New Orleans (Half Of)

I saw half of New Orleans

The night going into New Orleans was a great one. I felt relief as I left florida and moved into Louisiana. I spent the bus trip going through Alabama. It was strange to be in Mobile. An interesting thing about Greyhound stations is that for the most part, they will let you be during the day, but at night you need to be ready to show your credentials. Got to see that in Mobile a bit. For the record, Vegas was the worst greyhound for this one, followed by L.A. . Otherwise for the most part you can chill at a Greyhound if you need to. Mostly as long as you look the part you’ll be left alone. Watch out in those two cities though.

The morning I arrived in New Orleans I found the greatest donut place in the world. It’s called Hurts Donut, and it’s a great riff on a classic Simpsons Cartoon, with fantastic donuts and baked goods. They were super nice to let me work and I did, writing substacks like this one.

I arrived in New Orleans and checked into a hostel downtown. I wasn’t great at money at this point, as my regular client throughout the trip decided to stop giving out work. It would become a struggle to find it the rest of the way, but that is only important for the tone of the rest of the story. Money was okay here, but it was the last time. So it let me enjoy New Orleans, kind of.

The first day in New Orleans, I slept. I needed a bed after the weeks I had in Florida. A bed felt fantastic after a week or so of sleeping on grass or concrete or wherever. It just felt like florida was behind me and I could focus on what’s in front of me. I knew where I was going, and that was going back to Snowflake Arizona. It was the last sidequest. I knew after surviving Florida I’d get that chance again.

New Orleans the next day was a lot of fun. New Orleans is an awesome city. Downtown New Orleans is filled with food and spectacle, and a flavor unique to anything you will see in the United States. The closest analog to Canada might be Quebec City. The same kind of buildings in the French Quarter in terms of design exist here too.

That said, there’s a very catholic/mystical vibe. The French Quarter in New Orleans feels a little less rigid than Quebec City. Maybe it’s Quebec’s walls, but there’s a little more of a hustle in the streets of New Orleans. The energy is different. It’s a truly unique place filled with history and pride.

And great food. New Orleans Cuisine is worth the sampling. I had me some Jambalaya, Po’boys, and more. I might be talked into liking seafood eating here. I don’t like seafood, but here? Maybe. I would say New Orleans might be one of the best places for food on the continent. New Orleans or Montreal? I don’t know.

It was fun, when I could go out.

It rained for two of my days. I didn’t mind it as I got the chance to rest and recover from Florida and get ready for Houston, so the rest was good. But I would have liked to have seen more of the city, and I wish I had had the chance. I only had two days to explore instead of the four I was hoping for.

Inside I got some free meals from the hostel. There was this couple from France that was cooking in there that I took a liking to, and who liked me enough to feed me twice. It was a great thing. Turns out there was a conference and I had to work on my parisian french. Quebecois and Parisian French are different, but I was able to get some good conversations in the hostel.

I’d recommend the hostel downtown in New Orleans if you want to visit. It was also the biggest, cleanest and gentlest place of the bunch. I was surprised. My last hostel of the journey was one of the nicest I’ve ever been to. Worth it.

I really liked to visit here. New Orleans is a fun place filled with good people. It’s a great stop on any journey and the donuts alone are worth it. That said, I wish I had had more time. It would have been a lot more fun. I got half of what I wanted to. Maybe next time, if there is one, I’ll get the rest.

It was fun.