from St. Louis #1 cemetery to Tulane's jazz archives in one day.

I am one pooped tour guide after a very long day of training for the "origins of jazz" tour that will be just one part of the Ken Burns Jazz Event in October.

We started bright & early hopping on the tour bus at the Ritz & headed to Basin St. Station.  There's a great model of how that area of town looked back in the day; Treme, Storyville, etc.  There's also a handy "gumbo" jazz exhibit.  But, of course, we only had a few minutes to enjoy the nice air conditioned building.  So, back out into the heat we go, crossing the street & making our way into St. Louis #1 cemetery...we're really going back to the origins of jazz.  This is a small cemetery, so the visit was brief.  Before I knew it, we were headed to the next destination, we hopped back on the tour bus (god forbid we walk a few blocks) & made our way to Congo Square in Armstrong Park.  Now this was pretty cool, a drummer greeted us from a local tribe & he talked about the history of congo square & jazz rhythms & beats.  Once we finished at congo square, back to the bus & on to the U.S. Mint to check out the jazz archives & old jail cells.  I saw Louis Armstrong's trumpet, up close & personal!!  Of course, yes, I took pictures...they'll be on my facebook page by the end of this week.  And, those old jail cells were way creepy; we walked into the cramped & corroded cells, while grasping for air, it was like a sauna in there!   After that shock to the system, it was time to bus it to the Lower Garden District for lunch at Commander's Palace.  I was amazed that we were getting treated to lunch at such a swanky place during our tour training.  I was already pinching myself about getting the free meal when I guide the tour!  After lunch, we walked off about 10 calories with a very short stroll around one block of the neighborhood before heading BACK to the bus again.  Finally, we made it to Tulane's Hogan jazz archives.   We saw some great old video footage & got a very informative lecture (which we also received as a typed document, so no note-taking needed!).  Although it was really interesting, it was just about 4pm & after schlepping in the heat & eating a massive meal, my eyes were beginning to feel heavy.  Good thing we'd made it to the end & just had to get back to the ritz to retrieve our cars & call it a day.

Us FOC folks have plenty of extra work to do; research, studying, extra trips to tour stops to prep for this tour.  We realized it's also probably a good idea to actually watch the Ken Burns Jazz documentary...but not ALL 10 discs, just the nola relevant ones...like disc 1, "Gumbo".  Fortunately, I am interested in all of this & I want to be able to give more jazz tours in the future.  So, it's all worth it...at least that's what us volunteer tour guides have to remind ourselves when ever the going gets tough.

Well, I am more than ready to pass out.  Another early day tomorrow, training for the "jazz in the quarter" tour.  I believe we'll be hitting preservation hall & we'll have a jazz brunch at Court of Two Sisters (I've never eaten there, so I'm thrilled)!  As I drift off, Louis will be singing me to sleep tonight.

six years later.

This is gonna be a long one, y’all.

It’s all so surreal now, I remember everything; events, emotions, reactions, but after this much time & distance from it, it also just feels like a dream, well, a nightmare, really… 

About a year after Katrina, I remember standing on the 3^rd floor of UNO library talking to a janitor that I’d become friends with over the years of working at the University of New Orleans.  We swapped horror stories & what was left of our homes, family, etc.  And, we both discussed the city’s projections about how we probably wouldn’t be anywhere near what the city was like Pre-K for at least 5-7 years.  That was the most daunting notion, I’m a patient person, but 5-7 years?!  That seemed like a lifetime away.  But, we were both committed to being back in nola, being back home.  So, we’d tough it out, which we did, along with so many others. 

I returned back to the city relatively early, October 2005, as soon as electricity was back uptown & the water was potable.  I’d spent a month & a half like many other Katrina evacuees, as a nomad for the first few weeks, bouncing from friends’ & family’s homes in North Carolina & South Carolina.  There just wasn’t enough room for us (I was with my Mom) to stay at these places for very long.  We finally made our way to Memphis, my Mom’s old friend from college has a huge house & lives on his own.  When my mom got in touch with him, he told us to come on over!  Although it was hard watching the coverage on the news & feeling so helpless, we spent a lovely month in Memphis.  Our friend was so hospitable, & charming, a real lover of culture, so we got along quite well.  We were so fortunate to have him open up his home to us & Memphis was great to all the Katrina evacuees that had ended up there.  But, it wasn’t home.  And, in the famous words of Louis Armstrong, I know what it means to miss New Orleans.

In the first moths after the storm, I remember driving home (back uptown) from work out by the Lakefront & wandering through what I called, “no man’s land”.  It absolutely was as if we were living in what had been a war zone.  The national guard walking through the middle of the streets carrying rifles, heaps of trash 3 stories high, devastated homes, the now iconic neon x’s that had been spray painted on doors by rescue workers after searching homes for survivors or bodies.  The city had early curfews, residents relied on the grapevine to find out what grocery stores & gas stations were open.  Most of us were living out of ice chests b/c our refrigerators were a lost cause, just taped up & ready to be put out on the curb.  One friend actually took on the mission of documenting as many fridges as possible out on the streets b/c many were using them to voice their frustrations with messages like, “Rotten to the Corps”. 

My Mom & I both worked at UNO library, which was under the LSU system.  Fortunately, working for the state paid off.  We still had our jobs & even continued to get paid through direct deposit into our bank accounts.  Of course, our workplace was off limits for a while, so those of us back in town took turns working shifts for the library manning 2 computer desks inside a small computer lab in UNO’s Jefferson Campus on Causeway Blvd. in Metairie.  The Jefferson campus became UNO’s hub until the Lakefront campus was reopened in December 2005.  Even when we returned to campus, we lost power constantly, most of the offices had been ripped apart (by survivors that had been dropped on the campus temporarily after being rescued from the floodwaters).  But, I was thankful to have a job, & working at UNO had always been about making the best out of a bad situation, working with very limited resources, & little financial support. 

My personal losses from the storm were mixed.  I’d lived in a 2^nd floor apartment in Broadmoor, a neighborhood that took on about 8ft. of water.  Fortunately, most of my personal belongings were high & dry on the 2^nd floor of a house that took on about 5ft. of water on the 1^st floor.  My downstairs neighbors weren’t so lucky. 

