street music. The New Orleans Saints had a home game on Sunday. The team lost, but we still felt like winners. We are lucky dogs, enjoying the sunshine, fun and food. Some of my faves so far:
Best Jambalaya: Coop’s. The version I had featured rabbit (sorry, Lydialyle!) and andouille.
Best music: Palmetto Bug Stompers. I was raised on traditional jazz music and this group could really swing. Plus the trombone player was wearing a White Sox cap.
Best Music Venue: Spotted Cat. The women’s bathroom has a piano near the sinks — after washing my hands I played along with the band for a few measures -–the tune was in B flat.
Best Waiter: The guy at Adolfo’s. He found me waiting in line for the bathroom after dinner and asked if I wanted dessert.
Best Beer Joint: Fahy’s. We have a new friend in Chicago named John, and his sister Katie owns the place. Besides friendly bartenders and a great beer selection, it has two pool tables.
That's Paul Robinson, trombone player for Palmetto Bug Stompers and White Sox fan.
Tomorrow Hanni and I are giving a presentation at what is sure to be the best library branch in New Orleans. For now we’re off to Ignatius for lunch.
Love this! I never thought of New Orleans as “a blind person’s paradise” but it seems perfectly obvious and wonderful to me now. I forwarded this to several of our New Orleans pals.
for sharing this blog post with your New Orleans friends. I’d forgotten to mention another thing people who are blind can enjoy in New Orleans: DANCING! Mike and I were on the dance floor at DBA – what fun
Oops, for some reason the word “thanks” got cut off from the beginning of my previous comment. A pretty important word. THANKS!
What fun! We love N.O. too, would be fun to visit at the holidays. Glad you had a great trip – definitely lots of aromas and great music to take in. Ron and I have been several times, and went with Paul’s high school jazz band last spring. Took a bus and stayed in a Habitat for Humanity camp. . .kids got to see lots more of the real New Orleans outside the French quarter. Happy New Year!
Being in New Orleans is a feast for ALL our senses, isn’t it. I think the very air–the way it feels as you pass through the airport doors, so voluptuous, pressing you down by the shoulders and insisting you slow down–may be my favorite thing. Thank you for your wonderful post, Beth, which makes me wish I were back there now (it’s only been three weeks!). And thank you, Linda, for letting us know about Beth’s blog.
I agree with Linda Green on all counts, and am especially thankful Linda Wallace shared my blog with her friends – I’ve come to really enjoy writing these posts every week, and it’s especially fun when I discover people are actually *reading* them!
Chris, we met some friends here from Urbana who had driven down, they offered us an impromptu driving tour of the Ninth Ward. I opted against it –driving tours can be a drag if you can’t see out the window – but Mike took them up on the offer. They all had *many* stories to tell afterwards, very striking I suspect it still looks much as it did when you guys saw it with Paul’s jazzband. A few new homes, a few repaired
Homes, in a sea of really awful devastation. They described lots of abandoned homes that still have that spray painted X code left by search and recovery people. Whoa.
Love the idea of a piano in the bathroom.
WOW– what a wonderful trip! I have never been to NO but really want to do and dance now. Thanks for the travel notes! So glad Safe and Sound rings on!
I hadn’t thought of it as such a fun place for a person who is blind! Sounds like you had a great time. Congrats on your award too!
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Oh, I just felt all this about New Orleans before I read your great entry here Beth; I live in Australia but have wanted to visit NO for many years. As a blind woman and a guide dog handler, I am planning how best to achieve this…big trip from Down Under–any contacts would be much appreciated…
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