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<a name="Accommodations"></a>Accommodations<br>
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<a name="Hotels"></a></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Hotels<br>
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<td width="465" height="185" align="left" valign="middle"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Bourbon Orleans Hotel<br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">At the geographic center of the French Quarter, overlooking St. Anthony's Garden at the rear of Saint Louis Cathedral, stands the elegant Créole façade of the Bourbon Orleans Hotel</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">—now a Wyndham Historic Property</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">. The property underwent a comprehensive, multi-million dollar renovation in 2004, but has retained its traditional décor and, more importantly, its charm. Its 220 rooms and suites face either interior courtyards or one of the three streets that surround the building. A large swimming pool commands the main courtyard, and recent additions include a cleverly-placed coffee bar and two new venues addressing Bourbon Street: a restaurant/bar and a stylish nightclub.</font></td>
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<td width="465" height="185" align="left" valign="middle"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Hotel Inter-Continental<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Three blocks from the French Quarter on historic St. Charles Avenue, Hotel Inter-Continental blends cosmopolitan sophistication with an appreciation of—and involvement in—New Orleans' unique culture. Streetcars roll past year 'round, and at Mardi Gras time the Inter-Continental reviewing stands are home to the Royal Courts of some of New Orleans' most prestigious "krewes." Completely renovated in 2001, its 482 rooms and suites feature traditional furnishings framed by clean, stylish lines. You'll find all of the amenities you?d expect from a 4-star property, and the public spaces are elegant without ostentation.</font></td>
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<td width="465" height="185" align="left" valign="middle"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">International House Hotel<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">In 1998, hip New Orleans hotelier Sean Cummings opened this, the city's first contemporary chic boutique hotel. It was conceived from the start as a fresh new re-weaving of the rich cultural tapestry that is New Orleans. And from the start it's been a roaring success. Here, cutting edge design sensibilities are softened by subtle tones of sophistication and warmth—all interwoven with New Orleans culture. Fashionable locals are frequently found congregating at the bar, Loa (the collective name for the Vodou spirits). 119 rooms and suites, two blocks from the French Quarter in the American Sector, and very cool.<br>
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<td width="465" height="185" align="left" valign="middle"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">JW Marriott Hotel<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Formerly the Hotel Le Meridien, this cosmopolitan four-star property faces the French Quarter from across Canal Street and rises elegantly above the marbled arcade that leads from the main thoroughfare. Traditional refinement takes on contemporary lines, here, in both the public spaces and the rooms. The lobby is stylish but discreet in dimensions. Grander in impact is the adjacent ground floor lounge, its vertical space lofting upward from multi-level seating areas. The restaurant, Midi, offers cuisine from the South of France, and the fitness center is well-equipped enough to have a local membership.</font></td>
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<td width="465" height="185" align="left" valign="middle"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Loft 523<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Carved out of a historic commercial building in the American Sector (2-1/2 blocks from the French Quarter), Loft 523 is the finest expression of Contemporary Chic in New Orleans—and a boutique hotel on the cutting edge. Each of the eighteen accommodations is a "loft" averaging over 600 square feet, combining both bedroom and sitting area into one airy, sleek and very chic living space. The furnishings would be at home in the most sophisticated design studio in Milan. Lofts and public spaces, alike, combine boldness of design with subtlety and spare shades to produce a cool, comfortable and very welcoming environment. Hip bar, too. </font></td>
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<font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5" color="#8b008b">Hotel Maison de Ville & Audubon Cottages</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Maison de Ville means "town home" in French, and that's just what this jewel of a hotel was: the in-town residence of a prominent Creole family, first constructed in 1783. Now it's a richly atmospheric, small luxury hotel with 16 rooms, a lush, quiet courtyard and the intimate and superb Bistro at the Maison de Ville (see "Restaurants"). Two blocks away, the hotel's Audubon Cottages afford what is perhaps the quintessential residential experience available for visitors to the French Quarter. It's a verdant enclave of secluded 1- and 2-bedroom cottages connected by pathways through their adjacent courtyards—with a swimming pool at the center.</font></div>
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<td width="465" height="185" align="left" valign="middle"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5" color="#8b008b">Hotel Monaco</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">"Inspired eclecticism" is how we describe the décor at this contemporary chic boutique hotel three blocks outside the French Quarter in the American Sector. Hotel Monaco New Orleans is one of a group of design-rich and attitude-fresh properties that started in San Francisco. This one has 250 rooms and suites, eye-dazzling public spaces, a hip restaurant and a very cool approach to life. Cushy-comfy beds, CD players and internet access, of course. Forgot to bring your pet poodle along? Never fear: Hotel Monaco will lend you a goldfish for the duration of your stay to keep you company.</font></td>
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<td width="465" height="185"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Hotel Monteleone<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">The European tradition is much in evidence at this, the largest hotel in the French Quarter proper. The Monteleone's elegant façade, lofting upward from the narrow street, befits its Rue Royale address, where the hotel counts among its neighbors some of the finest antiques, art and estate jewelry galleries in the country. This property is family owned—a rarity today—and everything from the warm tones of the gracious lobby to the welcoming hospitality of the staff speaks of Old World style. In 2004 every room in the house underwent complete—and tasteful—refurbishment. The rooftop swimming pool deck offers sweeping vistas of the city.</font></td>
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<td width="465" height="185"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Parkview Marigny Guest House<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Faubourg is a French word meaning, literally, "suburb." In New Orleans, the faubourgs are suburbs of the French Quarter, and the Faubourg Marigny, immediately adjacent to the Quarter on the downriver side, is one of the hippest neighborhoods in town. Here, the epicenter of cool is the jazz clubs and varied eateries of Frenchmen Street. In a purely residential block of Frenchmen, the parlor of the discreet and beautiful Parkview Marigny guest house overlooks Washington Square Park. Only six rooms in this jewel of a property, where refined taste echoes in hushed whispers throughout and breakfast is served either in the elegant dining room or the charming courtyard out back.</font></td>
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<td width="465" height="185"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Le Pavillon Hotel<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">The neoclassical façade of Le Pavillon is a New Orleans landmark, rising gracefully from the wide downtown boulevard where the hotel has welcomed guests since 1907. Traditional elegance reigns in the gracious lobby, with crystal chandeliers suspended from lofty ceilings. Rooms are traditional in style as well, but with all the modern conveniences. Noteworthy about its location: equidistant from the Superdome and the French Quarter—only 4 blocks from either. The rooftop swimming pool deck offers a sweeping cosmopolitan vista of downtown New Orleans. The fitness center is small but attractive and airy in feel.</font></td>
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<td width="465" height="185"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Hotel Provincial<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">An assemblage of 5 different French Quarter buildings into one quaint (and somewhat rambling) hotel, the Provincial is appointed, as its name suggests, with an affinity for Provençal antiques and simplicity. Tasteful, unpretentious and completely lovely accommodations in a quiet, residential neighborhood of the Quarter about three blocks from Jackson Square. The swimming pool is open year round. The bar and café open onto the bustle of Decatur Street, but the fine dining restaurant, Stella!, is secluded, charming and intimate, its kitchen manned by the native born, highly talented and CIA-trained Chef Scott Boswell.</font></td>
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<td width="465" height="185"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Queen & Crescent Hotel<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">The Queen & Crescent Hotel derives its name from the building in which it resides, which was constructed in 1913 to house the corporate headquarters of the newly-formed Queen & Crescent Railroad. Today, the Queen & Crescent serves as a comfortable outpost of simplicity and taste in guest accommoda-tions about three blocks from the French Quarter in the American Sector. Service is somewhat limited and the public areas are small, but its 196 rooms are perfectly lovely and modern amenities abound, such as robes, mini-bars, in-room safes, hair dryers, coffee & coffee makers, irons & ironing boards, in-room fax and modem capabilities.</font></td>
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<td width="465" height="185"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Royal Sonesta Hotel<br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Step from the bustling throngs of Bourbon Street into the welcoming solace of a lush interior courtyard. Royal Sonesta is La Grande Dame of Bourbon Street hotels—where, if you prefer, you never have to step onto Bourbon Street. The distinctive charm and warm elegance of this property belie its 500-room capacity. From the gentle splashing of its French Quarter fountains to the marbled floors of its gracious public spaces, this is truly classic local ambiance. And it's just a block to Royal Street with its breathtaking array of antiques, art and estate jewelry. All of the amenities you'd expect—including a swimming pool on the 3rd floor.</font></td>
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<td width="465" height="185"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Trinity Cabin<br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">In southern Lousiana, a "camp" is a cabin at the waterside, usually used as a weekend getaway home, but sometimes serving as a family's primary residence. Trinity Cabin is the private getaway camp of a prominent Vacherie family, set in the picturesque embrace of the surrounding cypress trees right at the shore of Lake Des Allemands. The authentic Cajun cabin was faithfully reconstructed using rough-hewn swamp cypress recycled from similar but hopelessly dilapidated historic structures nearby. Inside, the tasteful but unpretentious décor is blissfully guiltless of urbane adornment—yet provides everything one needs to feel the true luxury of serenity in simple, beautiful surroundings.</font></td>
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<td width="465" height="185"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Wyndham Canal Place Hotel<br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Rising majestically above the Mississippi River at the edge of the French Quarter, the Wyndham Canal Place (formerly the Westin) offers cosmopolitan luxury and breathtaking views—adjacent to the sophisticated Canal Place Shopping Centre (Saks, Gucci, Brooks Brothers, Williams-Sonoma, Kenneth Cole, Pottery Barn, etc.) Décor throughout is classic, with antiques and antique reproduction furnishings and chandeliers. The expansive 11th floor lobby offers sweeping views over the French Quarter and Mississippi.</font></td>
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<a name="Outings"></a></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Outings</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
