New Orleans: The French Quarter

As mentioned in my prior post, I am on a short break from recounting my Danube Cruise to share my first visit to New Orleans in November 2009.

It wasn't until I reached New Orleans that I realized how much jazz was a part of me--not today's smooth jazz, but those toe-tapping, jamming rhythms of yesteryear.  As I was growing up, my dad brought the sounds of Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and a lot of other great jazz artists into our home.  At the time, I viewed it as old fashioned and "my parents' music," not realizing how those rhythm and blues and dixieland tunes were seeping into my soul.  My dad regularly listened to radio broadcasts from the Preservation Hall in New Orleans.  Now, here I was at the birthplace of jazz--the French Quarter in New Orleans.

New Orleans was founded in 1718 and named after Philippe d'Orleans, the Regent of France, though it is the golden statue of the Maid of Orleans (Jeanne d'Arc), that everyone notices.  The French only had it for 45 years before ceding  it to the Spanish in 1763 who had it for 38 years before giving it back to the French in 1801.

Two years later, Napoleon sold it to President Thomas Jefferson with the Louisiana Purchase.  Despite the trading around, New Orleans maintained its French flair.  The cultured, city-dwelling French became known as the Creoles, while the rustic, country Cajuns who descended from the French Acadians (driven from Canada by the British) developed their own bayou music, dialect, and spicy food.  Mix in some interesting characters, like the smuggler/pirate/privateer Jean Lafitte (inspiration for the film, The Buccaneer), free and enslaved African-Americans, and ambitious Anglo-Saxon Americans, and you have the perfect blend for a colorful city.

Being November, the French Quarter was quieter and more settled than during the steamy summer season. Yet,  there were still painters selling their wares, silver-covered mimes on street corners, musicians jamming, and the clopping of horse hoofs on the streets.  I paid my respects at Jackson Square to the statue of Andrew Jackson, who was victorious in the Battle of New Orleans against the British ( the treaty had already been signed, but news traveled slowly in 1814).   I loved my hot powdered-sugar beignets (rectangular doughnuts), sampled praline candies, and enjoyed wandering the colorful streets.

I stayed at the historic Le Pavillon Hotel, which is actually a few blocks out of the French Quarter, but its  vintage style blended best with this posting.  While not as spacious and modern as the newest luxury hotels, it has a charm and graciousness that is preferred by many of the reviewers.  The surroundings are elegant, the food excellent, and the staff gracious, and you can usually get a good deal on the rooms.  It has been recognized as one of the grand hotels of the world.

Le Pavillon has a wonderful tradition of serving free peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (pre-made or make it yourself) and hot chocolate (with whipped cream) every night at 10:00 pm in the lobby.  It's a great way to meet the guests--some dressed for going out on the town, while others appeared in pajamas and bathrobes.  The owner started this tradition decades ago to make guests feel at home.  It was one more delight in this city of surprises.  So, as one Christmas decoration wished everyone, "Peace Y'all."

Click link for slideshow:
The French Quarter

Music:  Kevin Clark and the Jazz Revelation, The Devil Done Got Me Blues, Putumayo World Music: New Orleans