New Orleans

We have been keen to visit New Orleans for some time and considered it as a destination for Rob's 40th birthday, which falls around the time of Mardi Gras, but as his birthday drew closer the move to Texas appeared on the horizon, so we decided to wait. Our 13th wedding anniversary coincided with my parents visit so we took the opportunity of having babysitters and booked a weekend away.

New Orleans is one of those rare places in the USA with a long and rich history that is written all over it's streets and cultures. The city of New Orleans was founded in 1718, although archaelogical evidence shows the area was populated by native Americans as far back as 400AD. The position of New Orleans at the mouth of the Mississippi has made it both economically and strategically important, which goes some way to explain why it has gone through French and Spanish hands before being sold by Napoleon (along with an enormous swathe of north America between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains reaching up into Canada) to the Union in the Louisiana purchase in 1803. The port of New Orleans has been an entry point for the African slave trade, and is the site of the last battle of the War of 1812, in which the American forces defeated a British naval invasion 200 years ago. Although flooded numerous times over the years, in 2005 New Orleans was hit by Hurricane Katrina, the levees were breached and the city was extensively flooded. The scale of the disaster and the poor response of the Bush Administration (let's face it, 'W' was not exactly the best product of Texas), made international headlines for months, and the effects are still ongoing today.

New Orleans by day. We spent most of our time walking and chatting to locals in the art galleries.

Bourbon Street mayhem

This melting pot of native Americans, Africans and Europeans, has lead to the diverse culture, cuisine and architecture the city has to offer. The food was great, and the choices endless. We managed to forget to pack our Lonely Planet guidebook for New Orleans so we just followed our noses and ended up trying alligator sausages and traditional Creole gumbo's.

Of course New Orleans is probably most famous for being the birthplace of jazz. I was never a huge fan of jazz - I dipped my toe at Ronnie Scott's in London once but it was all a bit to stuffy for me, but New Orleans jazz is different, it's funky and you can dance to it. Music is everywhere you go in the city. We had a great time going from bar to bar, or simply standing in the street listening to the various club, street and marching bands. It really is a fantastic place for a night out, very casual but totally buzzing. New Orleans is the least 'American' place I have ever been to in the states and I loved it. We didn't get to see the Mardi Gras Indians though, maybe next time.

Music everywhere