The Ambiance in New Orleans

While in New Orleans, a couple of weeks ago, we stayed at the Hotel Monteleone. My bloggy friend Dutchbaby had written a post about spending last New Year at this hotel – here is her post. She showed some beautiful photographs of the hotel. My daughter booked a room for us there.

Please click on collage to enlarge, then click on each picture

By a wonderful coincidence Dutchbaby was coming to the Monteleone Hotel just as we were ending our stay there. She flew early that morning after spending the night in the plane. I was delighted that she decided to wake up early so we could meet before I went to the airport. We had a cup of coffee at a close by beignet shop. It was a short meeting but we were very happy to see each other face to face. A couple of little birds jumped on the two other empty chairs and kept trying to share our breakfast.



Antonio Monteleone purchased a 64-room hotel on Royal Street in 1886. After several additions and renovations the Monteleone has now 570 guestrooms and many amenities. Well-known southern authors have stayed there and even immortalized the hotel in their works including William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, Anne Rice, Stephen Ambrose and John Grisham. Glass windows decorate the lobby with antiques and famous writers’ books.



In June 1999 the Monteleone was designated an official “literary landmark” by the Friends of the Library Association. Only two other hotels share this distinction: the Plaza and Algonquin in New York.




The bar is also a landmark. It is called The Carousel Bar because it is decorated like a carousel and slowly spins around. It takes an hour for a full rotation around the bar. It has appeared in several TV shows and films but we did not go inside as we were with our grandson.



I also enjoyed looking at the old photographs of New Orleans which were hanging in one of the halls. The view from our room was lovely too.



The Hotel Monteleone is located on Royal Street in the French Quarter. From there it was easy to walk all around the “Vieux Carré,” (old square) which is the French name for it. The quarter is old indeed by US standards (founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville.) It is a mixture of French and Spanish style and certainly has an old world ambiance, but one only found in New Orleans. There are many French names for stores, hotels and restaurants but most of the houses have Spanish style architecture. Below are some vintage postcards of the French Quarter.




Two blocks from our hotel on Canal Street is a café which looks just like any café in Paris, with sidewalk service.



The French Quarter is a wonderful area for a leisure walk and to admire the intricate ironwork on the galleries. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965.



While walking around one can hear languages from many countries. Tourists also like to take a ride in the colorful carriages.



Close to the French Market is one of the famous Wallace fountains from Paris. You can read about them here . A little bit further stands the golden bronze statue of Jeanne d’Arc (Joan of Arc.) It was given to the City of New Orleans in 1972 by the people of France. It may look familiar to those who watch the Tour de France. The last day of The Tour, on their way to the Champs-Elysées, the cyclists ride by the statue of Joan of Arc near the Place des Pyramides in Paris and can be seen on TV. The statue in New Orleans is an exact replica. (The statue in Paris is the top right photo below.)



French influence has been felt in New Orleans for a long time. Across the street from our hotel is a drugstore with a plaque on its wall stating that the bank which originally stood there issued $10 bills with the name “dix” on them - which is the French word for ten. This could have be the origin of the word Dixie and Dixieland. Click on the picture below to read the sign.



I wonder if the French ever felt remorse to have sold the Louisiana territory to the US. It included all or part of 15 current U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. It was 2,140,000 km2 or 828,000 square miles. In 1803 Napoleon sold Louisiana to the US very cheaply for such a large piece of land – 3 cents per acre (which would be 42 cents per acre in 2011 dollars.)

(map courtesy msnbc)

If it had remained French I guess those US states would speak French just like Quebec in Canada. I wonder if the laws would be different from the rest of the U.S. I don’t follow French politics much but noticed that conservative president Sarkozy (“the president of the rich”) was butted out by liberal François Hollande. Sarkozy’s austerity budget was like the one proposed now by Paul Ryan and the Republican Party in the U.S. Austerity did not work in France and inflation grew. François Hollande won by promising to raise taxes on the rich and big corporations. Too much austerity stalled recovery and hurt peoples’ lives there. Sarkozy tried to keep his presidency by moving to the far right but this did not help him. This is only the second time that a seating president has lost re-election in France. It ends 17 years of conservative power there. Hollande plans to hire thousands of teachers. He also favors legalizing euthanasia in special cases and gay marriage. Below is a picture of the new president of France (starting 15 May 2012) and his partner, Valérie. (photo courtesy Minnesota Public Radio.)