My mother lived just blocks away from UNO’s Lakefront campus & the London Ave. Canal breach on the 1^st floor of a little rental house.  Mom lost everything.  A few weeks after we returned home, we put on our mud boots, masks, & gloves w/a group of my friends & made our way through her place.  I took pictures to document for Mom’s renter’s insurance (although her losses added up to double what her insurance covered).  The ceiling had caved in on a portion of the house, where the ceiling remained in tact, ceiling fans hung like filthy wilted flower petals.  Rotten chicken from my mom's freezer hung from one fan blade.  Beds from the back of the house had made their way into the living room in the front of her home.  My friends insisted that we try to salvage a few items, it was easier for them to be impartial, b/c me & my mom were still just sorta stunned.  I remember a small van of tourists passing & taking photos as we sorted through items on what had once been the front lawn.  I looked at them with such disdain.  I was conflicted, I know they were curious & the more they saw, the more the rest of the country learned about what was left in Katrina’s aftermath.  But, I also felt violated, this wasn’t a tourist attraction, it was our broken lives, it was personal!  I’d never been on that side of the glass, so to speak.  It was eye opening to say the least. 

As for the rest of my family, my father, a retired attorney, had taken over my grandfather’s business a few years before the storm which consisted of over 50 rental properties in the uptown & Broadmoor areas.  95% of the properties were flooded (including my home) & we didn’t have flood insurance.  My father’s home was high & dry just off St. Charles Ave., or as locals began to call it, “the isle of denial”.  However my father & my family’s income was gone.  My grandmother had just moved into a nursing home 2 months before the storm & the bills were piling up. 

Of course, I still looked at my own situation & considered myself relatively fortunate.  My family & I had evacuated the city in time, none of us had to ride out the hurricane in our homes or were trapped for days even weeks by polluted flood waters.  All of my family was safe & back in the city.  I had a place to stay, my grandmother’s home was also high & dry just off St. Charles Ave. (and empty since she was now in a nursing home).  My old place was still uninhabitable, there wasn’t power or water in Broadmoor & my old neighborhood was pretty desolate for the 1^st year after Katrina.  I watched the news & read the Times Picayune religiously, keeping up with the city’s struggles to come back, or well, just to keep it’s head above water (no pun intended).  There were so many others that lost so much more & weren’t even able to return to the city for months, even years after Katrina.  I had a lot of survivor’s guilt, much of which, I drowned in bottles of wine with my friends each evening.  I was still so relieved to be with my friends back in my city.  During the mandatory evacuation, I wondered when I’d ever see them again, we were spread out all over the country & for a while, no one knew when they'd be back home.

Even a year later, most of the trash & devastated homes (especially out by the lake & 9^th ward) were all there, just as they were immediately after the storm.  Traffic & street lights still didn’t function, most streets didn’t have street signs, creating a great deal of confusion among all the outsiders that had come down to rebuild.  I turned onto Nashville Ave. one day & a huge pick-up truck almost drove head on into my car.  The guy was driving the wrong direction down my side of the neutral ground!  Besides that danger on the streets, most of the time I was worried I’d get a flat tire from driving over piles of nails & other debris.  AAA wasn’t around to come to our rescue back then, so getting stuck with a flat tire in the middle of the night was a real possibility.  The city was a broken shell of its former self.  Nevertheless, we all became accustomed to it & trudged through each day.

Every year I’ve become a bit more numb to the harsh realities of post-K life in nola.  Not that it wasn’t upsetting, but I’d just gotten used to it.  And, it didn’t help to break down all the time, we were focused on moving on.  Not that I didn’t have my break downs, believe me, I could burst into tears at the drop of a hat…at home after reading some article in the paper or thinking of some childhood memory & realizing we no longer had those pictures & the places these memories were made were still devastated.  Honestly, I even held a little resentment towards my friends that didn’t grow up here, especially those that didn’t lose their homes or jobs.  Even though they had to deal with the evacuation & poorly functioning city, they didn’t lose their hometown.  It simply seemed like a temporary inconvenience to some.  I stayed in nola b/c I love my hometown; I have great memories growing up here & have continued to make more wonderful memories as an adult in the same city.  But, I felt like it was more personal to nola natives, even though all nola residents share the same love & pride for our city.  This resentment was not something that I ever expressed vocally to any of these friends, but I think they picked up on it. 

Now, looking back on the early years after Katrina, I realize how much has changed in the city & for me personally.  I’ve stopped using the terms “pre-K” & “post-K” on an every day basis.  I’m used to having grocery stores, gas stations, & all the other modern amenities & creature comforts at my finger tips.  The streetcar runs down St. Charles again, hearing the screeching of the rails & ringing bell from my bedroom feels normal again.  When I bring myself back to those early months, & even years, after Katrina, I wonder if I take all this for granted now.  I know how easily you can lose all of it, yet I carry on my day expecting all these conveniences to be there.  Most of us are past that point of just keeping our heads above water, now we’re actually living our lives, enjoying our lives…which is the real New Orleans way. 

I view disasters in other parts of the country & the world in a totally different light now.  I’ve always had compassion & sympathy for those going through such a tragedy.  However, now I know what it feels like.  Now, I know that no matter how hard & miserable it all is, that eventually, with time, it can get better.  And, this is coming from a self-proclaimed pessimist, people!

Becoming a tour guide has really helped me appreciate having my city back on a whole new level.  I experience so much more of what makes this city unique & enchanting on a regular basis.  And, even better, I get to share it with others that haven’t experienced it before & don’t have the privilege of being able to enjoy it all the time.  The music, the FOOD, the amazing history, the close-knit community, the small town in a big city, the southern hospitality…the JOIE DE VIVRE!!

So, 6 years later, just as I was before Katrina, I’m proud to call New Orleans home.

good night, Irene. good night.

I never thought that at the end of August, the country would be tracking a hurricane headed up the east coast requiring evacuations all the way up in New York.  As a New Orleanian, I would be lying if I didn't admit that I'm relieved Irene didn't make its way into the Gulf.  I think nola has had enough for a life time & I hope the hurricane gods have gotten that memo.  That said, my next emotions are always guilt & sympathy for those in the hurricane's path.

My little sister lives in Charleston, SC, actually on James Island, just minutes from Folly Beach.  So, of course, the fam was definitely concerned that Irene might be headed for my sis.  Charleston has also taken quite a punch from hurricanes in the past.  So, once the hurricane forecast takes the storm up the east coast rather than into the gulf, my next concern is always South Carolina.  Again, I'm relieved that my sister is dodging the bullet.   Of course, my dad (who lives here in nola) has been texting her all week demanding my sister get her evacuation plan together, but that's no surprise since our Dad is the stereotypical paranoid jew...everything is a disaster waiting to happen as far as he's concerned.  I texted my sister earlier this evening & asked how the weather was...she sent me a picture text of her in her backyard wearing her "Be a New Orleanian wherever you are." (www.dirtycoast.com) t-shirt that I'd sent her this week & she said, "windy & wearin' my shirt.".  So, I think she's doing just fine.  I told her I was proud she was being a New Orleanian in SC...she better be representing for the Big Easy even if she is a Charlestonian now.

