New Orleans: French Quarter

Sunday and Monday we've been doing New Orleans. I'll admit that I'd kinda, sorta decided in advance not to like it too much. After all, it's Frenchy and I hate jazz and fish, the three most important ingredients of the city. Still after walking some of it today I must say I'm impressed with the architecture and sheer beauty of some of its areas. Bourbon street is a vast wasteland of mindless, drunken idiocy but there are other neighborhoods which are very much worth your time & effort. Also, the city has lots of history, cemeteries, museums, etc.

Because of all the material, I've had to break up this segment into five installments. The first is the French Quarter (possibly some areas north of it too). I didn't get in that many pics of it, because I mainly shot it Sunday night and some of the photos came out blurry. Again, Bourbon street is a cesspool, but some of the other streets are quite nice. All pics here.

Gaudy, tacky shit blaring light out onto Bourbon street.


Not sure if Basin street is technically inside the French Quarter, but this decrepit old building was still picworthy. Yes, that's an invented word. No, you can't have it, it's mine.


Memorial to the fallen US & Allied troops in Vietnam. A war largely lost through sheer cowardice & incompetence.


A jazz band giving a hellishly loud street concert this afternoon. Sweet Jebus, how I hate jazz.


The mighty Mississippi.


This Santa Claus stood outside a humongous casino down by the river. We joked that he had lost all his reindeer on gambling and was now begging for food. A sad end!


The visitor's center in Basin street had some nice exhibits and models of the city.