New Orleans

WED June 16

So I took advantage of the French Quarter free shuttle and spent the day there walking and drinking it all in. I made the rounds of all the usual places and some unusual places.

I started off by walking over to the river and watching the boats and then on to Jefferson Park where I listened to a Park Ranger explain about the founding of New Orleans. One of the things he said was that the word "'Dixie'" refers to privately issued currency from banks in Louisiana. These banks issued ten-dollar notes labeled "Dix", French for "ten", on the reverse side. These notes are now highly sought-after for their numismatic value. The notes were known as "Dixies" by English-speaking southerners, and the area around New Orleans and the French-speaking parts of Louisiana came to be known as "Dixieland". Eventually, usage of the term broadened to refer to most of the Southern States.

After that I was wandering around the Park when it started to rain lightly so since I was planning on going inside anyway I went over to the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis King of France. Wow what a great church; that’s how churches should be built again.

When I came out of the Basilica it was pouring rain [Thank you Marla for leaving me your umbrella and for the record one of the supports isn’t supporting; “Not my fault Dr. Jones.” It was rains so hard it had run the tarot card readers and mimes off. Just FYI, the balconies in the French Quarter do a very bad job of keeping rain off the sidewalk, had to keep the umbrella up. The rain did lower the temperature but not the humidity so all in all it was a positive thing.

I was walking down Bourbon Street thinking about what the price of real estate with a Bourbon Street address must be and then I noticed how tawdry it was with all lingerie stores and strip clubs.

You know one of the things that has made an impression on me this trip is big rivers, the Mississippi and the Cumberland, and big bridges.

Love the feel and architecture of the French Quarter but off tomorrow for new places.