I’ll end this by showing the artists in Jackson Square near St Louis Cathedral. This cathedral was named after French King Louis IX, the only canonized king of France. This area does not change much as I scanned a photo taken of my husband in the same area in 2003 with my film camera – the bottom left photo below. In the top right photo my husband and grandson are taking a break from walking.



Below is another photo I scanned from our trip to New Orleans in 2003 when we came for the bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase. I am sitting on the steps of the New Orleans Museum of Art in City Park. We went back to City Park this time, but that will be in a future post.

Cruising on the Lower Mississippi River in New Orleans

The reason we flew to New Orleans, Louisiana, was to babysit. Our daughter Jessica had a 5-day professional meeting to attend at the New Orleans Convention Center and brought her eldest son, our 5 years old grandson, with her. We had a grand time with him during the day and went several places that would interest him. One afternoon our daughter was free for a few hours so we all took a cruise on the Mississippi River on the Natchez steamboat paddle wheeler. As we waited for our 2:00 PM cruise on Toulouse Street Wharf, we heard a tune being played on the Natchez’ steam calliope. The calliope is an American instrument, patented in 1855. This 32-note calliope has the traditional loud and shrill sound which is produced by sending steam through large whistles. (Click on pictures to enlarge them, they look better. Click on collages and then on individual pictures.)



It was a warm day – around 80 degrees (26 C.) As the passengers from the previous cruise disembarked, the people waiting for the forthcoming cruise could buy drinks. The United States has what is called an “open container law” which prohibits open containers of alcohol in certain locations, like public places, vehicles, parks, etc. But the city of New Orleans allows the possession and consumption on the street of any alcoholic drink in an open plastic container. So they were for sale.



But my daughter gave our grandson some nice cool water.



My husband and I sat on a bench and watched a musician and a “living statue” of a man in a white suite with his “dog.” People enjoyed taking their photographs.



Then it was time to board the Natchez. We walked up to the rear deck above the paddle wheel.



I felt really good sitting there watching the changing landscape, listening to all the information on the sights, with a light breeze keeping the temperature cool. Below you can see the New Orleans flags with the distinctive fleur de lis.



Many people and goods have traveled up and down the Mississippi River. It is a very long river. From its source in northern Minnesota at Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico it runs about 2,500 miles or 4,000 kms. (Map below courtesy Wikimedia Commons.)



The first steamboat going up and down the river was named New Orleans and started service in 1811. Steamboats stopping in ports of little towns bordering the Lower Mississippi (the 1000 miles section starting at the confluence with the Ohio River) developed commerce in these areas. How I would like to be able to go back in time, at least for a day, and be a passenger in one of these riverboats and watching all the town people coming down to the wharf to look at these giant river hotels after hearing their riverboat whistle blowing. Below are some old photos of the era (owners unknown.)



The Mississippi riverboats brought something else from New Orleans to areas along the river – jazz. Louis Armstrong for example at age 17 or so was hired on the steamer Sydney to play in the band. Many river towns like Memphis and St. Louis became centers of jazz and blues after the jazz bands on these early steamboats were brought to them. Below are some vintage postcards of steamboats.



Jazz is still being played on riverboats. The Natchez advertised their dinner cruise with The Dukes of Dixieland.



Below the Dukes of Dixieland are performing “Basin Street Blues” aboard the Natchez.





We crossed paths with the paddle wheeler Creole Queen several times. The mighty steam whistle of the Natchez blew as we passed the Creole Queen. The Natchez has a three-chime Lunkenheimer steam whistle… certainly loud! It came from a ship that sank in 1908.



