New Orleans, LA

Elegantly charming, deliciously bawdy and deeply spiritual. You can smell it, taste it, feel it. An exhilaratingly yet laid back sensation. New Orleans assaults the senses like no other place.

Rattle through the live oak trees on the St. Charles streetcar to the Garden District for a Commander’s Palace brunch, feel the spirit of old Professor Longhair at Tipitina’s or stroll the banks of the Big Muddy at the River Walk.

Watch ‘em shuck a couple of dozen plump ones for you at the Acme Oyster House or flame up some Bananas Foster at Brennan’s. Maybe take a chance at a Lucky Dog stand.

Grab the Canal St. ferry over to Algiers or catch a little calliope music on the Natchez. Down a Hurricane in Pat O’Brien’s courtyard or sip a Sazerac at the Old Absinthe House were pirate Jean Lafitte and Old Hickory hatched their battle plans.

People-watch with some chicory coffee and hot beignets at Café Du Mond then find a bargain at the French Market. Respect the real deal with the old pros at Preservation Hall or get with it at the House of Blues. Go holler, “Bam,” at Emeril over in the Warehouse District.

Now pause a minute at St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square and count your blessings. Life is good and there is no other place where you can feel quite as alive as you can in New Orleans.

From Sugar Bowls to Mardi Gras to Jazz Fest to just leisurely weekends Larry has visited the Big Easy more times than he can remember (the old college day trips are especially hazy), “Been coming here for a lot of years now. This place has a soul all it’s own. It speaks to you, and like an old friend with a comforting accent, always calls you back…”