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<td width="465" height="185" align="left" valign="middle"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Amazing Grace<br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">The gospel music culture in New Orleans amazes and uplifts. And you can only get the true gospel experience in church. <i>Goin' churchin'</i> is what the local stars of gospel singing call their Sunday rounds of the various churches that have invited them to praise with them that day. One of those celebrated vocalists will introduce you inside a number of area churches where the choirs will lift up their voices in joyous praise and your host will reach deep inside and let soar the powerful, spiritual sounds that will take the congregation to heights unimagined. An amazing musical experience, and a truly spiritual one, as well. (Sundays only. $250 for 1-6 guests + transportation + donations at each church)<br>
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<td width="465" height="185" align="left" valign="middle"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Born on the Bayou<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">The ecosystem in the swamps and bayous is dramatically different than dry land. The same can be said of the culture of these people who've forged, from soggy surroundings, a way of life unlike anywhere else. Houses on stilts. Alligator traps. Crawfish farms. Boats necessary to everyday life. Gliding along the dark waters with a native of the area as your host, Spanish moss draping from towering cypress trees all around, it's easy to feel swept up in the primordial majesty—and the mystery—of this place. Typically 4-5 hours. ($435 for 1–6 guests + transportation)</font></td>
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<td width="465" height="185" align="left" valign="middle"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Dancing with the Loa<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Contrary to the macabre popular impressions fostered by novels and films, Vodou is a living religion that is still practiced today by a small but dedicated group of followers in New Orleans. Your host, the priestess of a Vodou temple, will join you either at the restaurant or at your hotel, then you'll set off on a spiritual exploration that will take you to the river for a brief ceremony, the French Market to collect offerings to the appropriate Loa (the Vodou deities to whom rituals are performed), then back to the temple to participate in an actual ritual. ($300 for 1 guest + $40 for each additional guest up to 6 + transportation.)</font></td>
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<td width="465" height="185" align="left" valign="middle"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Down in the Tremé<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Just across Rampart Street from the French Quarter, the Faubourg Tremé (foh'-boorg truh-may') is America's oldest neighborhood settled by peoples of African descent. The Tremé's fertile ground has nourished the roots of pivotal cultural movements including civil rights, African American literature and, of course, jazz. It's also the current day center of some of the city's most intriguing cultural happenings—jazz funerals; second lines; Mardi Gras Indians—and home to many of New Orleans' favorite living jazz players. With a jazz musician Tremé resident as your host, you'll be welcomed inside this vibrant and important culture. ($295 for 1 guest + $40 for each additional guest up to 6, walking)</font></td>
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<td width="465" height="185" align="left" valign="middle"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Foodies on the Loose<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Trace a local journey from harvest to table and you'll not only discover a lot about the culture—you'll have a delicious adventure along the way. And so, with a professional food writer to illuminate your path, you'll set your own course through a banquet of local gastronomic experiences. Perhaps a visit to a top oyster purveyor to taste the difference between Black Bay and Empire oysters; or a boutique coffee roaster to experience a professional "cupping" (tasting) of the purest coffees from the world over; or a Louisiana pepper sauce maker; or the Vietnamese market; or... ($315 for 1 guest + $135 for each additional guest up to 10 + transportation.)</font></td>
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<td width="465" height="185" align="left" valign="middle"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Gallery Intelligence<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">From palatial antiques galleries, dazzling and elegant, to quaint, crumbling shops, New Orleans is one of the most extraordinary collector's marketplaces anywhere. Art from the Old Masters to the avant garde, exquisite estate jewelry, a vast array of collectibles, antiques from William & Mary to Louis XV to Georgian to Victorian to Provençal. And the very smartest way to shop, of course, is with a gallery professional to host you, get you to the <i>right</i> galleries, introduce you behind the scenes and give you the scoop on mark-ups, discounts, quality and authenticity. ($175 total for 1-3 guests + transportation.)</font></td>
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<td width="465" height="185" align="left" valign="middle"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Harvesting the Food of the Gods<br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Stopping at one of New Orleans' finest oyster purveyors, experience the shucking operation with skilled workers opening hundreds of oysters by hand at amazing speed. Then head out of town toward a small coastal fishing village where some of the best oyster fisherman are based (about an hour's ride). Board an oyster boat and participate in the harvesting of these Louisiana delicacies, later docking at an oyster "camp"—the structures on stilts built over the water where the men live and work. There, feast on the authentic local oyster dishes made with the freshest oysters imaginable. (Monday-Friday. $850 for 1 guest + $100 for each additional guest up to 10 + transportation)<br>
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<font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5" color="#8b008b">Insiders Around the French Quarter</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Stepping past a couple of tourists who stand on the banquette (sidewalk) and peer wistfully through the iron grille gates down the carriageway, you feel almost guilty as you make your way through the long, arched passageway and emerge into a lush courtyard, where the homeowner stands beneath a banana tree with a smile and outstretched hand to greet you. It's amazing to explore the French Quarter as an insider. And with a well-know resident to introduce you around, after a short time you begin to feel like a true local. 2-6 hours, at your discretion. ($250 total for 1-6 guests. This is a walking outing.)</font></div>
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<td width="465" height="185" align="left" valign="middle"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5" color="#8b008b">Insiders Around Town</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">The traditions still observed in this Creole city are amazing. And you'd never really know about them without a real local insider to introduce you around town. From the stately idyll of the Garden District, with its streets canopied by majestic oak trees, to the iron lace balconies of the French Quarter, it seems there's an intriguing story behind everything, here. And usually an intriguing character, too. But to be welcomed inside a beautiful private home by the homeowners affords the ultimate insider perspective! An hour or all day, at your discretion. ($295 </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">for 1 guest + $30 for each additional guest up to 6 </font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">+ transportation)</font></td>
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<td width="465" height="185"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Into the Chef's Kitchen<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">A Sous Chef from a top New Orleans restaurant. A beautiful private French Quarter home. The freshest market ingredients. This isn't your garden variety cooking class. It's Royal Insider all the way. Our rising-star chefs advance the evolution of New Orleans cooking every day, carrying the torch of Créole culinary excellence into an ever more appetizing future. And from the selection of the finest raw ingredients to professional preparation techniques and, of course, recipes, you'll participate in a cooking experience worthy of an international culinary institute—in a setting that no tourist could possibly hope to access. ($825 for 1 guest + $45 for each additional guest up to 6)</font></td>
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<td width="465" height="185"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Landscape of Dreams<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Along the Mississippi River Road, sweeping fields of sugar cane press right up to the levee at times, other times falling back to make room for a small town, or a spill of crumbling shacks. Once in a while, as if from a dream, a plantation home emerges from the fields, speaking silent stories of the past. The people who inhabit this landscape have listened to the silent stories throughout their lives. And some of them, like your host, can bring those stories to life as they gain you inside access afforded only to friends. Typically 5-6 hours. ($330 for 1 guest + $75 for each additional guest up to 6 + transportation)</font></td>
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<td width="465" height="185"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Raising Cane<br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">After tilling, planting, fertilizing, nurturing and worrying over their crops for a year, just when the leafy sugar cane plants have stretched their mature, syrup-laden stalks to the sky, ripe for harvest ... the plantation owners set fire to them. One of those owners will be your host, from the burning of the cane to the thundering of the great harvesting machines to the ordered tumult of the mill where the cane is squeezed and the syrup evaporated and great sprays of raw sugar arc across cavernous warehouses, piling high into sweet mountains of the precious, crystalline commodity. (Seasonal—available Sep-Dec. $350 total for 1-6 guests + transport)<br>
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<td width="465" height="185"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Run Wild in the Garden<br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">From the most celebrated public displays of bloom and bush to private botanical gems, this outing affords an insider's experience of some of the best of New Orleans' gorgeous gardens. Your host: an entertaining and knowledgeable local horticulturalist. Longue Vue House and Gardens was the stunning private estate of a wealthy philanthropic family. New Orleans Botanical Gardens is the premier public breeding ground for floral splendor. We'll also arrange for you to be welcomed inside two of our area's loveliest private home gardens. ($470 for 1 guest + $35 for each additional guest up to 6 + transportation)<br>
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<td width="465" height="185"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">The Secret Rite of the Crawfish Boil<br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">In Louisiana it's practically sacred: the time-honored ritual of the crawfish boil. And it's something that visitors rarely have the chance to experience. About 45 minutes outside of the city is where you'll meet your host at a private crawfish farm. After harvesting a load of mudbugs, set off for a private Cajun camp (cabin at the water), where you'll gather around the gas-flamed pot for your own crawfish boil, discovering the secret ingredients, proportions and timing required to produce one of Louisiana's true delicacies. (Seasonal—available Oct-Mar. $465 for 1 guest + $35 for each additional guest up to 6 + transportation)<br>
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<td width="465" height="185"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Seize a Brilliant Palette<br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Thrill to NOMA's breathtaking new sculpture garden. Immerse yourself in the ethos of the region at the new Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Be dazzled by the latest cutting edge installation at the Contemporary Arts Center. New Orleans lays out an artistic banquet, whatever your tastes. And your host, a professional curator, can let you in on what's showing where—then introduce you behind the scenes throughout it all. Including the rare privilege of visiting two of our city's most intriguing private collections. ($415 for 1 guest + $60 for each additional guest up to 6 + transportation)<br>