I'm just hoping that if the rest of the country learned anything from Katrina, they learned not to fuck with a hurricane!!  Just pack your shit up & get the hell out!  If you don't have to evacuate, I hope y'all have already stocked up on batteries, flashlights, candles, wine, water, etc.  Hurricane parties, in moderation, are perfectly acceptable.  At least it ain't nearly as damn hot up north as it is down here, so it's just a little easier to survive without AC if the power does go out.  We're all hoping that the east coast from NC to Connecticut pulls through with little harm.

It's all just that much more erie given that we're just a few days away from the 6th anniversary of Katrina & Labor Day weekend.  For the past 6 years, I've just held my breath through the end of August & early September.  I'm holding my breath now...& crossing my fingers.

visiting my church for this week's tour guide continuing ed

We all met up at NOMA’s Besthoff Sculpture Garden yesterday morning to begin our tour.  It was hot, but at 10am, not as hot as it would be at noon, & we were determined to complete our visit to NOMA with the garden.  Several of my tour guides had NEVER been…can we say, sacrilege?!  All agreed it’s just as beautiful as I’d told them & marveled at the collection, the meandering paths through the garden, the lovely & well maintained landscaping.  Only one other tour guide in our group is a nola native, so I explained the story of the Besthoff family, which was the “B” in the old K&B drugstore chain.  I told them of K&B purple & how the Besthoff’s donated their entire collection of sculptures to the garden, & were a big part of it’s creation.  In fact, the Besthoff’s still collect & donate to the garden today…what a family, such menschs!  I also introduced my friends to my old favorite that once sat in K&B Plaza when I was a child, Three Figures and Four Benches by George Segal.  They loved it, of course, we took the obligatory pictures sitting with the figures.  I told them how I used to sit with my old friends on the bench & chat with them as a child.  And, I wasn't the only one doing the teaching, some of my friends knew sculptors that I didn't, so I learned from them, as well.

Once we’d made it through the entire garden & were sufficiently sweaty & hot, we headed into the marvelously air-conditioned museum…lord have mercy, did that feel good!  After we checked our sun hats & bottles of water, I brought them to the middle of the staircase in the Great Hall to tell them about Rodin’s Age of Bronze.  The sculpture which created such a scandal when first exhibited at the 1877 Salon in Paris that Rodin was considered an imposter.  Spectators said it was simply too realistic to have been sculpted from scratch, instead it must have been cast from a live nude.  This was not the case, & Rodin decided to prove his talents to the art world the next time by creating a figure on a much larger scale, so there could be no further speculation.  There are many casts of this sculpture, in addition to the one at NOMA, there’s also one is in the Orsay.  I loved seeing it in the Orsay b/c you can actually see it in the round, unfortunately, the sculpture is tucked into a niche at NOMA, so you can only see the front side.  Of course, it’s the museum’s most prized possession, so they want to show it off, which I understand, it does make quite an impression as you first enter the museum.  Before the museum had acquired the Rodin, Vigee Lebrun’s massive portrait of Marie Antoinette had sat in the very same place greeting you as you walked in.  Vigee Lebrun’s Marie Antoinette is what I still picture there when I think of the museum b/c she was there throughout my childhood.  But do not fret, she has not been lost, she’s just been relocated to the 2^nd floor with the rest of the late 18^th century French paintings, so next time you visit the museum, make sure to go say hello, & tell her Leah sent you! 

We made our way through all three floors of the museum & saw almost everything exhibited.  Walking a museum, especially, NOMA because it’s so familiar, is like a religious experience for me.  I’m not really a practicing Jew, but I’ve always said that for me, art is a religion & museums are my churches.  So, I’m very pleased to report that our trip to NOMA & the sculpture garden, my church, was a great success!  After that, we certainly deserved a classy lunch at Café Degas, especially since it’s in the neighborhood.  I even treated myself to a glass of Sancerre to help cool off. 

Sadly, I won’t be able to make our group’s continuing ed next week, but that’s because I’ll be in the middle of training for the Ken Burns Jazz Event tours coming up in early October.  I can’t wait, it should be great fun, & I’m very excited to learn more about nola jazz.  I am ashamed to admit that I don’t know nearly enough to truly call myself a New Orleanian.  But, fortunately, that will soon be remedied! 

I’ll be joining my friend on her tour of St. Louis #1 cemetery tomorrow morning.  I hope to eventually do tours of this cemetery, too, but I have much to learn.  And, my lessons begin tomorrow.

art on the brain

No big nola adventures so far this week, but I've finally uploaded more of my nola pics on my tour guide facebook page.  I have a lot more albums I want to create, so it's an ongoing project, but this allows my facebook "friends", especially those that aren't in nola, to see my hometown through my eyes.  So, friend me & check them out!  http://www.facebook.com/nola.leah

In other news, I've got tour guide continuing ed tomorrow at NOMA & the Besthoff sculpture garden...I can't wait!  These are two of my favorite places in the city, the sculpture garden is probably my favorite outdoor spot in town!  It's beautifully landscaped, an amazing collection of sculptures, lagoons cut through the garden, multiple paths allow you to wander around seeing something different every time.  What I love is seeing the same pieces from multiple different perspectives.  A sculpture looks quite different from across a lagoon than it does up close.  The colors & textures that contrast with the natural landscape create a feast for your eyes.  A visit to the garden is a truly interactive experience, you don't feel so much like a spectator, but more like a participant.  Even most New Orleanians don't realize what an impressive collection NOMA has, so if you haven't been recently, take an afternoon & do it!  There's a brilliant Rodin, The Age of Bronze (which created a whole lotta scandal when first exhibited at the 1877 Salon in Paris), that greets you in the Great Hall as you enter the museum.  We have Picasso, Miro, Degas, Modigliani, Magritte, Monet, Giacometti, Braque, Cassat, Chagall, & many more.  Plus a great collection of local artists' work.  There's also a really impressive Asian Art collection, thanks to the Gitter Yelen collection (lots of great Japanese Edo period work) & one of the best & most comprehensive Oceanic Art collections in the country.  The space is open & inviting.  And, don't forget about Where Y'Art on Friday nights.  The museum is open free to the public on Wednesdays, so we won't need to flash our tour guide licenses tomorrow.  The garden is always free & open during regular museum hours.  We don't need to schedule a special docent or other guide for tomorrow b/c I'll be our group's guide!  I have a BA in art history, I interned at NOMA while I was a student at UNO (working on a teacher workshop manual for a Japanese painting exhibit), & I just led 2 tour groups through the museum & garden for the AIA convention back in May.  I'm thrilled to share a place that's so near & dear to my heart with the rest of my tour guide friends, some of them have never been...I couldn't believe that, so I told them that we had to remedy that asap!!

