Why I Love New Orleans

by Heather Graham

  I don’t think there’s anything quite like it anywhere. If you’re ever able to attend, you should. (Unless you hate music!)

  Yes, the city gets crazy. And there’s actually a different kind of crazy for Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest. Both are unique here. Will hotel prices go up? Yes. Should you book well ahead? You bet! I especially love Jazz Fest because my sister went with co-workers from Delta Airlines every year and, she told me once, it was something that really kept them all going. Trust me—if you go once, you’re going to want to go again.

  However, if you can’t make Jazz Fest and want to go to NOLA at a different time of year, fear not. You will find jazz.

  There are a number of restaurants where you can go for a jazz brunch. One fun and lovely place we’ve been often is the Court of Two Sisters. (For some reason, I spent years trying to make it the Court of Three Sisters, but no, there were just two.) As mentioned in “Food!” there really were two sisters who once had a “notions” shop here but now it’s a lovely and historic building where they serve up a jazz brunch on Sundays that is wonderful. There’s a courtyard where, if the weather in nice, you you can get a real feel of the ambiance. There’s a nice big buffet, friendly service, the charm of the traditional courtyard, and—jazz.

  Another favorite of mine where you’ll get a charming group of three walking around to entertain you while you dine is Muriel’s. The entertainers are delightful and the menu is delicious. If you go, make sure you walk around and see the whole restaurant while you’re listening.

  These are just two of the venues. Many, many places do jazz brunch. And while I just mentioned my favorites, you may come with your own—and then look down your nose at me if you choose because you’ve found something you like sooo much better!

  I’ve gone to New Orleans often as long as I can remember. After Katrina, so much was down that the city performers and club and restaurant owners were desperate to get people back into the city. Now, I’m a Journey fan, but it did seem that at first that as you walked along, every club there had a group doing Journey. On Bourbon, you’re still going to find a bit more of what we all know (and do love.) With years having passed now, I’m thrilled to say that even on Bourbon, you’ll now find jazz and blues. And if you’ve never been to NOLA, you do have to walk down Bourbon Street just so that you can see the fun and craziness and of course, you’ve been on Bourbon Street. You can catch great acts here—and if you want to “music” it yourself, you can drop into “The Cat’s Meow,” a karaoke club. It gets busy and crazy so drop your song in fast!

  That having been said, my favorite place to head for music is Frenchman Street. Here you’ll find all kinds of great little atmospheric clubs. You’ll hear the up and coming—yes, yes, you know that name, you love them! You’ll also hear the new groups, the local groups, starting out. And what’s wonderful is that so much of it is so good, in later years you’ll be able to say, “Wow! They’re huge now and I saw them when they were at that little place on Frenchman.”

  Whether they become huge or not, the great thing is that you’ll hear exceptionally fine musicians and get a sense of the local music scene. Blue Nile (532 Frenchman Street) is one of my favorite places to go, but if you head out at night and start there, walk on down Frenchman. I’m not saying you can’t go wrong—just that it will be hard to do so!

  Nice, upscale, with a bit of the British Isles? I say try the Bombay Club. That’s in the French Quarter at 830 Conti Street.

  Also, check out Preservation Hall—and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Preservation Hall was formed in the early sixties to see that, well, jazz was preserved. And the band! Wow.

  But, no matter where you go, you’ll find music. Here’s the amazing thing about New Orleans. Music is everywhere. There’s a gentleman who plays on Royal Street who has been there as long as I can remember. He’s a one-man band, with stringed instruments, a harmonica, a washboard, and more. He’ll sing a Broadway tune, slip into a blues number, and then regale you with a pop number. You don’t have to pay to see him—though, of course, there’s a guitar case in front of him so that you can donate for the pleasure of hearing him. The thing is—he’s a finer musician than many I’ve paid a great deal to see and his voice is fantastic.

  Day Sixteen - The Historical Wax Museum of New Orleans - Musee Conti

  I have a love/hate relationship with wax museums. I’m not all that big on the ones that show you images of current stars and those departed. (Yes, I admit, I have had a picture taken with wax figures.) But my real love is a wax museum that takes you through history and gives you the great and the traumatic events that shaped us into what we are. (Okay, I also love—love, love, love, a good chamber of horrors!) I believe that I’d be absolutely terrified if I were locked tight in a wax museum—certain that the figures would come to life and do me in.

  They stare with sightless eyes, and yet we believe that they see. They are cast in various stages of world history that they lived and we learned, events that influenced us all.

  That said, in broad daylight, and with friends, I am fascinated by these museums in which we see these creations that are human—and not!

  The Historical Wax Museum of New Orleans, Musee Conti, doesn’t set out to terrify you or delight you with images of our current ‘hot’ stars of the silver screen. What it does do is show you the history of a city—New Orleans.

  It’s not a huge museum; you can see it in an hour or linger a little longer. It’s wonderfully unique; the plan here is to tell a story, a specific story.

