New Orleans

Kell on kaks hommikul ja istume Gerbeniga New Orleansi lennujaamas. Pole veel turvakontrollistki läbi käinud, sest jõudsime siia just nii palju enne kaheksat, et saime paaris poes nii lõbupärast ringi uudistada ja midagi juua haarata. Siis juba nägimegi, kuidas vaikselt kõik poed-kohvikud trellid alla lasid.. Selgus, et viimane lend läks kell üheksa õhtul ja no milleks ikka siis elektrid ja personali raisata meie peale. Turvakontroll on samamoodi kinni, nii et nüüd me istumegi siin turvakontrolli ees ja ootame, et kell saaks neli hommikul. Kell kuus juba loodetavasti lendame New Yorgi poole. Senikaua aga mõtlesin aega parajaks teha ja oma lugudega veidi rohkem järjele jõuda. New Orleansis tuuritasime tegelikult juba aprilli lõpus aga siiani leidsin igasugu põhjuseid, et sellest mitte kirjutada. Täna aga tulime koos Ryaniga taas siia ja uurisime orkaan Katriina rüüstatud naabruskondi. Pilte ma auto aknast ei teinud kahjus, aga ühe kifti vaate linna siluetile sain ikka. 

It is two o'clock in the morning and Gerben and I are stuck at the New Orleans airport. We couldn't even go through the security check yet although we've been here since 7.30 in the evening. We thought to have lots of time to kill and looked around in some cute shops and got something to drink. Right after sitting down, we saw all shops suddenly closing! At 8 in the evening! Turned out the last flight left around 9, so no reason to keep the businesses running. So we've had some chips and candies from the wending machine for dinner. Security also only opens at 4 in the morning, so here we are, waiting.. At 6 however we should be already flying towards New York City!!! Until then I decided to catch up with my blog posts and write about the last time we were in New Orleans. Before Ryan dropped us off at the airport, we also drove through some areas damaged by hurricane Katrina. Unfortunately I couldn't take pictures of the damaged and newly built houses, but did capture a beautiful skyline from the city. 

New Orleans on imeline ja väga omapärane linn. Esimesel korral käisime Prantsuse kvartalis, linna südames ja turvaliseimas rajoonis, aga täna nägin ka linna teisi huvitavaid külgi - Vietnami küla ja Lower 9th Wardi, kus Katriina kohutava töö tegi ja palju vaesust näeb. Samas, vaid paar kilomeetrit edasi leidsime uhiuue jõekaldapealse pargi, kust see super vaade sai krabatud. Kuigi väiksed, on sealsed majad kifti värvi ja majaesiste armsate terassidega. See meenutas mulle natuke meie Kalamaja, oma boheemlasliku elustiiliga - puumajad ja suurepärased armsad, imemaitsvate roogadega restoranid. Natuke eemalt leiab rikkama rajooni, mis samuti Katriinalt tugeva löögi sai, kuid tänu rikkamatele elanikele kiirelt uhkete majadega taas üles tõusis. 

New Orleans is an amazing and very unique city. Last time, we only visited the French Quarter, the downtown area. Today however I saw many other sides of the city - Vietnamese village and the Lower 9th Ward, where Katrina did some terrible damage and people live in poverty. However, just few kilometers further we found the beautiful, newly opened Crescent park, where I also captured the skyline. The surrounding streets were so lovely, with small wooden houses and delicious restaurants. Lakeview, a neighborhood a bit further away, is again a lot different. Once again the area flooded badly, but as the area is more appealing with richer families, they build up fast. Unfortunately we did see many empty plots, as people have made a wise decision not to move back. 

Prantsuse kvartal on aga hoopis teine tera. Raske on seda emotsiooni sõnadesse panna, ja lasen seega piltidel rohkem jutustada. Kuigi kirik, jättis see hoone mulle pigem muinasjutulise lossi mulje. Pargi esisel tänaval seisavad alati mitmed hobusekaarikud, mis sellele muljele ohtralt kaasa aitavad. 

The French Quarter is of course completely different than all the rest. It is difficult to the whole emotion in words, so I let my pictures do most of the talking. This church appeared to me rather as a small castle, and the horse carriages in the front just made it feel more like a fairy tale.

Bourboni tänav on selle kvartali üks põhitänavaid ja tõeline turistilõks täis erinevaid sulelisi ja karvalisi. Elavat muusikat võib kuulda igal kellaajal ohtratest baariders ja restoranidest, ja meelt lahutavad erineva tänavaartistid. Tundsin aga, et üksinda ma seal jalutada ei tahaks ja olin igati õnnelik, et Ryan meiega koos oli. 

Bourbon Street is one of the main streets in the area full of different bars and restaurant. It is not surprising to hear live music coming from them at any time of the day. The street is full of all kind of different people, including street artists of very weird kind. Although fascinating, I felt like I wouldn't want to walk there alone and was happy to have Ryan with us. 

Pilt sellel kurikuulsal tänaval oli muidugi kohustuslik. / 

Pictures on this famous street were of course a must!

Mulle endale meeldisid paar teist tänavat isegi rohkem, kuna need olid veidi rahulikumad.

I even liked some other streets better as they were more calm.

Tänavanimed on nii märgitud terve linnas. /

You can find street signs like this all over the city.

Muidugi ei saanud me linna kuulsamaist kohvikust niisama mööda jalutada ja haarasime endaga kaasa külma latte ja prantsuse sõõrikud. Eelroaks maiustasime mõne austriga. Muusikapoed on leiab siit pea igalt poolt ja igati lahe oli näha üle pikapika aja kassete poe riiulil!

We stopped by the most famous cafe in the city and crabbed some French donuts (beignets) and ice latte with us. Oysters as a starter was also not a bad idea.And as we checked out one of the many music stores in the area, I spotted this shelf with all kinds of old music tapes. Haven't seen these in stores for a long-long time.  

Natuke eemalt leidsime veel sellise armsa tänava erinevate butiikide ja restoranidega. Kokkuvõttes vist võingi öelda, et linn on super kift ja igati uudistamist väärt, kuid elamas ma ennast seal kindlasti ette ei kujuta.
Tundub, et turvakontroll avati nüüd ja saab lõpuks nö teisele poole minna ja ehk midagi normaalselt ka hamma alla! Varsti juba kirjutan New Yorgist!

Another street a bit further away with nice restaurants and some boutiques. All in all, it is a great city that is definitely worth a visit while staying in the US!
Looks like they just opened the security check, so I guess it's time to see the other side of the airport! Soon more to come from New York!