After the museum, on to lunch at one of my favorite charming little bistros in town, Cafe Degas.  We're taking advantage of their online coupon...see, it's not just jews that like a good deal.

So, I'll have more to report tomorrow after the museum & a classy French lunch on Esplanade Ave.  

I'm cleared for take off!

Well, I've finally successfully completed my "critique tour" for FOC & it feels good!  The critique tour is a regular tour with real guests, but since I'm new, a veteran tour guide shadows me to make sure I'm up to FOC's standards.  I only had 2 guests on my tour today, a father & daughter, they were great!  Having only 2 guests on a 2 hour walking tour is actually ideal; you can cater it to the the guests more instead of worrying about appeasing a larger group.  It's easier to answer questions & you can usually cover more territory & talking points b/c you can walk & talk.  One of my FOC tour guide instructors & a current tour guide lives in the quarter on Chartres & Dumaine in the slave quarters of a larger building.  Whenever he's home, he welcomes all the FOC tour groups into his courtyard for a few minutes so they can get a look at the real thing behind the big brick walls.  Of course, all the tour guests loves this special little treat, & fortunately, Ron was home today & let us stop by since I take my tour down Dumaine St.  I finished my tour in exactly 2 hours...this is a big deal, b/c I can talk & talk, & the time can slip away from you pretty quickly.  We had time to unwind for a few minutes back in jackson square & I got a picture with my tour guests.  This is a tradition that I've officially started with today's tour, but I want to continue throughout my tour guide career.  I've posted the photo on my tour guide facebook page:  www.facebook.com/nola.leah

So, I guess I'm up to FOC's standards & am finally ready to be put on the regular monthly french quarter tour schedule.  I'll keep y'all posted once I find out my regular tour dates. I'll do at least one french quarter walking tour a month for FOC, but I also want to be a docent at the 1850 House, so I hope to do that at least once a month, too.  Now, I just need a bit more tour practice under my belt, then I can type up my official tour guide resume (guess I really could/should go ahead & get that started) & get some commercial tour gigs...then finally begin making a little cash!!  Guiding a fun tour + cash = a great occupation equation!

BTW, I also spent a hot & sweaty 2 hours doing a final practice tour in the quarter with my friend & tour guide mentor yesterday.  It really helped to get my timing straight & review a few talking points.  Thanks, Ron...I owe you!! 

Looks like a good a week ahead...my tour guide continuing ed group is headed to NOMA & the Besthoff Sculpture Garden on Wednesday (that's the museum's free day).  We may also check out the Basin St. Station on Thursday.  Then, I'll be tagging along on a friend's tour of St. Louis #1 cemetery on Friday morning.

So, I'll have plenty of nola adventures to report on in the coming days... 

from beers to hurricanes

Had a great time at the Abita Brewery yesterday...evidently, I'd missed the memo explaining that the tour, which includes endless free beer on tap is FREE!!  So, no need to flash my tour guide license this time, just my license to prove that I'm over 21 years old.  The tour itself is short, you watch a few informative videos on the beer making process & all of Abita's efforts to be green (very impressive, BTW).  The rest of the time, you hang out in the Tasting Room & mingle with the crowd while filling your Abita cup with as much beer as you'd like...and every Abita beer they make (other than the off seasons) was available on tap.  So, I highly recommend schlepping across the lake for this "tour", although I think "experience" is a better way to describe it.  Of course, you need a designated driver.  My big idea is a Lake Pontchartrain ferry...takes us across both ways, Abita could pick up & drop off from there on a small shuttle bus (which they could charge for since the tour & beers are free)...I think that's more than reasonable.  I'll have to get my people in touch with their people.  I guess I should also investigate whether there are tour companies that already provide bussing from downtown nola hotels to Abita.  But if the tourists can make it there, I'm certainly gonna recommend the extra excursion.  I also had lunch w/my friend at the Abita Brew Pub after the "tour", descent LARGE burgers, po'boys, etc.  Food was essential after all that free beer.

When I finally got home & turned on the local news yesterday evening, all I hear about are the possible hurricanes brewing in the tropics & perhaps headed for the Gulf...ugh!  I'm fully aware that it's that time of year (& just 9 days away from the 6th anniversary of Katrina), but I'm still soooo NOT emotionally prepared for the real threat of a hurricane to nola & the ordeal of packing up the car & evacuating (not knowing what will be left to come back to).  It's terrifying, to say the least.  So, for now, since I don't pray, I've got all my fingers & toes crossed.  Hoping we "dodge the bullet" this year.  Isn't the biblical heat enough to contend with?!

I'm headed to the quarter this afternoon to meet up with a close friend & my primary tour guide mentor to do one last official practice tour before my big "critique tour" for FOC tomorrow afternoon.  Of course, there's a chance of rain this afternoon, so I'll be schlepping the whole bag of gear, including umbrella & rain slicker...god forbid I get rained on, I might melt!  Other than the heat & possible rain, I'm looking forward to it & feeling good about the critique tour tomorrow.  I just hope that tourists show up for tomorrow's afternoon tour, I hear we've been very slow for the 1:30pm tours, especially over the weekends.  So, cross your fingers for me faithful followers & pray to the tourism gods that it's a good day for FOC & nola Leah!

"closed toe shoes required to tour the brew house"

I'm headed to Abita Brewery w/a friend tomorrow for a tour of the brew house & a lot of tasting!  I just checked the website for tour times, address, etc. & noticed the following special regulation, "closed toe shoes required to tour the brew house".  I'm glad I noticed this before hitting the road, it is summer, & sandals were my most likely choice.  I am curious to find out why closed toe shoes are required, I have some theories, but as I'm not that familiar with brew houses, it's just a guessing game.  All these years, I've been drinking Abita beer, but I've never gotten around to visiting the Abita brewery...so, it's about time!  It's so great to be a tourist in your own town...& of course, I ain't leaving my tour guide license at home...hoping it'll get me another free entry. 

Nothing too exciting to report on otherwise today, I skipped the TGAGNO monthly meeting this evening.  I was exhausted & had a splitting headache.  A tour guide friend of mine went & texted me later to say it was good I didn't bother going b/c the meeting was giving her a headache!  I'll give it a try next month.  BTW, yes, I know that is a ridiculously long acronym, but it's an even more ridiculously long association name!  I'm going to join soon, it's best to keep up with all things tour guide in nola & I can get tour guide insurance through the group.  But, I'm glad I stayed at home on my couch this evening.

Ok, I must go get my beauty sleep so I can wake up fresh for my trip to Abita, LA tomorrow.  We'll be crossing the Causeway...our famously long bridge over Lake Pontchartrain. 

will I ever stop sweating??

