New Orleans in Photos

The walkway to our house. This is the side of our landlord's house.

This morning, I woke up early. Well, actually I woke up at 8 o'clock, but who's keeping track? Anyway, I got dressed and rushed over to the Tulane University Travel Clinic. I was led to a room and asked to watch a 20 minute video on Traveller's Health.

Basic Principles:

1. If you can't boil it, cook it, treat it, or peel it, don't eat it.
2. Don't get stung by insects carrying Dengue or Malaria. Dengue and Malaria are very painful. Dengue and Malaria are BAD.
3. Don't pet stray dogs or monkeys. They might have rabies. If you get rabies, you may begin to foam at the mouth.
4. Don't have sex with strange men. This always ends poorly.
5. You will get diarrhea.
6. You may die from altitude sickness.
7. Don't throw yourself in front of oncoming vehicles.
8. Don't piss off the locals.
9. Don't begin eating if you still have shit on your hands.
10. If you see blood in your feces, seek medical attention.

After the video, a very nice doctor lady came in a prescribed me my own little pharmacy. I have pills for Malaria. I have pills for Giardia and Amoebic Dysentary. I have pills for diarrhea. I have pills for yeast infections. I have anti-biotics.

Once the nice doctory lady left, I was greeted by a nurse name Ms. Jovenfrau (gee, can anyone guess her ancestry?). Ms. Jovenfrau had three needles, and she calmly explained her plan of attack: two in the left arm, one in the right arm. Left, right, left. I looked down at my tattoo and politely asked if I could get all three in my left arm. She was not impressed.

May I also just say that, although I am certainly no stranger to the art of needles, that Hep A shot hurt like a motherfucker. Pardon my french.

So now, I am safeguarded against Polio, H1N1, Yellow Fever, Measels, Mumps, Rubella, Diptheria, Cholera, Typhoid, and Tetanus. I also have three very pretty and extremely age-appropriate (Sponge-Bob) bandaids. Yay for vaccines!

After I forked over 235 dollars (insurance does not cover travel clinics), I made my way home. I have a photojournal to make!

I corralled Oscar and my camera, and the two of us walked all through the French Quarter, the Marigny, and my neighborhood, taking photos. It was extremely hot, so you should be thankful. I did this for you. I also have three really nice band-aid tan lines. Hot.

Anyway, as Oscar and I are walking through the French Quarter, I'm thinking about how New Orleans is such a touchy subject. As soon as you make a generalization or even an observation, natives and transplants alike get all up in arms. In the end, I guess the only thing that everyone can agree upon is that New Orleans is nuanced. Most people have strong opinions about the French Quarter. It's often dismissed by those living in the city limits as the tourist quarter, but there's a huge residential gay population here, too. It's brassy and full of character and it caters to partiers.

The Marigny is a little less controversial, but it too is just as easily dismissed as the artsy, transplant, hipster scene. My neighborhood is a "Hood" (see Dictionary for the White and Clueless).

After our epic walk, Oscar retreated into our house and lay panting on the tile floor, and I took a little nap. Refortified by the air-conditioning, I armed myself with my iPod and the car keys. We're going farther afield, this time. Actually, I'm going farther afield. Oscar's a bit of a pansy, and the car isn't air-conditioned. It's just me this time.

Anyway, I drive down St. Claude alongside the Marigny and Bywater. When we first moved here, this thoroughfare looked like a dump to me. It might still be a dump, but I've lost all perspective. Sarah said that this is becoming a new artist's corridor, and although I was initially skeptical, she's right: galleries have popped up on either side of the road, and some serve as coffee shops during the day. It's kind of strange to see these new, hip places cropping up next to rag-tag, mom-and-pop furniture dealerships and auto repair shops, but they seem to be surviving.

Across the canal is Holy Cross, and as I get further from the city center, there are more and more homes that are unlived in. In just the two years we've been here, it seems like the city has become more lived in, but there are still plenty of vacant, dilapidated homes. I love this neighborhood. It's a little more open, but the homes are just as beautiful.

Back across the canal, I drive up Claiborne and onto St. Bernard, headed towards City Park. Joshua and I have run and biked around this park hundreds of times, and I love the run-down golf course, the old oaks, the Bayou, and Lake Ponchartrain.

It's freaking hot, and my back is now sticking to the seat. I hop out of the car to dip my feet in the lake, and then I head back home via Marconi, City Park Ave, and Esplanade. The homes that line this street are big and beautiful: they're usually two stories tall and painted in bright colors. The Edgar Degas house is on this street.

When I got home, I made a pitcher of lemonade and drank the whole thing. Then I headed off to ABT for the last time.



This building is on Kerelec, just around the corner from our house. I love the metal grates and wooden scrollwork... And look at those impossibly tall windows!

This house is in Holy Cross. It's a single shotgun sitting among the weeds.

This fun building is an old Tire Shop on St. Claude. It's still in business.

This photo is of Oscar looking out at where N. Rampart turns into St. Claude, our street.

This shady sidewalk is in the Marigny. Oscar speeds up in the sunny spots and slows down in the shady ones. Smart man.

This red house is our landlords'. They're repairing the roof right now.

Sarah's abode.

A run-down home in the Marigny.

French Quarter porches.

Restored homes in Holy Cross.

Poland. The last street before the canal.

Old cleaner shop. Pap's.

Houses in my Hood.

Another shady Marigny Sidewalk.

Pretty shutters and scrollwork in the Marigny.

Oscar at the Cabrini Dog Park. See Pick Up Your Poop.

The LaunDRYteria in the French Quarter. Clever.

Hurricane home in Holy Cross. Beautiful woodwork looks like Mardi Gras beads.

Holy Cross home in the weeds.

Fly-by shot in Holy Cross.

French Quarter Sidewalk. Oscar.

My favorite house in the French Quarter.

Esplanade Ridge Homes.

The Verti-Marte is closed?! But I LOVE THEIR ONION RINGS! Oscar says, devastated.

Corner door in the Marigny.

Fun sign in the French Quater off Royal.

Streetcar near the Riverwalk in the French Quarter.

Bywater Mural.

Old brick and wood construction in the Marigny.

Bike in the French Quarter.

French Quarter balconies.

Oscar's at a crossroads. Frenchmen and Royal.

Forgot where this is. The End.