The captain explained that the current Natchez steamboat is the 9th vessel with the name. It was named after the Native American tribe “Natchez.” The first steamboat Natchez was built in 1823 and ran between New Orleans and Natchez, Mississippi. In 1825 Marquis de Lafayette was a passenger on this ship. The current Natchez, an authentic steamboat, was built in 1975, although she has some parts which are much older, for example her steam engines were built in 1925. Her bell was part of another steamship and made of 250 melted silver dollars. I walked around and took pictures. I also went inside the bar and purchased a frozen strawberry daiquiri – nice and cold and brought it back to sip on the upper deck (brought my husband a glass of local Abita beer.)




Sitting anywhere in the steamship we could hear the information given about the sights we were passing by. We floated along the center of the French Quarter then passed the MV Cape Kennedy. It is a “Roll-on-Roll-off” ship and is part of the U.S. Ready Reserve Force. A large tanker “California Voyager” from San Francisco passed us by and its crew took pictures of our ship. Then we passed the Lower 9th Ward, which had been so devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. We could only see the tops of the houses behind the levée.



We came by the Domino sugar plant. It is America’s largest sugar refinery and is over 100 years old. It produces more than 2 billion pounds of different kind of sugar products a year, including 7 million pounds of sugar a day for home and other uses. At the waterfront we could see brown sugar being unloaded by huge sugar cranes clawing it out. It smelled like brown sugar. Then we saw the white top of the monument erected on the site of the battle of New Orleans, which is actually located in the city of Chalmette.



We passed by several ferries. We were told that the Mississippi has such a strong current that bridge supports cannot be built so ferries are used instead. New Orleans sits 6 inches below sea level so pumps are constantly working to remove excess rain water, or excess water coming from fluctuations in the river or from Lake Pontchartrain.



We also passed by Holy Cross High School, founded in 1895, and now closed and boarded up because if was flooded during Katrina (top photo on left below.) We also saw one of two historical houses called “steamboat houses” built circa 1905 by a riverboat captain. I could see then the top of the only plantation in New Orleans (bottom photo on left.) It is being renovated now. It was built by Leon Godchaux, an illiterate Jewish immigrant from France in 1837, who became a multi-millionaire sugar plantation owner.



The cruise was coming to an end. We passed the Audubon Aquarium and then came to a rest against our wharf. I waited until everyone disembarked, even the musicians, so I could take more pictures.



We all enjoyed this cruise on the Lower Mississippi River and wished it had lasted much longer. But…. while reading on riverboats I found out that the historic Delta Queen is berthed in Chattanooga, Tennessee – 2 hours from our home, and is being used as a floating hotel while awaiting its next owner. (Photo courtesy Delta Queen.)



In addition, our daughter Céline who just moved to Memphis, Tennessee, told me that she saw the American Queen float by her house last week. It seems this other historic riverboat is now calling Memphis her home and will be cruising up and down the Mississippi. She was christened on 27 April 2012 by Priscilla Presley, the wife of late rock star Elvis Presley. (Photo courtesy American Queen.)



So…. I have a good idea that there will be more riverboat pictures on this blog in the future…..

The Robert E. Lee leaving New Orleans in 1870, by John Stobart, English born in 1929

Ships in New Orleans

Last Saturday, 21 April, 2012, we landed at the New Orleans airport around noon.  After checking into the hotel we went to lunch then walked in the French Quarter.  I saw a French sailor, in his uniform, with the distinctive red pom-pom on his round cap.  I did a double take – how could a French sailor be in New Orleans in uniform? There had to be a French ship close by.  Then as we walked down the street we saw a multitude of navy men and women.  As we came by the levée along the Mississippi the steamboat Natchez sailed by.  As we watched it we saw some military ships in the distance.  

As we kept walking we came close to a large sign indicating that this was New Orleans (NOLA) Navy Week.  I had not been aware of it.  My picture below shows part of a Navy ship and the sign confirms that the French Frigate Germinal was by the dock ahead.  