I took the streetcar down to the french quarter this morning for breakfast at Stanley with my cousin from Boston & then a personally guided tour.  Breakfast hit the spot, we both had the "eggs Stanley", like eggs benedict, but throw some cornmeal fried oysters on top.  Since Stanley is right in Jackson Square, we were in the perfect location after breakfast to start my french quarter tour.  I took my cousin through the 1850 House first & then we walked my usual tour route.  I had my sun hat, water soaked bandana tied around my neck, large bottle of ice water, but I was still MISERABLE!!  We were both dripping with sweat the entire time & I'm sure we smelled fantastic.  Other than the unbearable heat, the tour went well.  My cousin (soon to be a senior at Wellslyan) is into history, he's visited nola tons of times b/c his dad is from here, but he'd never learned anything about nola history.  So, I was glad to share it with him & it was another good practice run for me.

When I got home, I had a message on my answering machine, it was from FOC's special events manager.  He wanted to know if I'd like to do a special tour in early September for a group of Tulane students that focused on fun stuff in nola that doesn't involve drinking alcohol.  Now, I realize that to all New Orleanians (including myself), this is a totally foreign & unappealing concept.  But, I think I can accommodate the group, I just have to think really hard.  From what I understand, this is a Christian group of students that wants to promote socializing sans alcohol.  Let's hope this heathen jew can point them in the right direction!  The tour will only be a little over an hour in the evening, that's one hitch, I could show them a lot more alcohol-free fun when museums are open.  They want to complete the tour at Cafe Dumonde & have beignets after, so I can't hit that during the tour.  If any locals have ideas, please pass them on...I'm stumped!  I figure I'll still talk about & point out museums, etc., & recommend that they check them out during the day.  However, what does one do in the quarter at night, besides eating beignets, that doesn't include alcohol??  I'm thinking a stroll on the Moonwalk with a view of the Crescent City Connection, voodoo stuff(?), & maybe still a walk down Bourbon St. since it's a site to see??  They're going to Preservation Hall after Cafe Dumonde, so that's off the list of stops on the tour, too.  I've got a month to think about it, I'll figure something out. 

About to head to Mother's for dinner with my dad & cousin, it's my cousin's last supper in the Big Easy...we wanna do it right!  I'm thinking crawfish etouffee...mmmm. 

FOC's special tours inner circle

I went to FOC's super committee meeting this morning re: the Ken Burns Jazz Event coming up in October.  I'm thrilled, there will be 3 fantastic tours (Roots of Jazz, Jazz in the Quarter, & Treme: Jazz and the Story of Survival Today).  I've signed up to be one of the tour guides for each one! FOC has been contracted by Tauck, a major international tour company, to handle local coordination of the tours for the big event.  There's a lunch at Commander's Palace, a jazz brunch at Court of Two Sisters, a private concert at Preservation Hall, key note address by Ken Burns, just to name a few things...& I get to enjoy all of it along with the participants!  Again, the tour guide license brings me some pretty damn good perks.  Plus, we'll get official training for the tours, so I'll be learning a lot more about jazz.  I could definitely use the lessons & I'm certainly a fan of nola jazz!  The training for all these tours is just weeks away, so we'll being getting into full gear very soon.

In the meantime, I'll still be on the streets doing french quarter tours...in the heat, rain or shine.  I've started reading, It Happened in New Orleans, by Bonnye E. Stuart, to collect some fun anecdotes to tell on my tours.  I'm also working on some visuals...you gotta have a good map to give people a feel for where the city is on the Mississippi River & in relation to the Gulf, plus Lake Pontchartrain.  I also have a replica of a dixie note, there's a fun story to go along with that...& the real thing used to be printed at the Old U.S. Mint right here in nola (now another Louisiana Sate Museum site).  I also quite like some of the cartoons from John Chase's Frenchman, Desire, Good Children & other Streets of New Orleans (originally published way back in 1949).   Plus a small compass to demonstrate how kooky our direction are...no one in nola uses north, south, east, west...it's either lakeside or riverside, upriver or downriver.  Thanks to a friend all the way up in the Finger Lakes, I have my very own compass & it even has a fleur de lis on it (thanks, Beck)!  Now I'm working on a little flood map form Hurricane Katrina, we get a lot of questions about it & it's most definitely an important topic...especially as we approach the 6th anniversary of Katrina (August 29th, 2011). 

I've also got tons of photos I want to upload to my tour guide facebook page: www.facebook.com/nola.leah
That's my way of sharing a personal side of my hometown with those outside nola.  Please friend me if you're interested in checking it out! 

losing steam

I was all set to enjoy dirty martinis for Dirty Linen Night down on Royal St. yesterday, sadly, I ended up passing out on my couch!  I woke up to a text from friends ready to meet up in the French Quarter.  I guess the busy week just finally caught up with me.  I made it out last Saturday night for White Linen Night & melted on Julia St!!  I can't wait for Fall & Art for Art's Sake, then we can enjoy art, booze, schmoozing without suffocating from the humidity & baking in the sweltering galleries.

Off to see a movie at my favorite local movie theater & the ONLY neighborhood theater left in the city, the Prytania.  I live walking distance from the Prytania, which is one of the best perks about my neighborhood besides the proximity of my house to the streetcar line.  It's always important to support our local businesses & New Orleanians are hard core about it!!

I've got that "super committee" meeting tomorrow morning for FOC's coordination of the Ken Burns Jazz Event coming up in October.  I'm the only new tour guide on the committee, which is quite an honor.  I'm looking forward to finding out what my role will be in the process.

I just walked outside & was pleasantly surprised by the temperature, guess the rain cooled things down a bit.  We have to appreciate the little things in mid-August.  Just trying not to think about the fact that we're entering the height of hurricane season...gives me serious anxiety.  In fact, just thinking about the possibility of a hurricane is gonna require another xanax.  So, I think I'll just tuck that into the recesses of my brain again for now & live in denial for as long as possible.  That said, the most important stuff to take with me during an evacuation is already packed up.

Back to happier thoughts...movie time in the nice cold theater....better go grab a cardigan.

starting off the weekend right...

My cousin's in town from Boston...a great excuse for more nola food & some tours!!  We went straight from the airport to Mandina's...sooo full!  I had an open face roast beef sandwich...I would bathe in that gravy I love it so much! No need for dinner tonight.  My cousin, Jacob, & my Dad both had bowls of gumbo & Jacob agreed, you just CAN'T get this kind of food in Boston...a damn shame!!  Just one of the MANY perks to living in the Big Easy.