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<td width="465" height="185"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">The Soul of a Cajun Fishing Village<br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Lafitte, Louisiana may be only 30 minutes from downtown New Orleans, but it's a world apart. Nestled amid extravagantly lush swamps and picturesque bayous, this Cajun fishing village lives and breathes water. Its people speak with a 300 year-old provincial French accent burnished by generations in place—some residents literally never leave this immediate area their entire lives. Hosted by an insider resident of the Lafitte area, you'll feel the life pulse of this fishing village that seems to have been caught long ago in a net that holds it still as the stream of time flows by. ($525 for 1-6 guests + transportation)<br>
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<td width="465" height="185"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Stirring It Up with Celebrity<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">New Orleans is one of the gastronomic capitals of the world, and the restaurant scene, here, has never been more exciting. Seldom does a month pass without one of New Orleans' star chefs being featured in a top gourmet magazine. They're gifted. They're impassioned by their gastronomic heritage. Their artistry advances the evolution of New Orleans cooking every day. And you'll chop, whisk and sauté right alongside one of the hottest chefs in town. First, forage the local farmer's market, sniffing out the freshest ingredients possible. Then head back to the restaurant kitchen to create that evening's specials, with plenty of tastings and tips along the way. ($875 total for 1-6 guests + transportation.)</font></td>
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<td width="465" height="185"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Sunday Second Line<br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs sprang to life in late 19th century New Orleans as a social and financial safety net for communities of Créoles of African descent. Each of these clubs puts on a celebration once a year, in its neighborhood and always on a Sunday, called a "Second Line." These Sunday second lines launch from a bar, club or private home and the participants dance their way through the area, led by a brass jazz band, stopping briefly at various bars and other sites significant in the club's history for salutes, drinks & snacks. Hosted by a prominent insider in the second line culture. (Available Sep-May, $250 for 1-6 guests. This is a walking ... and dancing ... outing.)<br>
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<td width="465" height="185"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">True Jazz<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">You don't find the <i>real</i> jazz in tourist traps. It's happening on the edge of the Quarter and over in the Faubourg Marigny and down in the Tremé and across in Gentilly and the Bywater and even Uptown. And there's no better way to find—and experience—true jazz than with a well-known jazz musician as your host for the evening. It's like entering a palace in the company of royalty. Meeting owners and other musicians. Being welcomed behind the scenes in the birthplace of jazz to discover that the music here is as exciting as ever. (An hour or all night, at your discretion: $260 total for 1-6 guests + transportation + cover charges + drinks)</font></td>
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<td width="465" height="185"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Where Plantation Meets Bayou<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">The ante-bellum plantations cling to the banks of the river between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, but as you venture away from those banks, fields of crops give way to swamps and bayous. These contrasting environments have embraced each other for ages, in some places merging to become indistinguishable from each other. The embrace of these landscapes is reflected in the confluence of the contrasting cultures of the people who have inhabited them, Cajun and Creole. This outing affords an insider's experience of both. Typically 8-9 hours. ($560 for 1 guest + $35 for each additional guest up to 6 + transportation)</font></td>
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<font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Royal Insider Reaches<br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">For those intrepid spirits who would like to come here and strive with us,<br>
personally, to nurture this culture and its people, we've developed a program<br>
called, "Royal Insider Reaches." Reaching into the heart of the community<br>
to those in need; and, hopefully, reaching people and situations<br>
in time to make a positive difference in all of our lives<br>
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<td width="465" height="185"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">If I Had a Hammer<br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the one vast, overriding, in-your-face need that visitors can have a hand in fixing is housing. From carrying debris to the curbside to tearing out flooring and walls to the construction tasks of framing, roofing, electrical, plumbing, floating drywall, painting ... if you're ready to lend a helping hand, we're ready to connect you with someone who needs it—for one day or for as long as you'd like to stay and help.<br>
There's no charge for this, of course, but you have to get yourself down here and pay for your own accommodations. We'll book your hotel, if you like, for a short-term visit. If you'd like to stay to help for more than a week, we'll try to place you in someone's home.<br>
There is no set time commitment each day—you can leave when you feel it's time. You will be provided with transportation to and from the project, along with work gloves, goggles and tools. You are asked to bring appropriate work clothes and shoes.<br>
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<a name="Dream_Itineraries"></a></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Dream Itineraries<br>
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<a href="no/itineraries/itin-fit-seize-a-brilliant-palette.doc" target="blank" title="Open full-color itinerary article in MS Word format"><img height="170" width="120" src="no/images/itin-fit-seize-a-brilliant-palette-jpeg.jpg" border="0"></a></font></center>
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</font><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Seize a Brilliant Palette<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» 4 nights at the Royal Insider Property of your choice<br>
» Arrival and departure airport transfers</font><font size="2"><br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "Seize a Brilliant Palette"</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
Hosted by a museum curator inside the best public and private collections<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Royal Insider Chef's Table Dinner: Chef Bob Iacovone, Cuvée<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> The rising star chef welcomes you with a menu he created just for you<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "Gallery Intelligence"</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
Hosted by a gallery professional inside the art world: quality, athenticity, markups & discounts<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Evening Outing: "True Jazz"</font><font size="2"><br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> Hosted by a noted jazz musician to the <i>real</i> jazz clubs, meeting owners & other musicians<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "Landscape of Dreams"</font><font size="2"><br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> Hosted by a plantation owner into the storied world of River Road plantation living<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Details<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» 1-6 guests<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» Available year round (subject to confirmation of specifics)<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» All transport in chauffeured vehicle of your choice<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» From $1,550 per guest, double occupancy, all taxes & gratuities included<br>
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<font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="#0000cd">Keep in mind that any of our itineraries can be formatted for Pre/Post Ocean<br>
Cruise, Pre/Post Riverboat, or for guests who aren't traveling by water, at all.</font></center>
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<td height="185" align="center" valign="top"><a href="no/itineraries/itin-fit-northernmost-port-privileged-view.doc" target="blank" title="Open full-color itinerary article in MS Word format"><img height="170" width="120" src="no/images/itin-fit-northernmost-port-jpeg.jpg" border="0"></a></td>
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<font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">The Northernmost Port of the Caribbean:<br>
A privileged view from within<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» 4 nights at the Royal Insider Property of your choice<br>
» Arrival and departure transfers</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "Insiders Around Town"</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> Hosted by a prominent resident, welcomed throughout the city<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Royal Insider Chef's Table Dinner: Chef Greg Sonnier, Gabrielle</font><font size="2"><br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> The rising star chef welcomes you with a menu he created just for you<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "Seize a Brilliant Palette"</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> Hosted by a museum curator inside the best public and private collections<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "Into the Chef's Kitchen"</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> A Sous Chef from a top restaurant shows you how it's done</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">—</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">in a beautiful French Quarter home<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Royal Insider Chef's Table Dinner: Chef Greg Sonnier, Gabrielle</font><font size="2"><br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> The rising star chef welcomes you with a menu he created just for you<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Details<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» 1-6 guests<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» Available year round (subject to confirmation of specifics)<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» All transport in chauffeured vehicle of your choice<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» From $1,330 per guest, double occupancy, all taxes & gratuities included<br>
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<a href="no/itineraries/itin-fit-ole-man-river-embracing-crescent.doc" target="blank" title="Open full-color itinerary article in MS Word format"><img height="170" width="120" src="no/images/itin-fit-ole-man-river-jpeg.jpg" border="0"></a></center>
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</font><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Ole Man River:<br>
Embracing the Crescent City<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» 3 nights at the Royal Insider Property of your choice<br>
» Arrival and departure transfers</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "Insiders Around Town"</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> Hosted by a prominent resident, welcomed throughout the city<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Evening Outing: "True Jazz"</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
Hosted by a noted jazz musician to the <i>real</i> jazz clubs, meeting owners & other musicians<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» "The Soul of a Cajun Fishing Village"</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> Hosted by prominent resident of Lafitte, LA through the water avenues of this unique culture<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Details<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» 1-6 guests<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» Available year round (subject to confirmation of specifics)<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» All transport in chauffeured vehicle of your choice<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» From $950 per guest, double occupancy, all taxes & gratuities included<br>
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<a href="no/itineraries/itin-fg-masterwork-of-family-memories.doc" target="blank" title="Open full-color itinerary article in MS Word format"><img height="170" width="120" src="no/images/itin-fg-masterwork-family-memories-jpeg.jpg" border="0"></a></center>
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<font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1"><br>
</font><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">A Masterwork of Family Memories<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» 3 nights at the Royal Insider Property of your choice<br>