 (click on collage to enlarge)

 

From April 17 through 23rd, 2012, New Orleans was the inaugural city for the three-year celebration commemorating the War of 1812 and the Star-Spangled Banner.   There were military vessels and tall ships carrying 3,000 sailors.  The ships could be visited but it was almost 5 o’clock and too late for us to visit them.  The French sailors I had seen came with the French Frigate Germinal (F735.)  Her usual mission is monitoring traffic in the Northern Sea and responding to ecological emergencies.  It certainly was strange for me to see all these French sailors in New Orleans.

 (photos courtesy Consulate General of France in New Orleans)

Moored close by were the guided-missile frigate USS De Wert (FFG45) as well as the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1); guided missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG 57); U.S. Coast Guard Tall Ship Eagle; HMS Montrose of the United Kingdom and HMCS St. John’s from Canada, along with the tall ships Dewaruci from Indonesia and BAE Guayas from Ecuador (a sail training ship.)  Quite a flotilla!  As someone who loves ships – this was eye candy.

(photos courtesy US Navy and Reuters)

 I understand that the 3-year commemoration of the War of 1812 will conclude in New Orleans in January 2015, on the 200th anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans.  I frankly don’t know that much about this war as we did not study it when I was in school in France.  From what I understand it was mostly a war of expansion for the United States.  They were attempting to obtain Canadian and Amerindian lands.  Amerindians or First Nations as they are called in Canada helped keep Canada British.  Chief Tecumseh’s warriors fought along with the British regulars and Canadian volunteers and played a great role in defeating the Americans. 

Meeting of British Major-General Sir Isaac Brock and Chief Tecumseh (Chief of the Shawnee) in 1812  by C. W. Jefferys (Canadian 1859-1951)

Unfortunately Tecumseh was killed in 1813 and the British did not include an autonomous Indian state when a peace treaty was signed in 1815.  The Americans acquired a significant amount of Creek Indian land.  Later, American Andrew Jackson cunningly negotiated 11 treaties with five tribes – the Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Seminoles and Creeks.  They slowly abandoned their lands too– which is what the American land speculators were hoping.  So in a way the Amerindians – First Nations – were the big losers in this war.   Andrew Jackson is considered a hero because he led a victorious battle against the British at Palmette Plantation, south of New Orleans in January 1815.  Sadly, both parties did not know that the peace treaty had already been signed in Belgium two weeks earlier…. communications were slow then and they had tragic consequences.

 Battle of New Orleans by Edward Percy Moran, American 1862-1935   

 Canada will also celebrate this War of 1812.  I read online on a Canadian bicentennial celebration government document:  “The war has played an important role in the creation of Canada’s military…It took the joint efforts of the English and French fighters and indigenous Canada, with British military forces to succeed in defeating the U.S. invasion…”   Below is a postal stamp commemorating Major General Isaac Brock on a Guernsey stamp issued in 1996. 

 During the few days that we were in New Orleans as we walked by the Mississippi we saw many cargo ships as well as the picturesque steamboat Natchez going out on the river.

 A ferry crosses the river every 15 minutes between New Orleans and Algiers.  We did cross the river on this ferry later on (will be in a future post.)

Another ship we saw often as we walked by the Mississippi was the paddle wheeler Creole Queen.   She is an authentic paddle wheeler powered by a 24 foot diameter paddle wheel.  

The Creole Queen is equipped with a diesel-electric system instead of steam engine.  Steamships, riverboats, paddle wheelers – all of these were used for centuries for transportation across, up and down rivers and even across the sea.   Below is the PS Waverly, the last sea going paddle steamer, from Scotland. (photo courtesy Wikipedia.)

 Going down the Mississippi River in these bygone days must have been fascinating.  Most of these days have disappeared but we can still get a glimpse of them by going on a river cruise aboard one of these steamers.   That will be for the next post…

Dixie Bayou Navigation from a sketch by Mrs. Theodore R. Davis (courtesy Harper’s Weekly, April 1863.)

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Note:  Blogger has been updated.  I noticed that my font changes with paragraphs.  If anyone knows how to keep my font consistent, please let me know.  Thanks.