NOLA Through the Lens of a Newbie

Years ago, I briefly passed through New Orleans on a cross country road trip. My first REAL visit was a couple months ago, smack dab in this 10th year after Katrina. I tried to absorb as much as possible; time was scarce. I will definitely return to this place Tennessee Williams smugly described: “America has only three cities: New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Everywhere else is Cleveland.”

Still, a newbie to NOLA has fresh eyes. Here are share some photos from my trip. They are grouped in three batches.

1. Metairie Cemetery and Lafayette Cemetery 1
2. Images from the French Quarter
3. Scenes from surrounding bayous, including Jean Lafitte National Historical Park

All images copyright 2015.

Metairie and Lafayette Cemetery 1

“The first thing you notice about New Orleans are the burying grounds – the cemeteries – and they’re a cold proposition, one of the best things there are here. Going by, you try to be as quiet as possible, better to let them sleep. Greek, Roman, sepulchres- palatial mausoleums made to order, phantomesque, signs and symbols of hidden decay – ghosts of women and men who have sinned and who’ve died and are now living in tombs. The past doesn’t pass away so quickly here. You could be dead for a long time” – Bob Dylan

 

The French Quarter

“Enormous oak trees towered over the boulevard, which boasted homes with fine woodwork, wraparound porches, and moss on the sidewalks. “There’s nothing like a house in New Orleans. Would you look at those balconies and columns?” He rolled his window down to take in the sounds of life in New Orleans.” ― Hunter Murphy, Imogene in New Orleans

Surrounding Wetlands

“I don’t like coming over here at night,” the girl said. “The bayou is scary in the dark, all manner of things running wild out there.”
― Samuel Snoek-Brown, Hagridden