» Arrival and departure airport transfers</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Dinner Outing: "Charmaine Neville Welcomes You Home"</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
A private dinner party in the home of music legend Charmaine Neville<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Each Family Member chooses 1 of 2 Day Outing options:<br>
» "Insiders Around Town"</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> Hosted by a prominent resident, welcomed throughout the city<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"> » "The Soul of a Cajun Fishing Village"</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> Hosted by prominent resident of Lafitte, LA through the water avenues of this unique culture<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Dinner Outing: "Emeril Spices Up the French Quarter"</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> Chef de Cuisine Michael Ruoss creates your menu at NOLA, Emeril's French Quarter restaurant<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "Where Plantation Meets Bayou"</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> Hosted by a plantation owner from private plantation to private Cajun cabin to bayou boat trip<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Breakfast at Brennan's</font><font size="2"><br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> A luxurious three-course repast at the renowned restaurant<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Details<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» 10-25 guests<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» Available year round (subject to confirmation of specifics)<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» All transport in chauffeured luxury mini-motorcoach<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» From $1,340 per guest, double occupancy, all taxes & gratuities included<br>
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<a href="no/itineraries/itin-fit-foodies-wildest-dreams.doc" target="blank" title="Open full-color itinerary article in MS Word format"><img height="170" width="120" src="no/images/itin-fit-foodies-wildest-dreams-jpeg.jpg" border="0"></a></font></center>
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<font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1"><br>
</font><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">In a Foodie's Wildest Dreams<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» 4 nights at the Royal Insider Property of your choice<br>
» Arrival and departure airport transfers</font><font size="2"><br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "Foodies on the Loose"</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
Hosted by a professional food writer, tasting the culture's delicacies at the source<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Royal Insider Chef's Table Dinner: Chef Susan Spicer, Bayona</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> The celebrity chef welcomes you with a menu she created just for you<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "The Secret Rite of the Crawfish Boil"</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
Hosted by a plantation owner from crawfish farm to crawfish boil at a private Cajun cabin<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Evening Outing: "A Moveable Feast: The Hottest Restaurants"</font><font size="2"><br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> Three top chefs welcome you to taste their proudest creations, one course at each restaurant<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "Stirring It Up with Celebrity" Chef John Besh, August</font><font size="2"><br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> From farmer's market back to the restaurant kitchen to create that evening's specials<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Royal Insider Chef's Table Dinner: Chef John Besh, August</font><font size="2"><br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> The celebrity chef welcomes you with a menu he created with you that day<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Details<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» 1-6 guests<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» Available Oct-Apr (subject to confirmation of specifics)<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» All transport in chauffeured vehicle of your choice<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» From $1,970 per guest, double occupancy, all taxes & gratuities included<br>
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<font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
<a href="no/itineraries/itin-fit-run-wild-in-the-garden.doc" target="blank" title="Open full-color itinerary article in MS Word format"><img height="170" width="120" src="no/images/itin-fit-run-wild-in-the-garden-jpeg.jpg" border="0"></a></font></center>
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<font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1"><br>
</font><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Run Wild in the Garden<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» 4 nights at the Royal Insider Property of your choice<br>
» Arrival and departure airport transfers</font><font size="2"><br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "Run Wild in the Garden"</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
Hosted by a prominent landscape designer inside the finest public and private gardens<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Royal Insider Chef's Table Dinner: Chef John Harris, Lilette<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> The nationally recognized chef welcomes you with a menu he created just for you<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "Run Wild in the Garden, Day 2"</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
Hosted by a prominent landscape designer inside more beautiful private gardens<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "Landscape of Dreams"</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
Hosted by a plantation owner into the storied world of River Road plantation living<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Details<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» 1-6 guests<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» Available year round (subject to confirmation of specifics)<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» All transport in chauffeured SUV<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» From $1,400 per guest, double occupancy, all taxes & gratuities included<br>
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<font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
<a href="no/itineraries/itin-fit-beating-heart-of-a-culture.doc" target="blank" title="Open full-color itinerary article in MS Word format"><img height="170" width="120" src="no/images/itin-fit-beating-heart-of-a-culture-jpeg.jpg" border="0"></a></font></center>
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<font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1"><br>
</font><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">The Beating Heart of a Culture<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» 3 nights (Fri, Sat, Sun) at the Royal Insider Property of your choice<br>
» Arrival and departure airport transfers</font><font size="2"><br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Evening Outing: "Dancing with the Loa"</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
Hosted by an authentic Vodou priestess on a spiritual exploration through this living religion<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "Harvesting the Food of the Gods"</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
Hosted by the Sous Chef of a top restaurant on an Oyster boat trip and tasting<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "Sunday Second Line"</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
Hosted by a true insider into a neighborhood celebration, street dancing to a brass jazz band<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Details<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» 1-6 guests<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» Available Sep-May (subject to confirmation of specifics), must be Friday out Monday<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» All transport in chauffeured vehicle of your choice<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» From $990 per guest, double occupancy, all taxes & gratuities included<br>
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<center>
<font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
<a href="no/itineraries/itin-fit-into-the-beat.doc" target="blank" title="Open full-color itinerary article in MS Word format"><img height="170" width="120" src="no/images/itin-fit-into-the-beat-jpeg.jpg" border="0"></a></font></center>
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<font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1"><br>
</font><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Into the Beat<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» 3 nights (Fri, Sat, Sun) at the Royal Insider Property of your choice<br>
» Arrival and departure airport transfers</font><font size="2"><br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Evening Outing: "True Jazz"</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
Hosted by a noted jazz musician inside the <i>real</i> jazz clubs, meeting owners & other musicians<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "Down in the Tremé"</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
Hosted by a jazz musician resident inside the living music culture of this important neighborhood<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "Sunday Second Line"</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
Hosted by a true insider into a neighborhood celebration, street dancing to a brass jazz band<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Details<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» 1-6 guests<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» Available Sep-May (subject to confirmation of specifics), must be Friday out Monday<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» All transport in chauffeured vehicle of your choice<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» From $990 per guest, double occupancy, all taxes & gratuities included<br>
<br>
</font></div>
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<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="600">
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<center>
<br>
<a href="no/itineraries/itin-fit-insiders-around-town.doc" target="blank" title="Open full-color itinerary article in MS Word format"><img height="170" width="120" src="no/images/itin-fit-insiders-around-town-jpeg.jpg" border="0"></a></center>
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<font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1"><br>
</font><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Insiders Around Town<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» 3 nights at the Royal Insider Property of your choice<br>
» Arrival and departure transfers</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "Insiders Around Town"</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> Hosted by a prominent resident, welcomed throughout the city<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Evening Outing: "True Jazz"</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
Hosted by a noted jazz musician to the <i>real</i> jazz clubs, meeting owners & other musicians<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "Where Plantation Meets Bayou"</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> Hosted by a plantation owner from private plantation to private Cajun cabin to bayou boat trip<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Details<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» 1-6 guests<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» Available year round (subject to confirmation of specifics)<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» All transport in chauffeured vehicle of your choice<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» From $990 per guest, double occupancy, all taxes & gratuities included<br>
<br>
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<td height="185" align="center" valign="top">
<center>
<font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
<a href="no/itineraries/itin-fit-born-on-the-bayou.doc" target="blank" title="Open full-color itinerary article in MS Word format"><img height="170" width="120" src="no/images/itin-fit-born-on-the-bayou-jpeg.jpg" border="0"></a></font></center>
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</font><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Born on the Bayou<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» 3 nights at the Trinity Cabin on Lake Des Allemands<br>
» Round trip airport transfers</font><font size="2"><br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "Born on the Bayou"</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