I'll be taking Jacob on my french quarter tour, he'll be my first family member to go for a tour since my mom went on a practice tour with me at the beginning.  And, since he grew up in Boston, he'll have a different perspective.  He's 21 years old, so that also means I'll be taking him to my favorite haunts...he said he likes wine, so Delachaise (my home away from home) is first on the list!

I think I may have a case of the vapors from this southern heat, I just got dizzy getting out of the car.  I may have to lie down for a while & drink a little iced tea to cool off.  Lord have mercy, how will I survive the rest of this summer?

an afternoon at a Louisiana plantation on River Rd.

I visited Houmas House plantation this afternoon with a friend of mine.  Yet again, my tour guide license came through for me, I got free "tour guide" entry to the house & the guided tour.  Our tour guide, Judy Davis, was excellent!  She played the piano & sang for us, had an impressive range of accents from British to a slow southern drawl, she was full of energy & enthusiasm, has a great sense of humor, & she was very welcoming.  So, it was an excellent tour, I really enjoyed it & learned a lot...both about Houmas House & of course tour guide techniques.  I bonded with her right away when I told her that I'm a nola tour guide...we agreed that all tour guides are "history nerds" & damn proud of it!!  The plantation house itself is in great condition, an amazing collection of furniture & art, including an original portrait of Marie Antoinette by Vigee Lebrun (the art history nerd in me was super excited to find that).  The surrounding grounds are GORGEOUS...tons of color, texture, dimension, flowing fountains, lily pads, even pineapples!!

There were only 2 other visitors on our tour, a couple from Hamburg...they're headed to nola tomorrow & I was able to give them a few suggestions since they're interested in getting off the beaten path (gotta love the Europeans for that).  I sent them to the 1850 House for FOC's 10am french quarter tour & suggested that they take the streetcar down St. Charles Ave. for a nice lazy ride in the afternoon;  even though they'll only be in nola for 2 days, I think I've led them in the right direction to enjoy their time in the Big Easy, which is exactly why I do what I do.

We finished off our visit to the plantation just as one should, with mint juleps in a charming little bar located in a small building which was once a garconier.

Sadly, we got stuck in miserable traffic headed back into the city, I think it's because tonight is the Saints' first pre-season game.  Something I really don't think about b/c I'm just NOT a football person.  A tour guide friend has season tickets & wants me to join her for one of the games.  Since I'm not paying for a ticket, I'll check it out, it'll be my very first Saints game, should be an interesting experience.  I don't have any saints paraphernalia, but I do have a black tank top with "504 ever" in gold (designed by dirty coast)...I figure that'll do.

Dirty Linen Night in the French Quarter tomorrow...martinis, art, schmoozing, heat, just another night out in the Big Easy.

I'm on a "super committee"!

I just got an email from the special events manager at the FOC (Friends of the Cabildo) inviting me to join him & several other volunteer tour guides on a "super committee".  I'm not even sure what that exactly means or entails, but sounds VIP & exciting!  I believe we're meeting to discuss the upcoming Ken Burns jazz tour conducted by Tauck.  I don't know much about this tour, but I'm very much looking forward to learning about it & being part of it!  We meet next Monday morning, hopefully, I'll have a better idea of what I'll be doing after that.

I'll keep y'all posted.

one VERY cold shower later...

What a day...it was long, but educational, productive, fun, & hot as hell!  I couldn't even fathom sitting down at the computer until I took a nice cold shower...a gloriously cold shower.  Now, I'm fresh & clean, finally cooled down, & ready to blog.

I started w/the perfect morning ride on the St. Charles Ave. streetcar down to Lee Circle instead of driving to the WWII museum.  I caught a lovely breeze from my window seat, listened to my "nola tunes" playlist on my iPod, & replied to emails on my blackberry; not bad, huh?!  I only had a block to walk to the museum after hopping off the streetcar, & amazingly, it wasn't miserably hot yet, so I wasn't even running for the AC.  I gave myself plenty of time to get downtown since I'm coming from uptown. For those of you that know nola, I live near the uptown JCC.  I arrived 30 minutes early...for those who know me, arriving on time, let long early, in the morning, is a rarity, to say the least!  Meanwhile, 2 friends that live very close to me uptown both drove down to the museum, one spent $7 on the museum parking lot & the other had to run out to add time to her parking meter.  So, I think the streetcar was the right choice...I was very proud of myself for starting off the day so stress-free...again, something not too common for me!

On to our guided tour of the WWII museum, which was really interesting.  We spent 2 hours in there with Dr. Bill, who did a great job of presenting a good mix of historical facts & interesting anecdotes instead of boring us to tears with stats, dates, etc.  I took notes, in true professional student mode, so I'd like to share some of the most interesting facts that I picked up today.  The museum has just acquired a small portion of the wall that Hitler had erected around Europe & installed it across the street from the entrance.  I don't know how many of you know why nola was originally chosen as the location for the D-Day museum.  If you don't, then you need to do a little research on a man named, Andrew Jackson Higgins (yeah, that's right, his middle name was Jackson, another fun fact that I picked up today).  Mr. Higgins is ultimately considered one of the integral figures in our victory of the war.  He invented the aptly named, Higgins Boats, which were used to deliver troops to the beach front at Normandy on D-Day.  Thanks to the Higgins boats, troops could run right off the boat rather than jumping out the sides of the boat.  Seems simple enough, but it made a very big difference.  Hitler was quoted as calling Higgins the "new Noah".  Something I did not know about the Higgins Boats, they were all made out of wood, incredible!  Of course, we have a Higgins Boat inside the WWII museum as well as several airplanes suspended above the visitors.  There's a paratrooper plane that was originally flown into Lakefront airport, then partially disassembled (the wings were removed) & trailed to the museum downtown via Elysian Fields & right through the french quarter on Decatur St.  I would have loved to see that!  I asked if there were any pictures of the plane's trek from the lakefront to the museum, but Dr. Bill wasn't sure, so I've gotta do some investigating.  After getting the run down on boats & planes, we got the chance to meet a true living piece of history, a WWII veteran, Tom Blakely, who had been a paratrooper & was dropped at Normandy!  This was really exciting, he had some great stories, he's a real charmer w/a good sense of humor.  I'm not sure how often he's at the museum, but evidently, there's generally one veteran near the entrance to the museum giving visitors a true first-hand account of D-Day.  After talking with Mr. Blakely, we made our way to the exhibits & spent a total of 2 hours even though we skipped the Pacific exhibition.  So, I could go on & on with other tidbits, but I think you just need to go check it out for yourself.  Although the ticket price is about $20, it's worth it.  The exhibitions are put together really well, the docents are great, & there are a lot of interactive elements throughout the museum.  Of course, knowing that we are a group of tour guides, Dr. Bill did also plug their docent program & urged us to sign up for their training course.  I just might go for it, but probably not until next year.

