It seems odd that I've written so little about what I was up to while living in one of the most interesting cities in the country. I guess I'm not all that sure how to describe things. Either that or I'm just not very interesting. Let's go in reverse, and talk about what I did on my final Friday.
I met up with a couple of friends at May Baily's on Dauphine Street and had a drink. Then we moseyed over to the bar at the Roosevelt Hotel. After ordering a Sazerac, I asked the bartender if that bar was the first place to serve the drink, and he said yes and no. The bar had moved around to two or three other places before ending up at the Roosevelt. So it may have been the first place in spirit, if not in location.
The lady sitting next to us walked out, leaving her glasses on the bar. One of my friends ran out with them to give them to her. She said, "Oh no, my glasses are in my purse." Of course, we saw no purse on the counter. They came back in, and the lady found out that the bartender had moved her purse so it wouldn't be stolen. "It's worth more than the money that's in it," she said. She was so grateful that she bought us a round. I looked through the cocktail menu again and ordered a Sidecar. I ordered that one because there's a Japanese manga named "Bartender" and he served a Sidecar in one of the episodes.
I have to confess that over the past two plus years I've really started delving into several manga series. Sites like www.onemanga.com are very helpful. Bleach, Naruto, One Piece, History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi--all those are pretty good. The anime version of One Piece is a real joy. It helps to have a good scanlator that gives notes about sound effects and cultural customs.
After the Roosevelt we went to the Carousel Bar at the Monteleone Hotel. The bar revolves around the room (the inside, not the outside). Then it was over to a place I'd been looking forward to the whole summer, the Old Absinthe House. Absinthe has become legal again in the U.S. within the last couple of years. Some people told me that if I liked black licorice, I'd like absinthe, and I'd say they were right. I don't know if I could pound back absinthe frappe after absinthe frappe all night, but then again I'm not someone who can pile up drink after drink anyway. I'm the Florence Nightingale of Drinking--I can nurse that sucker all night long. But I think absinthe is good, and it better be at $14 a pop for the cheapest they had. It helped that the bartender was a really good looking red-haired girl.
Note: I left my umbrella there and had to go back and get it Saturday. I asked the bartender (different girl) if she'd seen it. The people at the bar said that other people usually leave something else at the bar, not an umbrella. I thought, "Yeah, like their dignity."
I had a great time. It may be strange to hear, but this was the first time I'd ever gone out drinking in the French Quarter. Most of my trips to New Orleans have been family visits. This time around, I lived in an apartment that was at the other end of a pretty short block from Monkey Hill Bar. I could close the door to my apartment and start walking, and in 60 seconds I'd be at Monkey Hill. That was a new experience.
One last thing that I noticed in New Orleans that reminded me of the Historic District in downtown Natchitoches: there are no fast food restaurant chains in the French Quarter. There are some on Canal Street, yes, but once you get into the Quarter itself, nada. I imagine that the city has zoning laws that keep them out.
I met up with a couple of friends at May Baily's on Dauphine Street and had a drink. Then we moseyed over to the bar at the Roosevelt Hotel. After ordering a Sazerac, I asked the bartender if that bar was the first place to serve the drink, and he said yes and no. The bar had moved around to two or three other places before ending up at the Roosevelt. So it may have been the first place in spirit, if not in location.
The lady sitting next to us walked out, leaving her glasses on the bar. One of my friends ran out with them to give them to her. She said, "Oh no, my glasses are in my purse." Of course, we saw no purse on the counter. They came back in, and the lady found out that the bartender had moved her purse so it wouldn't be stolen. "It's worth more than the money that's in it," she said. She was so grateful that she bought us a round. I looked through the cocktail menu again and ordered a Sidecar. I ordered that one because there's a Japanese manga named "Bartender" and he served a Sidecar in one of the episodes.
I have to confess that over the past two plus years I've really started delving into several manga series. Sites like www.onemanga.com are very helpful. Bleach, Naruto, One Piece, History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi--all those are pretty good. The anime version of One Piece is a real joy. It helps to have a good scanlator that gives notes about sound effects and cultural customs.
After the Roosevelt we went to the Carousel Bar at the Monteleone Hotel. The bar revolves around the room (the inside, not the outside). Then it was over to a place I'd been looking forward to the whole summer, the Old Absinthe House. Absinthe has become legal again in the U.S. within the last couple of years. Some people told me that if I liked black licorice, I'd like absinthe, and I'd say they were right. I don't know if I could pound back absinthe frappe after absinthe frappe all night, but then again I'm not someone who can pile up drink after drink anyway. I'm the Florence Nightingale of Drinking--I can nurse that sucker all night long. But I think absinthe is good, and it better be at $14 a pop for the cheapest they had. It helped that the bartender was a really good looking red-haired girl.
Note: I left my umbrella there and had to go back and get it Saturday. I asked the bartender (different girl) if she'd seen it. The people at the bar said that other people usually leave something else at the bar, not an umbrella. I thought, "Yeah, like their dignity."
I had a great time. It may be strange to hear, but this was the first time I'd ever gone out drinking in the French Quarter. Most of my trips to New Orleans have been family visits. This time around, I lived in an apartment that was at the other end of a pretty short block from Monkey Hill Bar. I could close the door to my apartment and start walking, and in 60 seconds I'd be at Monkey Hill. That was a new experience.
One last thing that I noticed in New Orleans that reminded me of the Historic District in downtown Natchitoches: there are no fast food restaurant chains in the French Quarter. There are some on Canal Street, yes, but once you get into the Quarter itself, nada. I imagine that the city has zoning laws that keep them out.
