Perhaps some of you remember this little ole song by Johnny Horton...

In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans
And we caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans

We fired our guns and the British kept ah comin'
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago
We fired once more and they began to runnin'
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico

We looked down the river and we seed the British come
And there must have been a hundred of 'em beatin' on the drum
They stepped so high and they made their bugles ring
We stood behind our cotton bales and didn't say a thing

We fired our guns and the British kept ah comin'
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago
We fired once more and they began to runnin'
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico

Or perhaps you remember this little ditty by Muddy Waters

Baby, please don't go
Baby, please don't go
Baby, please don't go, down to New Orleans
You know I love you so

Before I be your dog
Before I be your dog
Before I be your dog
I get you way'd out here, and let you walk alone

Turn your lamp down low
Turn your lamp down low
Turn your lamp down low
I beg you all night long, baby, please don't go

You brought me way down here
You brought me way down here
You brought me way down here
'bout to Rolling Forks, you treat me like a dog

Baby, please don't go
Baby, please don't go
Baby, please don't go, back the New Orleans
I beg you all night long

Before I be your dog
Before I be your dog
Before I be your dog
I get you way'd out here, and let you walk alone

You know your man down gone
You know your man down gone
You know your man down gone
To the country farm, with all the shackles on

And if you really try hard you can recall this karaoke classic by the Animals

There is a house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy
And God I know I'm one

My mother was a tailor
She sewed my new bluejeans
My father was a gamblin' man
Down in New Orleans

Now the only thing a gambler needs
Is a suitcase and trunk
And the only time he's satisfied
Is when he's on a drunk

------ organ solo ------

Oh mother tell your children
Not to do what I have done
Spend your lives in sin and misery
In the House of the Rising Sun

Well, I got one foot on the platform
The other foot on the train
I'm goin' back to New Orleans
To wear that ball and chain

Well, there is a house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy
And God I know I'm one

This intro is only fitting because music and good times define the French Quarter of New Orleans!

Susanne and I went down to New Orleans for a little get-away and now I know why they sing songs about that fantastic little place known as the French Quarter of New Orleans!

We flew in and caught our first glimpse of the mighty Mississippi River,



We were pretty excited about getting there so we turned the camera around for a self picture.



We quickly got settled in at the hotel and made our way down to Bourbon Street - Wow - it's a half-mile solid of bars/bands/souvenir shops and people everywhere.  We made our first stop to listen to the reputed queen of New Orleans soul - Marva Wright.  She and her band were pretty good.



We went through two sets at Marva's place and had to move along.  Next up was blasting rock and roll at a bar at the corner of Conti and Bourbon.  Insane loud music from this band.



But we found that the French Quarter had lots more to offer than heavy drinking on Bourbon Street.  We went out on the Riverboat Natchez which was great.



I took a few pics of the local boats and they are on a different page found by clicking this sentence as the link.

So what is it that makes the French Quarter so special?  Lots of things like it being founded in about 1722 or perhaps because it is considered the birthplace of Jazz, or maybe even the stunning list of restaurants with the incredible seafood dishes - no, while all of that is impressive - it has to be the neighborhood.  Block after block after block of buildings like the one below.  The Colonial and French architecture with those wrought iron balconies along narrow streets is transcending.  Just imagine fifty square blocks of buildings as impressive as this.



New Orleans has a street car system that goes here and there and we went on the "Green Line" which took us from the French Quarter out past Tulane University and into the far reaches of the western end of the city.



Another weird "attraction" of New Orleans is the above ground cemetery.  Here it is.  This one is right across the street from the French Quarter in a neighborhood called Storyville.  The tombs are privately owned and when a family member needs it - they place them in there for at least a year (and one day so it is said) and then after that - you are purportedly sufficiently decomposed that they scoop you up and put you in a bag which stays in the crypt off to the side making room for the next tenant when needed.  I think the most recent marker was a person "buried" in 2004.  Of course there were many that were dated far back into the 1800's.



But really, the French Quarter in New Orleans is all about music, eating, drinking and having a great time.  On Sunday they even shut down the streets to make more room for the bands.



We really had a great time and I can tell you that we will go there again.