As originally posted on my Tumblr site while travelling around the USA in 2011…
I really don’t like jazz. There, I’ve said it. Now, I accept that saying I don’t like jazz and going to New Orleans (birthplace of jazz and all that jazz etc) is like saying I don’t like snow and heading off to the North Pole. However, just thought I’d put it out there to start my post on New Orleans. You might also deduce that I haven’t had such a great time here in the Big Easy but that is definitely not the case. What I would say is that it is an interesting, sometimes confusing city. And while not essential, it would probably help if you are a big fun of jazz and seafood, not my strongest points as many of you will know.
I arrived here on a Friday afternoon in a good hotel right in the heart of the French Quarter, just down from Bourbon Street, probably New Orleans’ most famous street. I’d heard before getting here that this was the cheesy/ touristy hub and that the best place to go was actually Frenchmen Street, about half a mile away (more on that later). So, wandering out for a stroll to get my bearings I was pretty much immediately on Bourbon Street and quite a bizarre place it is, day or night really.
Bourbon Street, Friday night
No Longer Teenage Fan Club 