Today, we’ve done a bit of exploring !
We woke up reasonably late from our slumber, and Milan took us to a very nice place for breakfast. We discovered grits, this meeting between porridge and rice pudding, in this cased mixed with some fresh cheese. Then, we walked around Treme a bit, Milan’s neighborhood, and sat on a bench between sun and shade to talk for a while.
Like most american cities, building density is not always linked to the center or the wealth of a district. Treme, from where a number of jazz musicians came, is not very rich, but still is composed of nice two-floor houses, painted with soft colours with gardens and tall trees. Like everywhere, the streets are wide and the cars shiny (and huge).
Mid-afternoon, we went to our accommodation, a studio-apartment we rent for the week in Mid-Town. It’s a slightly more fancy neighborhood, but with the same sort of houses, just a bit more elaborate. On all our way (a good 4 km) we met people saying hi or enjoying the sun on rocking chairs in front of houses. everyone was really nice and welcoming, even if we were just passing by. I’ll just mention the fact that most people we met are black and the local accent is gorgeous (a mix of african american accent and southern states accent), but sadly I’m afraid we are way too white to pull this off…
Our room turns out even better than anticipated. We rented it late enough so that we didn’t have many choices in our price-range, but the result is more than nice ! We will be able to cook a bit, we have a big TV, the fridge and stove are US-size, which is huge, and there is even a princess-flavored conditioner in the shower… We are in walking distance of the street-car, taking us to the center, and the transportation prices are very affordable (compared to Paris or even Toulouse !)
With this vintage-looking street-car, all red paint and wooden benches, we joined the French Quarter for dinner. The streets had name like Bourbon (the most famous) but also Toulouse, and it’s clearly the party and tourism district. Since the weather was getting bad and the rain coming (with a cold wind like we didn’t have for a long time), the restaurants closed early and we ended up finding a place to eat local fried fish and jambalaya. We had dessert in a café, with traditional beignets covered in powder sugar and some hot chocolate !
In the center, the buildings are higher and the streets narrower, of course. There are also big construction today to rebuild the sewer system. It was in such a bad state lately, that flooding caused a mix between rain water and sewage to go back up in the water networks. The food had a sewer flavor, and food is so sacred around here that they finally started the construction ! Not too far, the business district is the highest with lit towers, and the squares with gardens offer us nice points of view.
Finally, we went back “home” and on the way stopped to buy cereals and milk for tomorrow’s breakfast in a 24/7 drive-in pharmacy (yes it is insane)
See you tomorrow, X
PS: don’t forget to read yesterday’s article, that just came out ! It’s just a bit further down 🙂