New Orleans Bourbon Street

Posted by hankster

Even though it was suppose to rain today I decided to head over to New Orleans and check out Bourbon Street. It only drizzled a little bit all day and it was in the 70's so I'm glad I went. I drove over to the Algiers Ferry to take it across the Mississippi instead of trying to drive into the Big Easy. The ferry landing is located in an old run down part of town. Many might even consider it a slum area but i found it interesting that I saw a very diverse group of people living in the area as I drove through it.

The ferry ride is free for people and costs $1.00 for cars. It runs every 30 minutes so you don't have to wait long to get across the river. The upper deck has chairs and is covered but I walked down to the lower deck where the cars are parked so I could a better look at the river and surroundings. During my trip there and back a number of tug boats and one big cargo ship went by.

A Harrah's casino is located at the ferry landing on the New Orleans side so I just had to go in and donate 20 bucks to their slot machines. It is about a 10 block walk down Canal Street to Bourbon Street. Canal Street kind of reminded me of New York city where you have little discount camera and other junk shops located right next to fancy high class stores.

I got to Bourbon Street and started to walk down it. I really wasn't sure what to expect. The street are very narrow with barely enough room for two vehicles side by side. All of the streets are one way with parking one side. I think I seen 50 or more beer trucks unloading during my mile or so walk. The whole street is nothing more then restaurants, bars and souvenir shops. There are also a few strip clubs sprinkled in among everything else. There may have been a few upstairs apartments sprinkled in there but you could hardly tell. All of the bars shops have their doors wide open to make it easy enter. Most of the bars are no more then a long bar and maybe a couple of tables. Daiquiris and Hurricanes seem to be the drink of choice and many bars had rows of daiquiri slushy machines lining the wall behind the bar with 20 or more flavors.

The area is a bit run down with many of the buildings needing paint or other repairs. There were also missing bricks and stones from the sidewalks. About half of the buildings had balconies that we all see on the Mardi Gras pictures and on TV. But then the run down look didn't really bother me much as I imagine that the storm damage they have had plus the heat and humidity that must be present most of the time must take it's toll. I defenently can see how this could be a party place with many places having Jazz & Blues bands and when I found drinks 2 for $5 or Daiqiris, all you can drink for $20. I had to drive back to the park so all I had was a beer.

Royal Street is one block over and there are many art shops and other local craft shops there. I found a lot of nice paintings and jewelry on display as I wound my back to Canal.

Overall it was an interesting day. If I ever get down this way again I will make it a point to find a hotel to stay in one night so I can see just how bad they really do party down there.

See a few more pictures of New Orleans.