  The Musee Conti is right on Conti (as the name would imply! Number 917, Rue Conti!) in the French Quarter—easy walking distance from most FQ hotels or bed and breakfast places. There are, they say, 154 figures. The tableaus in which they stand were carefully researched. The wax is beeswax—it’s added to a chemical compound. Eyes are imported from Germany and the human hair is imported from Italy. Tremendous care was and is given to the figures.

  The museum, I believe, is something that writers and readers and anyone who has a love for the city would enjoy seeing—especially because of the specific stories it relates. There are tableaus that tell a tale of the people who came and made a difference in the city of New Orleans. We all know about Andrew Jackson and the Battle of New Orleans. If history didn’t snare us all as children, school principal Jimmy Driftwood managed to do so with his song. (Look it up on youtube if you haven’t heard it—best version Johnny Horton’s 1959 number 1 hit!) And yes, you’ll find Andrew Jackson here—of course. He was incredibly important to the city of New Orleans, the parish—Louisiana and our country!

  But the history of the Battle of New Orleans isn’t all that you’ll find here—it’s a great place to get started at the beginning of NOLA and come all the way through. You’ll have been on Iberville and Bienville and you’ll get to meet these men as they first came through the Louisiana swamps. You’ll get to see scenes that show voodoo priestesses and explain the real religious practice.

  Arrrrh! Matey! Naturally, you’ll meet the Lafitte pirates here and learn more about them—the lives they led before and after the famous battle, and how pirates wound up with Andrew Jackson.

  And you’ll see more, too, as history moves on. The wax museum to me is wonderful in that it depicts the high points of history, but doesn’t deny it. (You might have realized by now that I really hate white-washed history. Own up, man! That’s how we try to prevent hatred, war, and prejudice from rearing their cruel heads again!)

  The good—you’ll get to see some great jazz figures and others prominent in music, art, literature, and sports who called the city home or came to New Orleans to add their indelible touch to the wonderful city.

  Something that I think that’s interesting here is that the figures were so thoroughly researched; you may see an historical figure you assumed to be a tall, strapping man—only to see that he seems somewhat short and tiny. That’s because, in the research that was done, artists relied on much more than a portrait to recreate their
man (or woman!) You’ll see these people as they were, to the absolute best that careful historical delving could afford. And from what I’ve read on some of the subjects here, they’re pretty much so right on the nose. Noses. Yes, in wax.

  I love the place. It can—like most of the plantations we’ve talked about!—be rented for all kinds of events. Showers, rehearsal dinners, Christmas parties, you name it. Of course, it’s not a bed and breakfast—but they cater to all kinds of affairs and also, naturally, to school groups.

  If you decide to go, please make sure you call and check on the hours. Right now, to the best of my knowledge, it’s open Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays, from 10:00AM to 4:00PM. But, if you happen to be in the city on different days and really need to get in there—or if you have a group—you can call and try to set up an appointment. Also, for parties, make sure you give yourself some leeway.

  Oh, wait! I think I said that I love (love, love, etc.) a good chamber of horrors. While the Musee Conti sets out to tell history and does it exceptionally well, it does offer a Haunted Dungeon!

  Aha! So there. (Chills and thrills!)

  If you have a chance, love history, love wax figures and excellent tableaus, try to find the time and get down there to see it. You can do so on Monday, Friday, or Saturday morning or afternoon, and save the rest of the day for another unique NOLA experience!

  Because it’s not open every day, you can call and check what’s going on at 504-525-2605. Their party rooms are absolutely lovely, too.

  Immerse yourself!

  And watch their eyes...

  Maybe even envision the lights being out and the figures coming to life and...

  Doesn’t have to be creepy! Imagine how cool it would be if you could sit down and have a conversation with Andrew Jackson!

  Day Seventeen - Jambalaya Jubilee-ing, French Quarter Fest-ing, Bent Pages—and Strawberries!

  Spring comes around, springs-up, so to say (very bad pun) every year. Spring means you can get set for the French Quarter Fest—one of the largest free music festivals in the country. There’s something as fresh and fun as the spring season about the Fest—you walk around, you see stands with wonderful and incredible goodies to eat, you see all kinds of performers. It’s still spring so the dead heat of summer hasn’t set in, and if you’re a music lover in any way, it will put a spring in your step! There’s one thing, of course, that founders ask—don’t bring in food and drink, buy it there. They want it to stay free for all, and they need sponsors—those selling food and wares along the way—to be able to keep it up.

  Walk on down by the river—you’ll find stages, booths, food, drink...great things. Art! Fun, you name it. But it’s called the French Quarter Fest—and the French Quarter is all about being involved. The date may be a bit different each year, so you always need to look it up—just key in French Quarter Fest for whatever year and you can get the low-down. Around the city, hotels and bars get in on the action and you can go just about anywhere and hear a special group. Many places have French Quarter Festival specials on their drink and food menus and it’s really—let the good times roll!

