Party on Bourbon Street
by windoweb
This night was our last night here in NO. We had three parties to attend. We made it to two out of three. This was where we stayed to partake in the free food and drink as well as live music. It was a great party. We knew a few people and met local people. This night partying on Bourbon Street was my favorite memory while staying in New Orleans.
French..er Spanish...er French...no...AMERICANS!
by aphrodyte
In 1699, brothers Pierre and Jean-Baptist Le Moyne de Bienville became the first Europeans to ply the Mississippi. When they sailed north, they noted the narrow portage to Lake Pontchartrain and less than twenty years later, Jean-Baptist Le Moyne returned to lay out Nouvelle Orleans.
Early settlers arrived mostly from France, Canada and Germany, while the French imported thousands of African slaves. Colonial mercantilism proved to be an economic failure and the city's smuggling and local trade became the backdrop of New Orleans' extralegal enterprise and unsavory character.
French officials feeling the drain on the national treasury. Yet they did not want the English to obtain the land, French officials negotiated a secret pact - the 1762 Treaty of Fountainbleu - with Spanish King Charles III (a cousin of the King of France), ceding the extensive Louisiana territory west of the Mississippi, including New Orleans, in exchange for help in France's war against England. During this time, French refugees from Nova Scotia (Acadia) began arriving, following the British seizure of French Canada. (The British deported thousands of Acadians for refusing to pledge allegiance to England.)
Spanish officials, also feeling the financial burden of Louisiana, quickly relenquished the land to Napoleon Bonaparte when he offered in 1800 to retake control of the territory. Soon US president Thomas Jefferson saw his nation's need to seize the river capital, to proceed on a path of western expansionism. Bonaparte knew he risked losing New Orleans to the British and, preferring the lands be in American hands, sold the entire Louisiana Territory at a price of US$15 million (The Louisiana Purchase) on December 20, 1803.
The adjustment to American control was less than welcome, in 1808, the territorial legislature moved to preserve Creole culture by adopting elements of Spanish and French laws - especially the Napoleonic Code - elements of which persist in Louisiana to the present. It's such a treasure to show one of my all time favorite cities to my daughter. She may not understand or appreciate it now...but she will...and it's a great feeling to know that I have given her New Orleans.
Drink a hurricane. We tried...
by SinKitty
Drink a hurricane. We tried several different hurricanes at different bars, and not one of them was the same. Pat O'Briens kicked our butts, they definately have the strongest hurricanes. The best were at Pappa Joes, they tasted like slightly watered down grenadine. Yum!! OneTitShot.com, We Sell Cigarettes, the Corn Cob Pipe (damn everyone for not bringing papers!), Shrooms, New septum jewelry, getting soaked, and oh yeah, Casey's stained feet!
When To Go! - Easter
by saccharinicity
While Easter in the French Quarter was quite colorful at times, I highly suggest avoiding this holiday in the Big Easy, if only because almost everything is closed! But I suppose that is the case almost anywhere you go for Easter.
The thing I did love about spending this holiday in New Orleans was watching the church-goers arrive in style for mass at the St. Louis Cathedral. Dressed in their Sunday best, complete with white lace gloves, huge feathery and flowery carriage hats and glasses of champagne, they rolled up in style in horse-drawn carriages as if on parade.
It was a celebration of a different sort and definitely something fun to watch. But do be aware that even this notoriously up-all-night area realizes that this holiday should be viewed perhaps a day of rest and reflection.
Etouffee
by maestrousmc
Definition: A standard in any New Orleans kitchen - home or commercial. A spicy and delicious Cajun stew traditionally made with crawfish, vegetables and a dark roux though sometimes the crawfish is substituted with shrimp or (yikes) chicken. Warning: some may consider this blasphemous. Étouffée is usually served over rice. The word comes from the French étouffer, which means to smother.
Pronunciation: ay-too-FAY