After the museum, we walked ourselves down Higgins Dr. to Cochon Butcher for a fabulous lunch.  I had a cochon de lait po'boy, couldn't finish the whole thing, but not because I didn't try, it was scrumptious.  Of course, we talked WWII history & ideas for the next installment in our tour guide continuing ed series.  Sadly, I won't be able to make it next week, but I think we may do NOMA (New Orleans Museum of Art) & the Besthoff Sculpture Garden the week after.  Now, that's my bag...I'm taking the lead on that outing, no need to coordinate a guide!  When studying art history at UNO, I interned at NOMA, loved every minute of it & I visit the museum & sculpture garden regularly.  FYI: the garden is free to the public every day that the museum is open & the museum is free to the public every Wednesday...take advantage of the free art & AC; it's a lovely museum.  I took 2 tour groups from the AIA convention back in May to the museum & garden, they were really impressed with the spaces & our collections, so that says something.  As for the sculpture garden in particular, it's one of my absolute favorite places (especially outdoor spaces) in the city, so if you haven't gone yet, shame on you!  It's free people, what are you waiting for?!  As for tourists, you can take the Canal St. streetcar all the way to the edge of City Park & you hop off just a few steps from the entrance to the museum, so, no excuse for y'all to miss it either.

Ok, sorry, I always get side tracked when I get going on NOMA, back to today.  Since I was already downtown & planned on attending a lecture on Cajun French at the Cabildo (part of the Louisiana State Museum & located in Jackson Square) at 6pm, I decided to kill the time in the french quarter.  One of my tour guide friends joined me & we had a lovely afternoon, despite the sweltering heat.  I passed through Jean Lafitte National Historic Park & Preserve Louisiana French Quarter Visitor Center on Decatur St., which is a great place to stop for a clean bathroom, maps, a little exhibit serving as a pretty good synopsis of nola culture & a charming french quarter courtyard with a lovely fountain.  I figure that as a tour guide, I should probably be familiar with the visitor & tourism centers, so I've made that part of my tour guide homework.

When in the french quarter, with time to kill, we always stop by the 1850 House in Jackson Square (I mentioned it in my 1st blog).  We say hello to Ben, the faithful shopkeeper that knows EVERY book in stock & does a great job of making recommendations.  So, if you're looking for good nola reading, Ben's your man!

Then, we did a bit of window shopping & just a touch of actual shopping...us southern gals need our sun hats...a southern lady can never have too many sun hats!  We also popped into my absolute FAVORITE dress shop in the city, Trashy Diva (there's one location on Chartres St. in the quarter & another on Magazine St. in the lower garden district).  Trashy Diva has sassy & classy numbers, mostly silk dresses in vintage cuts w/very colorful & funky prints.  We just appreciated the merchandise, but did not purchase anything, the prices are steep, but a good investment if you're looking for a great dress.  To avoid more shopping, we ducked into Antoine's Annex, a great little cafe on Royal St. which is the very casual sister to the fabulous Antoine's Restaurant.  The Annex has excellent iced coffee & great AC.  A terrific spot to sip a refreshing beverage & regroup.

Before we knew it, it was time for us to head over to the Cabildo.  We had just enough time to slip into the restroom, splash some cold water on our faces, reapply deodorant, & try to salvage our hat hair!  There was free wine...in my opinion, always a good way to begin an event, then an hour long lecture on Cajun & Creole French language.  It was a bit over my head, but interesting, nonetheless.

Next on the agenda, I'm headed to Vacherie, LA tomorrow afternoon...down to sugar plantation row on River Road.  I'm gonna check out Houmas House with a friend, I've never been there & hear it's quite good.  I'll take pictures, of course!  So, I better pick out my sun hat for tomorrow's excursion & hit the sack.  I think it's clear I'm exhausted because I really am beginning to ramble on & on now.  And, the point of this blog is to attract readers, not bore them to tears!

But, JUST one more thing, if any of you (both nola natives/residents or out-of-towners) have questions about the city or suggestions on topics you'd like me to cover, please let me know.  I'd love to get y'alls feedback.  Thanks for the support so far...nearly a 100 page views after just 3 days, I'm thrilled!

tour guide continuing ed tomorrow...WWII museum

We've got another special guided tour scheduled for tomorrow morning with "Dr. Bill".  Dr. Bill was one of our instructors in FOC's tour guide training course & he's generally considered a local expert on just about everything.  He's a volunteer tour guide for FOC (french quarter), Save Our Cemeteries (Lafayette cemetery), St. Louis Cathedral, & WWII museum, just to name a few.  So, we're very privileged to have him give us the tour of the WWII museum tomorrow.

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I've not been to the WWII museum since it was the D-Day Museum (back when it first opened).  It's not that I'm not curious about it, there's just so much else to do in the city, plus the tickets are a bit pricey for this museum.  I'll let y'all know if it's worth it after my visit tomorrow.   I hear it's a great museum, a real one of a kind.  I find tourists visiting nola are generally interested in checking out this museum, so I need to know something about it & have a first-hand experience that I can draw from when talking to them about it.  Besides that, I have always taken a special interest in WWII because my grandparents on my father's side were both Holocaust survivors.  Basically, every history paper/project I ever did growing up was on the Holocaust, WWII, the Third Reich, etc.  So, I'm certainly curious to see how the history is presented in the context of the WWII museum.

Besides that, the museum is WELL air conditioned, a real plus during this insane heat wave.  I'm signed up for NOLAReady alerts & my blackberry keeps on blinging with heat advisories, it seems endless.  Whenever anyone from out of town hears me complain about the heat & humidity down here, I always tell them, "New Orleanians in the 20th century never really acclimated to the heat & humidity, we acclimated to air conditioning!".  Frankly, walking around the french quarter right now is pretty miserable, unless you're right on top of the Mississippi River catching the breeze.  I always equip myself with a little folding fan, a big sun hat, & a HUGE bottle of ice water, but all that still provides little relief these days.  So, my advice, stay in the AC...museums, theaters, shops, the freezer section of the Winn Dixie.  I'm still cooling down nearly an hour after spending about 15 minutes outside watering my plants...can we say, MISERABLE?!

Although I'd rather travel in my air conditioned car, I live on top of the St. Charles streetcar line.  So, I'll be hopping on the streetcar tomorrow morning & grabbing a spot by an open window to get the breeze.  Most locals have cars in nola, & even though I live so close to the streetcar, it often doesn't occur to me to take it instead of driving.  But, parking downtown is a nightmare, so now that I've gotten into my tour guide gig, I've rediscovered the streetcar...and it's just as charming as it was when I was kid!  First of all, getting to chill or even zone out instead of dealing with the traffic is a real plus.  Secondly, the view is fantastic & the slow pace is truly New Orleans (and fine as long as you're not in a hurry).