Hosted by a native Cajun inside life on the swamps and bayous<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "Landscape of Dreams"</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
Hosted by a plantation owner into the storied world of River Road plantation living<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "The Secret Rite of the Crawfish Boil"</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
Hosted by a crawfish farm owner from crawfish farm to crawfish boil at a private Cajun cabin<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Details<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» 1-4 guests<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» Available Oct-Apr (subject to confirmation of specifics)<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» All transport in chauffeured SUV<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» From $1,550 per guest, all taxes & gratuities included<br>
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<a href="no/itineraries/itin-fit-landscape-of-dreams.doc" target="blank" title="Open full-color itinerary article in MS Word format"><img height="170" width="120" src="no/images/itin-fit-landscape-of-dreams-jpeg.jpg" border="0"></a></font></center>
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</font><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Landscape of Dreams<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» 3 nights at the Royal Insider Property of your choice<br>
» Round trip airport transfers</font><font size="2"><br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "Landscape of Dreams"</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
Hosted by a plantation owner into the storied world of River Road plantation living<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Royal Insider Chef's Table Dinner: Chef John Harris, Lilette<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> The rising star chef welcomes you with a menu he created just for you<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "Run Wild in the Garden"</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
Hosted by a prominent landscape designer inside the finest public and private gardens<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Details<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» 1-6 guests<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» Available year round (subject to confirmation of specifics)<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» All transport in chauffeured sedan or limousine<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» From $990 per guest, double occupancy, all taxes & gratuities included<br>
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<a href="no/itineraries/itin-fit-if-the-spirit-moves-you.doc" target="blank" title="Open full-color itinerary article in MS Word format"><img height="170" width="120" src="no/images/itin-fit-if-the-spirit-moves-you-jpeg.jpg" border="0"></a></font></center>
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</font><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">If the Spirit Moves You<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» 3 nights (Fri, Sat, Sun) at the Royal Insider Property of your choice<br>
» Arrival and departure airport transfers</font><font size="2"><br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Evening Outing: "Dancing with the Loa"</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
Hosted by an authentic Vodou priestess on a spiritual exploration through this living religion<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "Down in the Tremé"</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
Hosted by a resident inside the musical & deeply spiritual culture of this important neighborhood<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Day Outing: "Amazing Grace"</font><font size="2"><br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> Accompany a star of the gospel music scene inside 3 amazing, uplifting celebrations in one day<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Details<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» 1-6 guests<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» Available year round (subject to confirmation of specifics)<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» All transport in chauffeured sedan or limousine<br>
</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> </font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">» From $850 per guest, double occupancy, all taxes & gratuities included<br>
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<a name="Restaurants"></a>Restaurants<br>
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<td width="465" height="185" align="left" valign="middle"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Bacco<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Sweeping vaulted ceilings, lofting skylights and lilting frescoes lend a contemporary chic flair to this French Quarter restaurant with an Italian sense of style. One of Ralph Brennan's expertly rendered restaurants, the menu features an assortment of homemade pastas, wood-fired pizzas and fresh regional seafood. All of which are artfully prepared by Executive Chef Haley Gabel in a manner that recalls the rolling hills of Northern Italy—yet embraces the Créole culture in dishes like Crawfish Ravioli and Crabmeat Lasagna. 310 Chartres Street (French Quarter) 522-2426, L: Tue-Sat, D: Tue-Sat. Dressy Casual.</font></td>
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<td width="465" height="185" align="left" valign="middle"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">The Bank Ca</font><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">fé<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Built in the 1920's to express the lofty ambitions of a promising new bank, this once hushed and decorous space in the Faubourg Marigny has been re-cast by an ambitious young owner into a lofting, chic stage set for a very promising new restaurant. Sharing center stage with Chef Daniel Esses is the happily eclectic collection of locals who've already cast themselves as regulars, from hipsters to buttoned-down, old-money families—all basking in the spotlight of one of the hottest new places in town. A creative and contemporary menu meet a brief but interesting wine list (plus bar grazing elevated to artistic heights). 2001 Burgundy (Faubourg Marigny) 371-5260, D: Tue-Sat, Sun Brunch. Dressy Casual.</font></td>
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</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">With a lovely view on the Mississippi River, Bella Luna is widely considered to be one of the city's most romantic restaurants. A secretive entrance behind the French Market, fresh flowers, soft lighting and private banquettes contribute to its allure; the staff is well equipped to assist with special celebrations—including those involving diamonds. Chef-owner Horst Pfeifer, a native of Germany, turns out an intercontinental menu whose assets include a meltingly tender filet mignon with Gorgonzola cream. Chef cooks with payloads of fresh herbs, which he harvests daily from a garden on the grounds of the nearby Ursulines Convent. 914 N.Peters St., (French Quarter) 529-1583, D: Nightly. Jackets preferred.</font></td>
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</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Dominique Macquet is one driven chef. Driven to be creative, he serves green apple cotton candy served as a pre-dessert treat. Raised on the island of Mauritius, he's also driven to advance island ingredients into the realm of haute cuisine—one favorite, baby conch, appears with green papaya in a ceviche, and with white truffles in a chowder. The artistically driven chef uses his artist's eye to compose dishes that stop just short of being architectural masterpieces. Dominique's is smaller and plainer than most hotel restaurants, with a courtyard for fair weather dining; food prices are reasonable, but wine prices are not. 1001 Toulouse St., (French Quarter) 522-8800, B: Daily, D: Nightly. Dressy Casual.</font></td>
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<td width="465" height="185" align="left" valign="middle"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Eleven 79<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">This pricey little Italian restaurant entertains a tight, nearly locals-only crowd. But the cinematically riveting scene isn't unfriendly; outsiders become welcome flies on the wall. Chef Anthony DiPiazza's cooking isn't earth-moving, but it's impeccable in preparation and presentation, and ingredients are pristine. Main courses such as veal saltimbocca and chicken rosmarino come without starch; ordering at least one pasta for the table is advised, perhaps the linguine with clam sauce or a simple pasta with garlic and olive oil. A sizable Italian wine selection suits the food. 1179 Annunciation St., (Warehouse Arts District) 299-1179, L: Tue-Fri, D: Mon-Sat. Dressy casual.</font></td>
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</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Chef Tenney Flynn and business partner Gary Wollerman labored for years at the corporate level of the Ruth's Chris' Steak House chain, which must be how they were able to open their sleek, spacious seafood house in 2001 with a fluidity that's more often observed at the ballet than in the volatile restaurant business. Since then they've garnered national notice for Flynn's light touch with seafood imported from around the globe. On any given evening the dozen-plus seafood entrees might include king ivory salmon from Alaska, geoduck clams from Oregon and/or pristine pompano from the Gulf of Mexico. 808 Bienville St. (French Quarter) 581-FINS (3467). D: Nightly. Dressy casual.</font></td>
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<td width="465" height="185" align="left" valign="middle"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Lemon Grass<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Chef Minh Bui fuses his Vietnamese heritage with the hip expectations of a contemporary chic boutique hotel's clientele. Shrimp dumplings and spring rolls share space on the appetizer menu with baby spinach salads and yellow fin tuna carpaccio. Main courses are similarly mixed—from five-spice duck to lobster tortellini. You wouldn't guess from the industrial wall art, the studio lighting or the California-heavy wine list that you were entering an Asian restaurant; then again you only halfway are. International House Hotel, 217 Camp St., (CBD) 523-1200, B, L & D: Daily. Dressy casual. </font></td>
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</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Angling nonchalantly through the Faubourg Marigny (faubourg="suburb") just behind the French Quarter, Frenchmen Street has become so hip it's in danger of becoming popular. In-the-know locals flock there for the music scene—and now the growing food scene. Anchoring the street as a foodie-worthy destination is the stylish Marigny Brasserie. The cuisine is essentially Créole-made-current, at times bordering on all-out fusion. Happy hour can be quite the scene in the attractive bar, affording sweeping plate-glass views of the Frenchmen passers-by. 640 Frenchmen Street (Faubourg Marigny) 945-4472, Dinner nightly; Sunday brunch. Dressy casual.</font></td>
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<td width="465" height="185" align="left" valign="middle"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Maximo's Italian Grill<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">While most Italian <i>cucinas</i> in New Orleans are awash in red sauce, Maximo's garlic, olive oil and fresh herb-seasoned food is rooted in the customs of Northern Italy. Grilled and fire-roasted meats are the major specialty, along with an array of pastas and a few fish dishes. The knowing wine list brims with interesting vintages, most of them Italian. Somewhat like the French Quarter itself, the mood here is often playful and always intimate. A single row of tables extends from the entrance to the open kitchen in back, and Herman Leonard's atmospheric photographs cover nearly every inch of exposed brick in between. 1117 Decatur St., (French Quarter) 586-8883, D: Nightly. Dressy casual.</font></td>
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</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">The pelican (in case you're wondering) is the state bird, here. And no, this isn't a private club. It is, however, a stylish restaurant in a picturesque slip of an alley between two already narrow French Quarter streets. This exquisitely charming setting is home base to a pair of talented proprietors: Chef Richard Hughes (Executive) and Chef Chin Ling (de Cuisine). As the name announces, the menu is solidly grounded in Louisiana; but as the Singapore origins of Chef Chin imply, the culinary ethos is decidedly multicultural (e.g. shrimp & crawfish potstickers). 312 Exchange Alley (French Quarter) 523-1504. D: Sun-Sat. Dressy casual.</font></td>
