The Flavor Of A City

At first glance, New Orleans is a modern city with people heading to work, shopping for groceries and carrying out their lives like people in most other cities. It has buildings, traffic jams and political issues. New Orleans has sports teams, crime, affluence and it even has it’s share of poverty. But look deeper. There, beneath all the mundane, is a quality about New Orleans and it’s people that‘s not easy to explain. New Orleans is a feeling, a spice, a mixture of rich historical culture all created by layers of emotion deeply embedded within the people whose love for their city goes beyond anything else I’ve experienced.

We discovered this early in our visit even before we’d gotten to the actual history or tasted any of the cuisine. We’ve met dozens of front desk clerks and activities staff members during our years of travel. The folks we met on this day were different and even a couple of weeks later I can’t put my finger on any one thing they did. Let’s just say there was “something in the air”. Perhaps, it was the lilt to the voices who welcomed us with a sort of soft southern sophistication or maybe it was the way they effortlessly seemed to want to help. It might have been the unspoken implication they really wanted me enjoy their city. Or, it could have been the genuine smiles we received from people in the elevator.

I can’t tell you what it was that made me fall in love with New Orleans after just a few hours. What I can tell you is that I was put under some kind of spell. No, not the voodoo kind but another kind, for sure. Whatever it was, it made me want to ditch my travel clothes and get out into the city, to go experience the French quarter, to walk along the banks of the muddy river, to hold hands with my husband as we strolled through streets I had only heard about, to listen to music coming from every open doorway. And we did. All of it. We immersed ourselves into the culture, felt the heartbeat of the city, passing one door to hear strains of the blues accentuated by long soulful moans of a saxophone or lingering at another for trumpet laden jazz. And then there were the smells, the aroma of freshly baked breads, of chocolate and confections and fragrant blooms.

Our senses were assaulted at every turn and we hadn’t even had lunch …. Yet!