I visited New Orleans in the early 90s with a couple of friends. Such an atmospheric place. The French Quarter and Bourbon Street blew me away. I remember a lot of the bars there charging quite a lot to go inside - more than we could afford on our budget anyway. But nearly all of these had top class live jazz going on inside. I don't even care for Jazz, but I guarantee it draws you in once you're there. Heck, even the buskers there made some of the better acts in the UK look amateurish. I particularly recall one little fella, about seven or eight years old, who tap-danced on the street corner using bottletops stuck to the soles of his sneakers. He did well out of us. I also remember going into a deli and upon leaving becoming aware of a growing throng of little kids following behind - they wanted our cake, which of course we gave them and it was a pleasure to see their beaming faces. Another thing we did while we were there was a river trip on a paddle steamer, with a gospel choir on deck. I was struck by the colour of the Mississippi - red-orange from all the rusting hulks moored across the river. Always swore I'd go back one day for the Mardi Gras, hasn't happened yet.
I'm envious, enjoy!
