YOLO in NOLA

R,

We really only have two shared interests -  we love each other, and travel. When I stop to think about it, it's kind of scary how little we have in common... but I don't usually get the time to think about it, because we're either travelling, just back from a vacation, or planning our next one :)

Last night, we got back from our engagementiversary/valentine's week celebrations at New Orleans. Who knew a city in North America could be so charming? An All Saints game + Mardi Gras parade on Saturday night showcased Bourbon Street at its eccentric best - you could totally imagine it was still the 1920's and the Jazz Age had never ended. 

I don't want to glorify alcohol, but it fueled some incredibly beautiful scenes that night - most memorably, outrageously overdressed people on every balcony throwing beads and dollar notes into the crowd below. There wasn't a cab in sight, so we walked two miles back to our B&B, and every drunk we eavesdropped on was making surprisingly lucid proclamations. It was like something out of a Fitzgerald novel, and I was very tempted to just walk the streets all night recording what we heard. 

Sober, N'awlins is still surreally inspiring. I didn't see a single piece of art we didn't want to buy. The most average live music was better than most, and the really good jazz performances blew my mind away. Life slows down in Lousiana - each meal took an hour, every mouthful carefully savored. There was nothing about the city that resembled anything else we'd seen or done in the past. This is why I love travel: you can never take anything for granted when the world's always surprising you. 

I tried to take photos because I realized we hardly ever remember to - we took 15 trips last year and have less than 100 photos to show for it. Sadly, I got caught up in just experiencing NOLA, and took very few pics. I don't regret it, I wouldn't have wanted to interrupt the flow by whipping out a camera. But I thought I'd paint you a quick snapshot with words while it's still fresh in my mind. It's hands down my favorite city in the US.

A.