14Jun 2008 Cemetry, Katrina, PHJB, Hurricane

We stayed in till the 1.30pm pick up for the city tour organized by the Louisiana Tour Company. The coach took us pass well-kept old stately homes with intricate cast iron railings bedecked with greenery. Then a stop at a cemetery to see the famous tombs above ground - as the city was ‘underwater’, digging a hole for a coffin made no sense.


The indelible impression from the tour was seeing the havoc wrought by Hurricane Katrina. Stark images seared in our minds - eerie scenes of a concrete front porch standing alone - the better part of the house having been swept away by floodwaters. We saw houses with neat holes cut in the roofs so that rescuers could get to those stranded inside. Other houses still standing had piles of debris on the roofs - flotsam which settled after the waters have receded. What looked like graffiti on a front door were marks made by rescue groups noting that the house had already been searched for survivors. Some residents explained that the water rose too fast to allow them to get out of their houses. Others said they were just lucky to get onto their roofs. Not a few unlucky ones drowned in their attics! The sight of a couple of FEMA trailers – temporary dwellings - was painful testimony to the suffering the people had to put up with. The lack of facilities - clean water, sewage disposal, electricity, grocery stores - kept many people from returning. Only those that had absolutely no means to leave stayed behind. We were shown where the levees burst. The newly constructed ones were higher and had deeper foundations. New homes donated by Habitat and other charity groups could be seen here and there but even after three years, one can tell it is going to take a long time to heal. The population of New Orleans dropped from around four thousand to under three hundred thousand. They say the government is finally doing something and not just talking. However, we were told, nothing is moving fast enough for those affected.


That night, we ate at the Court of the Two Sisters. I was a bit concerned, as this place was well known for its buffet brunch. Would that affect the quality of their a la carte dinner? My fears proved unfounded. Everything was very good. Particularly memorable was the hot baguette-like loaf in a paper bag, no bread plate was provided – just let the crumbs feed the table. One just reached into the bag and tore a chunk out. The texture was much lighter and crisper than a normal baguette. It was so easy to finish the whole loaf and they kept bringing repeats. I thought we were the gluttons but the rustling of bread bags continued at every table. Oh, this was the first time we tried Banana Foster. This dessert was flambéed at the table. Dare I be sacrilegious and called it a warm banana split? It was good, but a tad sweet for mammy’s taste.

We simply had to complete another must-do: attend a ‘concert’ by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. The music was inspiring. Being there though, was not that easy.

Hurricane, the famous New Orleans cocktail, was invented at Pat O’Brien’s. A visit to down this concoction - a rum and fruit juice mixture which came in a 26 oz glass shaped like a hurricane lamp - is a must-do. I was not impressed with the drink. What was enjoyable was the piano bar, a pair of baby-grands on a low platform created a good staging area for dueling pianos; toss in a performer who drummed up rhythms with thimbled fingers on a metal tray and you have the ingredients to excite a crowd looking to be entertained. Mammy and I were in front, right next to the pianos, singing and stomping in time to the music. We had a great time. The images left by Katrina’s passage were temporarily forgotten.


Distance traveled 0 miles





The New Orleans Rock Hall Quilt hanging in the Basin Street Station looked really interesting. It showed the New Orleans inductees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but many of them were JAZZ greats like Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton...hmm worthwhile looking into


A nice picture of a youthful Louis Armstrong - I think he had already moved to Chicago then



The famous cornstalk fence




I think this was one of the oldest cemetries in NO - St Louis Cemetry nbr 3 - on Esplanade Ave. Note that bodies were 'buried' above ground since most of the city is below water level. Those of the generation following were laid above the bodies of the previous one in the family 'mausoleums'



House for the dead falls into neglect when no one tended to it - our guide said "This is what happens when nobody cares"


Our guide pointed out a well-tended tomb used by a family since 1892; as with most things in life, you got to have money


Mausoleum of the Little Sisters of the Poor; the foundress was Jeanne Jugan (1792 - 1879), a French lady who gave up her own bed to an elderly blind ailing women; the movement she started in 1839 in France with her 'daughters', now had 33 homes in the US alone. The NO chapter started in 1868. The mission of the Little Sisters of the Poor is to take in the elderly poor - those with declining health, loneliness and financial problems - and give them a secure atmosphere. Everyone is welcome to help, give and pray.


This was the statue of Padre Pio (1885 - 1968), the humble Capuchin friar, whose body was reputedly marked by Stigmata (wounds which Christ suffered from the cruxification). He was canonised by John Paul II in 2002. He is now known as St. Pio of Pietrelcina.