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</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Until the summer of 2004, Peristyle and Anne Kearney were one and the same; the chef's polished Provençal cooking style infused the lively bistro with feminine elegance, and vice versa. Regulars fretted when one of her peers, Tom Wolfe, purchased the restaurant but soon found comfort in the knowledge that Kearney Sand's recipes came with the real estate. Crabmeat ravigote over sliced beets, squab stuffed with dirty rice and a pissaladièrre overlaid with caramelized onions and white anchovies remain house specialties. The bar is a gem, with reflections of the eponymous peristyle mural gleaming in its burnished copper surface. 1040 Dumaine St., (French Quarter) 593-9535, L: Fri., D: Tues.-Sat. Dressy casual.</font></td>
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</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">In 2003, restaurant magnate Ralph Brennan and locally revered chef Gerard Maras turned their longtime friendship into a business partnership. The result is a stunning two-story restaurant with an old New Orleans residential feel downstairs and a balcony for private parties overlooking City Park upstairs. Maras' intensely personal cooking style has maintained much of its intimacy. Fresh pastas are a consistent signature, and local produce often steals the show —particularly on the vegetarian menu that's available upon request. 900 City Park Ave., (Mid-City) 488-1000, B: Sat., L: Mon.-Fri., D: Nightly, Brunch: Sun. Dressy casual.</font></td>
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"The Hottest Restaurants"<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">It's a foodie's dream come true: meeting three of the top chefs in New Orleans and sampling some of their proudest creations—all in one evening. At each restaurant, your party will be served one course, with each individual receiving a different dish selected personally by Chef. Wines will be expertly matched with each dish and with your preferences. Browse through the restaurant categories below and let us know which three you'd like to visit on your Moveable Feast. Our expert Royal Insider staff in New Orleans will be happy to provide input. </font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">($200 per guest, tax & gratuities included, up to 6 guests + transportation)</font></td>
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</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Of course you can have us make a reservation and order whatever you'd like from the menu. And of course you'll be treated like a Royal Insider guest. But if you want "The Ultimate Insider's Way to Dine"</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1">tm</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">, we'll arrange for the chef to create a menu just for you from the finest and freshest ingredients available at the moment. The sommelier will then pair wines expertly to complement each course. And rather than have you dine in the kitchen, Chef has agreed to come out to your table (one of the very best in the house) and visit you between courses (as time permits) to share culinary insights. ($160 per guest, tax & gratuities included, up to 6 guests)</font></div>
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</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><b>Up to 3 guests</b>: <i>Charter</i>: $60 per hour + 20% gratuity, 3 hour minimum; <i>Airport Transfer:</i> each way $95 + 20% gratuity<br>
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<td width="350" height="140"><img height="69" width="330" src="no/images/limousine-01-jpeg.jpg"></td>
<td width="250" height="140" align="left" valign="middle"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Limousine<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><b>Up to 6 guests:</b> <i>Charter</i>: $85 per hour + 20% gratuity, 3 hour minimum; <i>Airport Transfer:</i> each way $125 + 20% gratuity<br>
<b>Up to 9 guests:</b> <i>Charter</i>: $115 per hour + 20% gratuity, 3 hour minimum; <i>Airport Transfer:</i> each way $155 + 20% gratuity</font></td>
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<td width="350" height="140"><img height="110" width="237" src="no/images/suv-01-jpeg.jpg"></td>
<td width="250" height="140" align="left" valign="middle"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Sport Utility Vehicle<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><b>Up to 6 guests:</b> <i>Charter</i>: $105 per hour + 20% gratuity, 3 hour minimum; <i>Airport Transfer</i>: each way $155 + 20% gratuity</font></td>
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<td width="350" height="140"><img height="120" width="221" src="no/images/van-01-jpeg.jpg"></td>
<td width="250" height="140" align="left" valign="middle"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Passenger Van<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><b>Up to 14 guests:</b> <i>Charter</i>: $85 per hour + 20% gratuity, 3 hour minimum; <i>Airport Transfer</i>: each way $140 + 20% gratuity</font></td>
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<td width="350" height="140"><img height="110" width="302" src="no/images/luxury-mini-coach-01-jpeg.jpg"></td>
<td width="250" height="140" align="left" valign="middle"><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Luxury Mini Motorcoach<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><b>Up to 25 guests:</b> <i>Charter</i>: $100 per hour + 20% gratuity, 4 hour minimum; Airport Transfer: each way $240 + 20% gratuity<br>
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<a name="Pricing_Policies"></a>Pricing & Policies<br>
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</font><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Cancellations<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» For hotel-only bookings:<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1"> » The cancellation date will vary according to hotel and dates of travel, ranging<br>
from 3 days before arrival to 30 days before arrival to non-refundable<br>
pre-payment (in some periods of extreme demand).<br>
» Cancellations after the stated date will incur a penalty of one night room<br>
and tax charges per room—or more, if required by the hotel.<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» For bookings involving host services:<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1"> » The deposit is non-refundable<br>
» Cancellations 14-29 days prior to arrival: 75% refund of balance excluding deposit<br>
» Cancellations 7-13 days prior to arrival: 50% refund of balance excluding deposit<br>
» Cancellations < 7 days prior to arrival: no refund<br>
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<a href="no/itineraries/itin-fit-seize-a-brilliant-palette.doc" target="blank" title="Open full-color itinerary article in MS Word format"><img height="170" width="120" src="no/images/coins-01-tn-jpeg.jpg" border="0"></a></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1"><br>
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</font><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Groups<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» A non-refundable deposit is required at time of booking in the amount of 25%<br>
of the total charges—or one night room and tax charges—whichever is greater.<br>
» The balance of payment is due 45 days prior to arrival.<br>
» No refunds will be issued for cancellations of individuals within the group<br>
after the balance due date.<br>
» Additions of individual guests may be made up until 7 days prior to arrival,<br>
subject to availability of all accommodations and at the prevailing rates on the<br>
date the addition is approved by Royal Insider, with final and non-refundable<br>
payment for any such additions due immediately.<br>
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</font><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Hotels<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Because of the way all of this works (see "Pricing"), Royal Insider asks<br>
that you allow us to make all of the arrangements in your itinerary: hotel<br>
booking; chauffeured transport; Outings; and group events. In return, we<br>
promise you fair prices—and experiences you can't get any other way.<br>
» If, for any reason, you absolutely must book the hotel through another channel,<br>
we have a $50 per-room-per-night hotel non-booking per diem. Yes, we know<br>
this seems a bit severe at first blush. But most people, after they think about<br>
it, realize that it's only fair and agree to this per diem—in order to be hosted<br>
by Royal Insider members and staff.<br>
» There's a 2-night minimum on hotel bookings (more if the hotel requires it<br>
during a high-demand period).<br>
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<font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1"><br>
</font><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Payments<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» Royal Insider accepts payments by check, wire transfer or credit card (Visa,<br>
MasterCard, American Express or Discover).<br>
» For every booking we also require a credit card authorization—for use in the<br>
event that you choose to incur additional charges during your stay.<br>
» The charge for your hotel room and taxes is processed by Royal Insider.<br>
The hotel will still take a credit card on arrival for incidental charges only.<br>
» Royal Insider requires payment for all accommodations prior to arrival:<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1"> » For hotel-only bookings, the payment date varies according to hotel and dates of travel,<br>
ranging from 3 days before arrival to 30 days before arrival to non-refundable pre-payment<br>
(in some periods of extreme demand).<br>
» For bookings involving host services, a 25% deposit is required. The balance is due 30 days<br>
prior to arrival, subject to the refund policies presented in the "Cancellations" section.<br>
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<font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1"><br>
</font><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Pricing<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» The richly resonant world of Royal Insider works on a "cost-plus" basis.<br>
We earn commissions on many (not all) of the arrangements that go into an<br>
itinerary.<br>
» Generally, the rate that we charge for a hotel room is the same rate you'd get<br>
by calling the reservations department yourself. Is it possible to find the same<br>
room cheaper through another channel? Sometimes. But in that case<br>
Royal Insider can't afford to have our dazzling Members host your guest<br>
party—because we rely on the commissions from the hotel booking.<br>
» Our pricing for Outings and group events is simple: the cost of producing the<br>
experience plus the commission we need to keep operating.</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1"><br>
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</font><font color="#8b008b" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5">Restaurants<br>
</font><font color="black" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">» No, of course we don't make any money on restaurant reservations.<br>
Which is why we only make your restaurant reservations if you're booking<br>
your hotel and at least one outing through us.<br>
» It is nice to be recognized at the best restaurants as a Royal Insider<br>
guest because...well...they know that our guests tend to be cool people who<br>
appreciate the finest food & wines—but it's also because of our relationship<br>
with those restaurants. You'll gather from the articles in the Royal Insider<br>
Magazine that we strive to be the ultimate insiders in the restaurant scene.<br>
But even though we engage some food writers and share notes with others,<br>
we are not critics. Our responsibility to our readers and guests is to provide<br>
penetrating insights—which we do without criticism. And if you'll take a<br>
moment to check out our Mission statement (in the "Royal Insider Culture"<br>
section), you'll understand why we've taken upon ourselves the role of<br>
advancing the finest restaurants in every way we can.<br>
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<br>
<a name="Royal_Insider_Magazine"></a>Royal Insider Magazine<br>
<br>
<a name="Cover"></a></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Cover</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
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<br>
<br>
</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">Much of the Royal Insider<br>
web magazine can be viewed<br>
free of charge at this site, but we're<br>
asking all who enjoy our content to help<br>
New Orleans-based Royal Insider<br>
to rebuild in 2 important ways:<br>
<br>
1) <a href="#" title="Subscribe to Royal Insider Web Magazine" csclick="4ED401AA0" onclick="CSAction(new Array(/*CMP*/'4ED401AA0'));return CSClickReturn();">Become a Royal Insider Subscriber</a><br>
(which also gets you access into the<br>
Subscriber Zone);<br>
<br>
2) Email your friends, clients, associates<br>
and anyone else you can think of to<br>
<a href="mailto:Place%20Email%20Addresses%20Here?subject=Great%20New%20Orleans%20Web%20Magazine&body=Check%20out%20the%20New%20Orleans%20stories%20at%20http://www.royalinsider.com">recommend our web magazine</a>.</font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
<br>
<br>
Thank you from the French Quarter<br>
of New Orleans!</font></div>
