Dreamscapes Travel & Lifestyle

FALL/ WINTER 2024 DREAMSCAPES 21 Feed Your Soul SEDUCED BY THE ALLURE OF NEW ORLEANS T he sun spotlights the historic buildings fronting Bourbon Street, their wrought-iron balconies festooned with hanging flower baskets, but twilight fast approaches in New Orleans' storied French Quarter. On one corner a solo saxophonist seduces onlookers as a fortune teller is in a deep session, storytelling a dark future to her client. Our immediate future au contraire is bright. Following a 40-year bond with this city that started in a small Canadian bar ironically dubbed Bourbon Street, my wife Sharon and I have finally decided on a couples' getaway to NOLA (short for New Orleans, Louisiana). Situated on the shores of the Mississippi River, New Orleans embodies the charm of the Deep South—a charm rife with culture and traditions that we discovered exploring the heat-soaked streets of the French Quarter and the magnolia-shaded streets of the Garden District. But that's only the start. A CULTURAL CORNUCOPIA Three unique cultures add to the allure of New Orleans. In the 18 th century, the French first settled this wild terrain that later saw them teeter-totter with the Spanish until finally in 1803 the Louisiana Purchase galvanized this hot spot as the United States. With those adopted French influences from Cajun folks who left Acadie on Canada's East Coast to the Creole who brought customs from Haiti, you'll see deep-seated French and Caribbean styles in festivals like Mardi Gras and in the city's varied cuisine. Add a strong African and African-American influence to the recipe and you get a city with a culture unique in North America. HURRICANES TO GO Early in our exploration of the French Quarter, Sharon and I order Hurricanes "to go" at a Bourbon Street watering hole called Lafitte's, an establishment claiming to be the oldest building to host a bar in the entire United States. Judging from the number of people lined up outside Lafitte's, sampling a Hurricane is a French Quarter rite of passage. Drinks in hand, we stroll the narrow streets, stopping at the towering St. Louis Cathedral with its trio of steeples piercing the sky. The heritage landmark blends Spanish colonial and French neo-Gothic designs. Next is the Cabildo, its whitewashed walls, a marvel of Spanish colonial architecture. We skirt Jackson Square, named after Andrew Jackson, who was America's seventh president. His equestrian statue forever a victory emblem of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans makes a popular photo-op. BY MARK STEVENS DID YOU KNOW? With at least five "haunted" restaurants and a wealth of iconic cemeteries, New Orleans might be the United States' most haunted city. Be sure to book a haunted New Orleans tour, a cemetery tour or a visit to the Historic Voodoo Museum. PHOTOS: NEW ORLEANS & COMPANY/PAUL BROUSSARD | ZACK SMITH PHOTOGRAPHY

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