  So, the city also gets busy, crazy; sometimes a bit high on room prices. What do you do, what do you do? Well, you could plan to come in and enjoy a wonderful day of music, food, and spring festing—then take a side trip. Head out to Houma, Louisiana. It just takes about an hour.

  Houma is where you’ll find Bent Pages. And the Jambalaya Jubilee.

  The Jambalaya Jubilee Writers Conference is in association with the Nicholls State College and the Terrebonne Parish Library. It’s a day filled with panels and speeches and the organizers bring in some of the most renowned and popular authors today and they run the gamut on the written word—from local to International authors, fiction and non-fiction, children’s books, homespun books, thrillers, you name it. Every year, you’ll find a new roster and a few favorites they’ve been so nice to, they just can’t get rid of them. (Like me.)

  Yes...they have a Louisianian Idol—that’s where you turn in a few pages of a work in progress and have it read and critiqued by a panel of editors, agents and an author or two.

  While you’re in Houma, of course, you must stop by Bent Pages. It’s run by some of the most wonderful booksellers in the world—and possibly the world’s most unusual booksellers as well!

  In a world where we are increasingly turning to the Internet for songs and music and book stores are on the demise, Bent Pages is a precious and unique gem.

  Houma, the Jubilee, and Bent Pages are on the route out of the city on the Lower Mississippi Plantation route so it’s not all that far out of the way if you’re exploring, learning more about Cajun history, or seeking out bayou and environmental tours. Bent Pages bookstore can be found at 1422 Barrow Street in Houma. There’s a charming porch that surrounds the front of the store with rocking chairs so you can grab your ‘maybe’ purchases and sit in the cool shade and rock while going through them. First, of course, you can buy your coffee and tea or soup and sandwich in the café. Nothing run of the mill here; the café is as one-of-a-kind as the shop. Great coffee!

  Every month, dozens and dozens of people drive in from all over the area to pick up big bags of books; Molly and Kay are readers and they know their clientele and are trusted to pick out reading material for others. This doesn’t mean that they don’t like strangers. They know authors, they know books, and if they don’t know something, they’ll find out for you. This is a place where it’s just really pleasant to be. Down home hospitality exists.

  But, please, remember your manners. This is not a chain. If you like to pull out books and just dump them on the chairs or other bookshelves. Molly will politely remind you that if you’re in a bookstore, you can probably read, and if you can read, you know that C comes after B, and therefore you should know how to re-shelve a book! Molly is very matter-of-fact. But, she’ll also happily do a lot more digging for you, play charades while trying to help you figure out an author or a book, and go way above and beyond the usual.

  There is nowhere in the world you can go that is quite like Bent Pages, in all kinds of great and amazing ways!

  For authors and readers—they run the most amazing book signings you can imagine. There’s something about home and comfort and all good things here.

  Obviously you don’t need a special date to stop by a book store, but for the French Quarter Fest and the Jambalaya Jubilee, you can check it all out on line—they try to coincide every year.

  While all this is happening in NOLA and Houma, there’s also a terrific and yummy thing happening in the opposite direction, but still, not all that far. It’s the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival. So let’s say you could start out hearing some great music and enjoying wonderful food, arts, and crafts at the French Quarter Festival, then drive on out to Houma and enjoy the book world. There are lovely places outside the city to stay. Then, you could drive on back to the city, maybe see some more music and head out the opposite way to take part in the delicious craziness of the Strawberry Festival.

  But any time you want to head to New Orleans, pop online and find out what is going on. The state loves festivals, music, art, food, and books. There are many special events that take place during the year. If spring has sprung, however...

  Day Eighteen - Who Do Voodoo You Do - Tea Leaves and More!

  Voodoo—what is it? We can all conjure up images of a voodoo priest or priestess conjuring spells to call the “dead” from their graves. We’ve seen voodoo dolls with pins and needles—and most of us know, as well, that voodoo is a recognized religion practiced by many people around the globe with place and custom making small changes in the religion, just as Christianity, Judaism, and other religions are practiced in different ways.

  Voodoo as practiced in New Orleans is a religion that began in West Africa in the Dahomey region, an area and country now called Benin. Needless to say, when slaves were taken from this area and brought to the New World, their practices and beliefs were infl
uenced by those around them. Because of this, practices in Haiti changed in one way while differences came into being when the religion arrived in New Orleans and the United States. Slaves were forced into servitude, we know, and one way they kept their souls and individuality was through their language and their religion.

  Papa Doc—Haiti’s despot dictator—had a great deal to do with Voodoo appearing to be some kind of black magic practice in which the dead were awakened and brought to life in zombie form to perform ghastly deeds. And with more zeal than Papa Doc—the movies stepped in to make the practice appear to be secret and menacing!

  I don’t pretend to really understand the practice of religion; I did meet once with a Voodoo priestess on Rampart Street who gave me a sense of the beliefs and practices which don’t always seem exceptionally strange—Catholic saints were adopted into the religion and having grown up with such beliefs, I do get a feeling with altars and the way one can ask others to help them when they’re asking for help and intervention with their prayers.