Tuesday 20th January 2015
After having coffee in our room, we went
down to our meeting room on the ground floor to hear Joann Sealy who is the
manager of the Faulkner Bookshop on Pirate Alley in New Orleans, talk to us
about the ‘Literature of New Orleans’. Ms Seally is also an actress and her
manner and delivery made that fact manifest. She tends towards the dramatic
which sometimes masks the impact of what she has to say and her readings of
extracts from the writings of the authors she was profiling sometimes lacked
the appropriate rhythm to bring out the dramatic effect she probably intended.
In my opinion she might restraint her thespian tendencies a bit to give her
excellent knowledge a better approach. Her talk of the authors who started the
tradition of writing in New Orleans was very interesting. The golden era of
NOLA literature started after the Civil War and many interesting and
influential writers were born between the mid 1800’s and the end of the 19th
century. William Faulkner and Tennessee Williams were, of course, the best
known. Joann gave us a brief bio of each and then commented on their various
works often recommending reading of their lesser known works before embarking
on the major opuses. She also gave a brief run-down on some of the modern
authors who have either emanated from or called New Orleans home at some time
or another. These included Lillian Hellman, Truman Capote and Anne Rice. Ms
Sealy also provided a comprehensive reading list of NOLA-related books.
Cochon has a Cajun type menu and, of course
features ‘Louisiana cochon’ or suckling pig. We chose some boudin, a ham hock
dish and the Cochon. They were all delicious and although the portions were far
from niggardly they were not too large. We rounded the meal off with a dessert
called ‘Mess’, this was also delicious. This place is fairly new but has other
outposts in the city with slightly different menus.
After our great lunch, we walked back
towards the French Quarter across Canal Street to Royal Street which we walked
down browsing the shops on the way. We saw a wonderful art gallery which was
decorated with Dr Seuss art as well as some spectacular wooden sculptures. All
were, sadly, too expensive for us. There are some nice stores on the street but
we didn't buy anything. We came upon the rear of Jackson Square and turned down
Pirate Alley where the Faulkner Bookstore if located but it was closed. We then
went into the St Louis Cathedral which is very highly decorated. We also
visited the National Parks Jazz Museum and got our National Parks passport
stamped.
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New Orleans streetcars |
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The rear of St Louis Cathedral |
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The Capilbo |
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A Spanish cannon |
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Impromptu street musicians in Jackson Square |
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The interior of St Louis Cathedral |
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The eponymous Andrew Jackson after whom the square is named and victor at the Battle of New Orleans which took place in early 1815, the bicentenary was celebrated recently. |
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The front of the magnificent Cathedral from Jackson Square |
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A small statue near the French Market |
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When Christmas is over, just decorate your tree for Mardi Gras!! |
We decided to take the streetcar home and boarded
behind the French Market, took it to Canal Street where we transferred to the
Canal Street car back to the hotel. The fares are very reasonable, $1.25 for
adults and $0.40 for seniors with
transfer costing $0.25. The cars are clean, comfortable, smooth running
and efficient. Neither of the cars on which we traveled was called Desire but
that did not diminish the pleasure of the ride.
We left the hotel for our dinner at the
Commanders Palace restaurant in the Garden District. As large buses are not
allowed in the Garden District, RS had organized a smaller bus so that we could
be dropped at the door. The restaurant is elegant and the service excellent.
The meal was good with the restaurants famous turtle soup as a great start.
The. There was a choice of fish, shrimp or lamb. Dessert was a bread pudding
soufflé which was superb. The meal was very enjoyable with great company at our
table. Perhaps the only downside was that the noise in the restaurant rose to
rather a high level as the meal wore on and the restaurant filled up.
Nevertheless, it was a very pleasant evening.
On return to the hotel, I went to the
business center to try to download my photos on to a USB stick. I managed to do
so. That was enough for today.
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