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!!
Very moving experience both times I went. If the exhibit Jews in WWII is still showing it will probably be more so for you. rj
ReplyDeleteI hope "jews in WWII" is still on exhibition, I'll keep an eye out for it. Thanks for recommendation, Ron.
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