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<td width="253" align="left" valign="middle"><a href="#" csclick="4ED401AA1" onclick="CSAction(new Array(/*CMP*/'4ED401AA1'));return CSClickReturn();"><img height="332" width="252" src="no/magazine/images/ri-mag-no-2006a-cover-332h-jpeg.jpg" align="top" border="0" alt="Click to enlarge"></a></td>
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<a name="Cover_Feature_New_Orleans_Now"></a></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Cover Feature: New Orleans Now</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
<a name="Whats_Working"></a>What's Working<br>
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</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1" color="#dc143c">J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6<br>
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<font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="#dc143c" size="4"><b>Royal Insider</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2" color="#0000cd"><b>Now booking into the new world</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
<br>
In the dark time, during the flood, as soon as it was possible to do so Royal Insider sent email dispatches to all of our friends reporting on our status and on conditions around us. It was a grave time, a time of urgency and uproar, and like everyone here we were focused on what had to be done in the moment.<br>
<br>
Even at that time, however, we were looking "beyond the immediate rescue and cleanup efforts to the months and years ahead, as the culture and people of New Orleans express themselves anew. There are enormous opportunities emerging, opportunities not only to lovingly restore one of the world's treasures, but to participate in business enterprises that will protect and nurture this precious culture."<br>
<br>
And here we are at the dawn of a new year, still very nuch engaged in cleanup and rebuilding efforts, but now launching our travel receptive operations anew, pursuing the promise to which we clung, like a life raft, as parts of our city lay drowning.<br>
<br>
The experiences through which we've lived have changed us in profound ways. We're more acutely aware of our blessings, our responsibilities, of the depth of our roots in this swampy terrain and of the sweep and power and majesty of our love—not for a patch of soggy earth or the fragile abodes that float on it—but for life: the particular way of seeing life and feeling life and <i>believing</i> in life that exists here.<br>
<br>
And as we look around us we find that this endeavor we call Royal Insider is a truly amazing thing: a wonderful fabric whose threads are the people at the core of this culture, fibers of the heart muscles that pump life through this place every day.<br>
<br>
"Membership of insiders" takes on a whole new meaning when the apocalypse comes and you realize that it's these very people whose presence—or absence—will determine whether a particular culture lives or dies.<br>
<br>
Which is why we were both amused and irked by the media pronouncements, early on, of the death of our culture. Ahem. Excuse me, please. But we <i>are</i> the culture and we ain't goin' anywhere, thank you very much.<br>
<br>
Oh, we've got some wanderers in the ranks, in the meantime, while certain details like levees and schools and housing are getting worked out. But not a single Royal Insider Member has permanently relocated elsewhere. Not one.<br>
<br>
The upshot of all of this is that we're open for business and ready to receive guests. Yes, right now. A look at the other items in this "What's Working" section reveals that the great majority of hotel rooms and top restaurants are back on line. And virtually everything else that plays a part in the authentic, participatory experiences of the culture that we call "outings" is either back or on the way back.<br>
<br>
Royal Insider can now produce (with minor variations) every single outing and group event that we produced before the flood—plus some new ones.<br>
<br>
What's more, we've just booked our first guest party since Katrina: a pre-cruise group of 200 for December of 2006.<br>
<br>
So what do we think about visitors experiencing of the devastated areas? We think that everyone who is prepared to witness the destruction should do so—respectfully. Photographs are abstractions, visual wraiths of reality. The truth of what has happened here can only be received viscerally, by standing bodily among the ruins. All of us were wounded by Katrina, and we believe it is healing to touch the wounds.<br>
<br>
Are we offering a special "disaster outing?" No. Though we see the value of it, we don't feel comfortable marketing a commercial product specifically designed to profit from the wreckage of tens of thousands of homes.<br>
<br>
But Katrina affected the life of every New Orleanian. So any outing that you take can, to the extent that you are interested, delve into the truth of the flood's impact on the people and culture. And since our outings are <i>always</i> customized for the individual guest party, your Royal Insider Member Host for an "Insiders Around Town" outing can, if you wish, bring you to the "ground zero" locations—respectfully, sensitively and with the cultural and emotional context that only a local insider can provide.<br>
<br>
It has to be noted that you can come here and have amazing experiences of the local people and culture without ever visiting the devastated areas.<br>
<br>
But for those intrepid spirits who would like to come here and strive with us, personally, to nurture this culture and its people, as we promised back in the dark time, we're rolling out a new program called "Royal Insider Reaches." Reaching into the heart of the community to those in need; and, hopefully, reaching people and situations in time to make a positive difference in all of our lives<br>
<br>
There are so many needs in New Orleans right now, but the one vast, overriding, in-your-face need that visitors can help address is housing. And thus the outing we call "If I Had a Hammer." From simply carrying debris to the curbside to tearing out flooring and walls to framing, roofing, electrical, plumbing, floating drywall, painting ... if you're ready to lend a helping hand, we're ready to connect you with someone who needs it—from one day to as long as you'd like to stay and help. There's no charge for this, of course, but you have to get yourself down here and pay for your own accommodations. We'll book your hotel, if you like, for a short-term visit. If you'd like to stay to help for more than a week, we'll try to place you in someone's home. (More details in the Accommodations section of this site under "Outings.")<br>
<br>
We love those who are willing to roll up their sleeves and get dirty helping out, but we also want to make it very clear that <i>every visitor who comes here during this time of rebuilding and stays in our hotels, eats in our restaurants and experiences our Royal Insider outings is helping this community in a real and significant way</i>.<br>
<br>
With your help, we're going to make it through this. We're going to scrape off the hardened residue of things that need to be changed and reveal the deep and lasting radiance of New Orleans, once again.<br>
<br>
And speaking of things radiant... In our first dispatch after the storm, we reported that our friend and Royal Insider Member, Charmaine Neville, went through some bad things before getting out of the flood. Then we wrote, "But never doubt that she will be back—more wonderful than ever. Charmaine, in so many ways, is an embodiment of New Orleans: sassy, soulful, more loving and generous than are understood by many other cultures ... and more resilient than anyone could have imagined."<br>
<br>
Well, Charmaine is back. Her raised house, which had about five feet of water all around at the peak of the flooding, didn't take water from below, but from above, where wind damage let in the rains. So she, like so many people, is working to bring it back.<br>
<br>
Last week, Charmaine and I were sitting on the floor of her music room, patiently chipping away at the hardened, tar-like mastic that a prior owner had used to adhere tiles to the hardwood beneath. It was slow going, but we were into a rhythm. After a while, I looked around to survey our progress in preparing the surface for sanding down and refinishing to bring back the authentic, original wood floor.<br>
<br>
"You know, this isn't going to happen in a week, Charmaine. But I think it's gonna work."<br>
<br>
"Yeah," she said calmly, without a trace of doubt in her voice. "It's gonna work, baby. It's gonna be beautiful."<br>
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_________________________<br>
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<a name="Whats_Not"></a>What's Not<br>
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</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="1" color="#dc143c">J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6<br>
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<font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="#dc143c" size="4"><b>What's Not</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2" color="#0000cd"><b>(working, that is)</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
<br>
Every New Orleanian, whether he or she stayed during Katrina or evacuated and returned, has had the same experience when first exploring the city after the flood: a dreamlike feeling of being lost in your own home.<br>
<br>
It's amazing to learn what richness of detail the human consciousness uses to fix a place in memory. Once familiar avenues, denuded of a tree here or a sign there, or filmed by a layer of gray-brown residue as they were in the early days, seem part of a foreign landscape.<br>
<br>
So it is with life in New Orleans today. Much of the way we lived life before is the same. A great many of the stores, restaurants, cinemas, drycleaners and jazz clubs that we frequented pre-flood are back in operation. But all it takes is a few key elements out of place to make life seem strange and dreamlike.<br>
<br>
Of course, there's not one of us who sees with the same eyes now as those with which we viewed the world before. Each and every individual has been changed inside, which causes even unchanged things and places to register differently in our hearts. But it's interesting to take objective note of those things that are measurably different, no matter how small...<br>
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</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="#8b008b">We didn't like them, anyway</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
Some traffic lights in parts of town where power has been fully restored have been left off. (Apparently we like it better without them.)<br>
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</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="#8b008b">Traffic!</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
In some yet-to-be-lit-up areas, however, the temporary 4-way stops still subbing for unpowered traffic lights are causing big delays. There may be only 140,000 residents back, but the traffic in certain areas at certain times resembles rush hour in Manhattan.<br>
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</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="#8b008b">Street Music</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
While a strong percentage of our top club-playing musicians are back, the street music scene throughout the French Quarter is currently only a fraction of its formerly inescapable intermingling of sounds. (Which, some Quarter residents will tell you, in the case of certain less gifted players, is another example of "we didn't like them anyway.")<br>
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</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="#8b008b">Taxis</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
are working, but in far fewer numbers than before, when you could simply walk to the nearest corner in French Quarter and flag one down within a few minutes. Now it's much better to call them to come pick you up (which they're usually prompt to do).<br>
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</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="#8b008b">Basic Utilities</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
Those of us who were here in the French Quarter through "the dark time" have to keep reminding oursleves that it's still the dark time for many people. There are still large (mostly residential) sections of town where power, water and gas service have yet to be restored.<br>
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</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="#8b008b">Parking control</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
How many times have you wished that an alien spaceship would abduct all the meter maids in the world and brainwash them not to ticket or tow anyone's car? Well, be careful what you wish for. Lack of adequate parking control is getting to be a problem, particularly in the French Quarter on busy weekend (like New Year's Eve), when frustrated seekers of vehicular stowage have started to block driveways and the narrow sidewalks with impunity.<br>
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</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="#8b008b">Retail Stores</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
