Where We Have Been - USA - New Orleans

Once we were done with Memphis it was time to hop on an Amtrak—an American icon—for the trip down to New Orleans for New Year.

We stayed at Le Pavillon, partly because we were intrigued by their nightly offering of PB&Js in the foyer at 5:00pm. PB&Js were a David staple growing up, so the idea felt both nostalgic and wonderfully random. Le Pavillon was also in a great location—handy to the Streetcars and an easy stroll to the top end of Bourbon Street.

We really enjoyed our time in New Orleans, although we found Bourbon Street loud and a bit overrated. We much preferred wandering the quieter corners of the French Quarter, stopping to listen to street musicians, and strolling along the Mississippi Riverfront.

Because it was New Year, we decided to eat out on New Year’s Eve and then watch the fireworks over the Mississippi as we—and thousands of others—welcomed in the new year. We expected dining to be a nightmare, but lucked onto a table at Napoleon House in the French Quarter, a place with a surprisingly interesting history.

After dinner we made our way down to the Mississippi Riverfront with drinks in hand and settled in for the fireworks. They were spectacular. The relaxed attitude to drinking in public was a pleasant surprise; in New Zealand that would usually land you in trouble thanks to widespread liquor bans. It may also be that the very visible police presence we noticed across the USA encourages people to behave themselves in public spaces.

One of the most memorable moments came courtesy of the Steamboat Natchez (which we’d taken a Mississippi cruise on earlier). Hearing her whistles play “Auld Lang Syne” felt wonderfully old-fashioned—and completely unique.

It might seem like a strange thing to do on holiday, but we also visited St Louis Cemetery No. 1, the oldest extant cemetery in New Orleans (established in 1789).

New Orleans has a famously high water table, which is why so many burials are above ground—attempting traditional in-ground graves here has historically led to some pretty unpleasant results. It made for a genuinely fascinating tour, and it was well worth the time.

We were shown the tombs of a number of notable figures, including the tomb commonly associated with “New Orleans’ Voodoo Queen“, Marie Laveau (although the exact resting place is debated), and—because New Orleans is nothing if not wonderfully eccentric—Nicholas Cage’s pre-purchased pyramid tomb.

We once again stumbled onto a college football parade in New Orleans—this time the Allstate Sugar Bowl New Year’s Parade, which is basically Mardi Gras energy with a football soundtrack.

They absolutely know how to put on a show. There were bands, floats (New Orleans takes the opportunity to bring the Mardi Gras floats out), and more spectacle than we were remotely prepared for. The University of Texas Longhorns even had Bevo—their live Texas Longhorn steer mascot—riding along as part of the procession. And the Longhorn Band is enormous (around the 400+ mark, depending on the year), so when they come through it’s not just “a band”, it’s a full-scale moving wall of sound.

The difference from the Liberty Bowl Parade we experienced in Memphis? In New Orleans they don’t just wave at the crowd—they throw strings of beads… and it’s less “to the crowd” and more “at the crowd”.

After enjoying our time in New Orleans, we picked up another rental car and hit the road again, travelling across  Louisiana and Texas.