Ok, it's about time for me to head out, I'm meeting one of my tour guide friends for happy hour at my favorite neighborhood cafe, Il Posto.  Every Tuesday & Wednesday, Madison Curry, the owner offers delicious complimentary nibblies with the purchase of a drink.  Not a bad way to beat the heat & unwind from another day of schlepping in the scorching sun.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's report on the WWII museum.  BTW, we're doing lunch at Cochon Butcher after the museum!!

Becoming the Big Easy

So, here I am, 32 years old, & for the first time, I've strayed off the conventional path.  Completely terrified, unsure of myself & what lies ahead, but also just a touch excited about a new more fulfilling life.  Ironically, I was first propelled into this new phase of my life by two very inconvenient car accidents (both caused by the other drivers), ultimately losing my full time job at UNO library (which I'd held for nearly 7 years), & a complete & utter emotional breakdown.  Needless to say, I never imagined myself ending up with a tour guide license & a whole new world at my finger tips just 2 years later.  After the car accidents, I was left with some very painful deep tissue injuries which still require regular physical therapy.  Unfortunately, one can't go to physical therapy at night or on the weekends, making it very difficult to maintain a full time, 9-5, job (which is all I've ever known since graduating from college).  I have a BA in Art History (we all know that doesn't mean much in the way of obtaining a job), I've worked in an academic library for over 10 years, & once upon a time, all thought I would end up a pre-school teacher.  So, art, history, books, & kids…what shall I do with this skill set?  One very important fact that I have neglected to mention up until this point, I am a new orleans native; I'm in a love affair with my hometown & can NOT imagine living anywhere else (at least not anywhere else in the states)!!!  Every time I travelled abroad, I'd be on these amazing tours in Europe & think, "I wanna do what this guide does, wish I lived in a place like this".   Then it finally occurred to me that I do live in a place as charming & intriguing as a beautiful old European town!  Since that realization years ago, the idea of being a tour guide has always appealed to me, but was never a realistic option while working a full time job at the library.  It takes a lot of chutzpah to quit a job with good health insurance, a great benefits package, & plenty of paid vacation time (especially Post-K).  Besides, I had no idea how to go about becoming a tour guide; how does one break into the business?!  

Fortunately, I have 2 great friends (neither of which are originally from nola) that are weekend tour guides.  I find it quite interesting that the majority of my close friends now are not originally from nola, but are all what I like to call, "nola converts"…people that were always meant to be New Orleanians.  And, because they all love the town so much, they generally know more about it than those of us that grew up here because they've sought it out.  I'm constantly learning from my friends & always being reminded that, although I love what I know, I still know very little about what really makes this town so unique & enchanting.  Now, we come to my quest to rectify the situation by diving in head first (of course, not literally, my physical therapist would strongly advise against that) to the real New Orleans…the history, the architecture, the music, the food, what it means to love New Orleans.  So, a few months ago, I applied, interviewed & got a coveted spot in the Friends of the Cabildo's Walking Tour Guide training course; an extremely intensive one month course on nola history, architecture, culture, tour guide techniques, field trips to lots of charming little museums & historic sites in the French Quarter & bonding with a lot of other classic nola characters that all share my passion for the Crescent City.  By the end, I'd passed the city's tour guide test, acquired my New Orleans tour guide license, & made some great new friends to join me on my Big Easy adventures.  The Friends of the Cabildo, a non-profit group organized to support the Louisiana State Museum, offers French Quarter walking tours twice a day Tues-Sun; The FOC's tour guides are all volunteers so all of the tour proceeds go straight back to the FOC.  The FOC has been a great support in my pursuits as a new tour guide & opened many doors to exciting opportunities in nola, especially in the French Quarter, excuse me, the "Vieux Carre".  

At the moment, I'm volunteering for FOC, guiding walking tours of the French Quarter & I'll soon be a docent in the 1850 House.  The 1850 House is one of the Louisiana State Museum's 11 sites; the first floor is a commercial space (which is now the location for FOC's gift & book shop), while the 2 upper stories are preserved as a time capsule of life in mid-19th century New Orleans within the prestigious lower Pontalba Apartment Building located in Jackson Square.  I'm practicing my french quarter tour with any friend that's willing to subject themselves to my rambling on about nola history, etc. & tagging along on tours guided by older, wiser, veteran tour guides.  Every day I change my tour a little, but the tours will constantly evolve, which is a good thing.  No one wants to go on a 2 hour stale walking tour.  I hope to begin doing commercial tours soon so that I can actually put a little money in my pocket…something I never really believed would be possible while doing something that I love.  

In an effort to expand my knowledge of all things nola, I've banded together with my closest friends from the tour guide training course & we've created our own continuing education series with weekly visits to other museums, historic sites, etc., followed by lunch where we all pow-wow, share ideas, complain about the latest obstacle that city hall has created for tour guides, & add to our growing list of places to visit over a great meal.  One of my tour guide friends in this continuing ed group has taken the lead coordinating guided tours for us at most of the museums that we've visited so far, generally by the director of the museum.  As it turns out, a New Orleans tour guide license is actually a key to the city…making all my dreams come true one week at a time!  Besides getting free entry & personally guided tours in the museums, another new tour guide friend recently told me about an additional perk.  He stopped into Johnny's, a little joint in the quarter, the other day for a fried shrimp po'boy after his tour.  He'd left his tour guide license clipped to his shirt & when he paid the bill, he was sure they'd given him too much change back.  When he inquired, he was told that as a tour guide, he gets a discount on the po'boy & a free drink!!  What's not to love about that?!

Although I've already taken the first few baby steps on my new path as a tour guide before beginning this blog, I've got plenty of pictures to catch you up on what you've missed so far.  Honestly, I generally look more like the tourist than the tour guide with the amount of pictures I take of EVERYTHING…I just can't resist.  I even take a few pictures while guiding a tour.  I think the photos capture my experiences a hell of a lot better than I can in words.  So, much of the time, I'll rely on the photos to tell the story & just flavor it with a bit of spicy commentary. 

Finally, I now feel it's time to share with you a few disclaimers…the rules of English grammar have never been good friends of mine, I am the reigning queen of run-on sentences & comma splices. I tend to make a short story longer.  I'm ridiculously sentimental; I do sometimes rely on cliches, no matter how cliche they are.  And, I have a foul mouth (although I've managed to keep this first post pretty tame).  That said, again, I'm taking the leap…several friends have told me that I should just give this blog thing a go, instead of wasting all my time (& theirs) posting all of this on facebook.  Here's hoping I can find a new receptive audience out there on the interwebs…