Vehicles damaged during Katrina's passage still lying idle



Imagine the mountain of rubble then, if this was still left after several years


These were the steps up to the front of a house. The waters washed part of the house away, then the demolition and clean-up teams did the rest


The rescuers left marks on the fascade to indicate that a house had already been checked for survivors




The SPCA people searched for pets that may still have been stranded, and marked the results accordingly


Fats Domino is 80 this year. He is New Orleans's most famous R n B and rock n roll musician. A singer, pianist and songwriter, his most prolific output was in the 50's. He has received numerous awards for his work and in 2004, he was ranked 25th in the list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time by the Rolling Stones Magazine. His working-class neighbourhood got badly hit by Katrina - for a while some thought he had died in the flood. Help came from all sides to help him restore his house but he continues to donate to Tipitina Foundation's cause. Fats Domino had his National Medal of Arts in 2006 replaced after the one Bill Clinton presented him with was lost in the flood



Tipitina's Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation, was formed in the late 90's to encourage the people of New Orleans to maintain its unique musical heritage. It ran workshops teaching music, and provided financial aid for the purchase of musical instruments. The restoration of Fats Domino's home is an ongoing a project. A brand new office has already been built for NO's most venerable musician



Imagine, most houses looked like that immediately after the waters passage.



If something, resting on the roof, didn't look like part of the roof, it was flotsam that got grounded there after the waters subsided. Roofers were in great demand after the flood.



Many lots were abandoned when residents left the city never to return. I think we passed by a couple of FEMA trailers but didn't manage to get a shot. Our guide told us that these temporary dwellings were very useful, particularly for people who wanted to remain close to their house, if it was considered salvageable. But it took a while to have all the necessary amenities hooked up to the trailers.


This was newly built but it looked bigger than a house for a normal sized family



The newly built levees, within walking distance from the house in the previous photo


A closer view of the new wall that's supposed to keep the water out if another big storm hits


The houses behind the levee are below water level. The longish looking grey house is somewhere in the distance on the right




We had a nice dinner in the Court of the Two Sisters. Seafood en Brochette: Shrimp and oyster served on top of a crispy toast point, finished citrus Beurre Blanc. The bacon stole the show but it was very tasty


Creole Seafood Gumbo - this was a different interpretation from those we had previously, it was excellent



Steak was good - 8oz Center cut filet grilled to your preference, new potato mash and grilled asparagas, finished with maitre d'butter and bearnaise sauce


Crabmeat Au Gratin: Jumbo Lump crabmeat in mornay sauce, topped with parmesan cheese and baked in casserole, accompanied with steamed asparagas and hollandaise sauce. The sauce was not too heavy and everything tasted right


The banana Foster, flambee at our table, tasted a lot better than it looked



Another one of those buildings with the fancy ironwork and walls enhanced by a nice paint job



We wondered if the Haunted History Tours were any good! The shops that dispensed tickets and where tours assembled sure looked scary, like it was Halloween time



The queue for the Preservation Hall Jazz Band Concert went right by Pat O'Brian's entrance. We had to line up for tickets as they didn't take any reservations in advance. Everyone had to pay cash up front - no credit cards allowed. Both places were New Orleans 'must sees'.




The room, where the music was played, was as old and run down as the entrace shown here. It was kept purposely this way. There was standing room only for maybe seventy to eighty people in addition to the two rows of low stools at the front. There was no airconditioning and the lights were really dim. It was quite trying in muggy summer temperatures. So one really has to be transported by the music or be in a determined 'been there, done that' mood to act like a sardine for an hour or so. From the mutterings of those around us, it seemed like most just wanted to boast they've been there





Just a small weathered sign over the doorway announcing New Orleans' Mecca of Jazz to those in the know. The entrance was kept purposely that way. The premises had been used for many purposes and was reputedly a tavern during the war of 1812. In the late 1950's it was an art gallery. Then the owner got musicians to play for the visitors. The informal jam sessions ended up with the founding of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band in 1961. Many of the original band members had played with 'jazz greats' - the pioneers of this music genre like Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong. It was nice to feel that their skills and ethos had been passed on to successive bands.



No flash or video was allowed and from the dim lights, it was obvious the performers weren't keen to have their pictures taken. To be fair, the music was excellent. The band goes on tours regularly, so presumably one could watch them perform in more comfortable surroundings.
We quickly bought a DVD and rushed for the door when the music finished - before we melted or fainted from the smell of so many cramped bodies, seemed like everybody had the same idea!




For some reason, those cigar signs reminded me of beer signs which looked very cooling after our 'hot' jazz session



Of course we stopped by Pat O'Brian's and sat right next to the 'dueling pianos'; naturally we tried the 'Hurricane' - their famous cocktail; another BTDT experience accomplished. (BTDT? Been There Done That)


A stretch limo we've seen before but not a stretch hummer. People were partying inside as the enlongated tank rolled down the street