A quick look at the retailers who rushed back to open their doors reveals a preponderance of local owners. Most are open fewer hours, and some are selling less than before, of course. But interestingly some are doing better than ever—depending on the repopulation density and the needs of the communities they serve.<br>
<br>
Many national chain retailers, however, are being conspicuously slow to reopen their doors. Presumably they're weighing business interruption insurance benefits against the projected critical mass of consumers needed to exceed those benefits. ...And by doing so utterly vaporizing their own customer loyalty.<br>
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There are some notable—and deeply appreciated—nationally-owned exceptions. When the apocalypse visits your neighborhood, trust me, you want Wal Mart as a neighbor. They own their own distribution system and instantly redirected goods from unaffected warehouses into the neediest areas. (And sent truckload after truckload of drinking water, by the way, when New Orleans needed it most.) Walgreen's had the first, and for weeks the only, pharmacies reopened in the bowl of the city. A&P (owned by Sav-a-Center) operates the only fully-stocked grocery store in the French Quarter proper, and they reopened in a flash as soon as power was restored. Likewise, Winn-Dixie supermarkets rushed back in to feed the people ASAP. Home Depot and Lowe's would have been insane NOT to rush back in. Of course they did, to greet a windfall of business previously unseen on the planet—a situation that's likely to continue for another year or two.<br>
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</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="#8b008b">NOAC</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
Like the city, itself, the New Orleans Athletic Club is dense with history, equipped with everything you need, a bit tattered in some spots and an utterly incomparable gathering place for those seeking nourishment for the human body and spirit. My grandfather was a member when it was men-only and the swimming pool was fed by an underground stream of brackish water. The darkly burnished woods of its bar still lure would-be virtuous bodies into an after-workout cocktail or two. Well, NOAC's delays in reopening are prompting an exodus of members who feel the ownership has not acted with due urgency to restore to them this spiritual place of community sustenance.<br>
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</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="#8b008b">Streetcars</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
are back on Canal Street and the riverfront, but the bell-clanging from the iconic St. Charles Avenue streetcars won't be heard for months, they tell us. Streetcars, by the way, are not a tourist attraction by design. They really do serve as the primary mode of public transport for Uptowners going down, and vice versa. (So buses are running in the interim.)<br>
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</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="#8b008b">The Mystery of the Missing Mailboxes</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
Apparently we don't deserve mailboxes in the French Quarter anymore. I don't know what we did to P-off the postal service, but they've removed every box from its perch throughout most of the Vieux Carré. (Fortunately, the postwoman in my neighborhood is a hero of legendary stature, a stalwart of her appointed rounds who's been back for weeks and weeks, now.)<br>
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</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="#8b008b">Cell Phones</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
which, somewhat mysteriously, worked fine during the height of Hurricane Katrina, currently resemble a droll, third world parody of technology. We certainly understand if they're still in the process of repairing their towers, but shouldn't they be reducing the charges in the meantime? There's talk of a consumer uprising...<br>
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</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="#8b008b">Complacency</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
The above-noted changes and minor inconveniences may be disconcerting and often frustrating, but they're a joy to embrace in light of the alternative of not having a city, at all. More than anything else, it is the taking of things for granted that is no longer working in New Orleans.<br>
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Long may our complacency rest in peace.<br>
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_________________________<br>
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<a name="Yin_Yang"></a>Yin & Yang<br>
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<font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="#dc143c" size="4"><b>Yin & Yang</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2" color="#0000cd"><b>The contrasting realities of life in New Orleans now</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
<br>
A shimmering sea of candles spread gentle waves of light across the surface of nighttime on the square as the chorus of voices wafted up to the stars. On the balcony, a group of children giggled and jostled through the verses of "Oh Holy Night," while others darted playfully underfoot throughout the elegant Pontalba apartment.<br>
<br>
Inside was an interesting mélange of French Quarter neighbors, residents of the surrounding faubourgs, Uptowners, other locals displaced from flood-ravaged neighborhoods now living here and there, along with some welcome new arrivals to town. The crowds down in Jackson Square who had gathered for the annual Christmas caroling swelled, as usual, to overflowing.<br>
<br>
But beneath the festive mood this year, and clearly visible in the eyes of every New Orleanian present, was the harsh glint of profound uncertainty and the hint of a tear all too ready to form. Regular gatherings long dulled by the tarnish of routine glow, now, with depth and poignancy. Our need is insatiable, these days, to touch each other.<br>
<br>
And I had just been touched. I had just met the most hypnotically beautiful woman, and my gaze kept drifting back to her, as if by some orbital pull. I couldn't tell how much of that pull was powered by the poignant glow of the occasion or the freely-flowing wine or the mysterious aura about her. She seemed to have stepped out of a story of another time and place, and my mind couldn't quite parse how this woman could be in the midst of the here and now.<br>
<br>
Yet it is very much a story of the here and now that, a few days later, I spent the afternoon at this celestially-descended woman's 9th Ward home, plowing through the wreckage of her yard, demolishing the twisted remains of potting sheds and fences, clearing downed trees and creating yet another long pile of the curbside debris that has come to festoon the streets throughout vast tracts of post-flood New Orleans.<br>
<br>
Such is the yin and yang of life in "The Big Easy" right now.<br>
<br>
Emerging from the dark time of the biblical cataclysm that visited our world, we're venturing forth timidly, blinking with eyes unveiled at the glare of the destruction and the beauty, at the reality of generations of oppressive poverty and the richness of the cultural wealth we've inherited, at the mindless divisions and the deeply shared love of a way of seeing the world that exists only in the hearts of New Orleanians.<br>
<br>
With the veil lifted—blown to shreds, actually—we're more engaged than ever before in the <i>responsibilities</i> that come with the gifts of community and culture. Rarely do a few locals gather without the conversation turning to levees, schools, properly exalting our musicians, progressive wage structures or the inflammatory issues of urban planning. We're more acutely aware of the folly of reliance on democratically elected officials and of the absolute necessity of community activism.<br>
<br>
It seems that we're being reborn along with our city. Or, rather, that our rebirth as citizens is driving the rebuilding of our community. And what a priceless gift that is.<br>
<br>
The truth is that it's hard to leave this place now. Aside from the getaway that I know I should take after living through all of this (but haven't managed to commit myself to), there's not a place on the planet I would rather be than right here.<br>
<br>
But with all of the life-changing epiphanies and with the poignant push-pull of pathos versus radiance that informs everyday life, each of us who has a place to live and a way to make a living is now faced with the overwhelming enormity of our community's needs, an enormity that besieges us mercilessly with the question: What are <i>you</i> going to do about it?<br>
<br>
My answer, which first came to me during the dark time when the reality set in that there was no one left to be rescued: Do what you do; then do what's in front of you to help someone else.<br>
<br>
Do what you do because if you're a local you <i>are</i> the culture of this place. What you do, what you think, what you believe; the way you eat, the way you celebrate, the way you bake your bread and build your houses and bury your dead: these are the real substance of New Orleans—beneath her flood-stained face.<br>
<br>
Doing what's in front of you to help someone else can take many forms, from helping a friend make their home livable to raising your impassioned voice at a civic forum to lending a room to displaced locals while they fix their house to volunteering in any of a thousand ways.<br>
<br>
A friend and neighbor of mine, this very day, is hosting a delegation from the US Senate Commerce Committee for a close-up look at the utter devastation in Plaquemines Parish. The loftiness of his mission seems to dwarf my meager program of dedicating one day each week to helping someone deal with their wrecked house. But, hey, I may not be able to influence the US Senate, but I can damned well lift heavy objects. So that's what I'm going to keep doing. For a long time, it appears. There are tens of thousands of wrecked houses, frightening numbers of which were uninsured against the flood waters that wrecked them.<br>
<br>
And meanwhile, lots of other people (more than 140,000 reportedly back so far) are doing what they do and doing what's in front of them. Restaurants are jamming. Hotels have 90% of their rooms back on line. Streetcars are rolling again on Canal Street and the riverfront (not yet on St. Charles Avenue). The French Quarter hasn't been this wonderful a place to be in my lifetime—it's become the center of local life, again. Low-end wages are up. A moribund school board has been forcibly sidelined while factions from all sides converge on the great issue of the day: educating our children. Out of the horror we've endured, it seems that serendipity has stepped forth to present us with a chance to make right what has for so long been so very wrong.<br>
<br>
Hope is a natural high.<br>
<br>
And while breathing in this uplifting air of hope you take a 10-minute drive in just about any direction and enter an immense, mind-blowing expanse of wrecked and empty houses. You start to sink under the weight of what this means to each and every one of those families. And it feels like you're drowning in the water that you know isn't there anymore.<br>
<br>
But there's a cure for that choking feeling in your lungs. Get out of your car and roll up your sleeves and help that family carry things while they sift through the ruins of their cherished possessions. Help make another long pile of curbside debris. Go ahead. Festoon our city with the multi-colored wreckage of our communal past.<br>
<br>
Then as you drive away from the too-grateful family who don't understand that it wasn't them you were helping, but yourself, you take a deep, slow breath of air still faintly scented by the dread water. And as you exhale you discover the one, true reason why New Orleans is going to survive...<br>
<br>
For what smelled to you before like death has now filled your lungs with hope, once again.<br>
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And that is the precise moment you realize that there is nowhere else on the planet that you could possibly exist right now.<br>
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Because hope is like oxygen. You wouldn't survive very long without it.<br>
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_________________________<br>
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<li><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2" color="red"><b>Help New Orleans and the Gulf Coast to rebuild by supporting businesses in the affected are</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2" color="red"><b>as.</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"> If you can order something or contract a service from a company around here, please do.</font>
<li><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2" color="red"><b>Come visit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"> as soon as you can. Stay in our hotels. Eat at our restaurants. And let us grasp your hand and thank you personally for your enormously uplifiting support.</font>
<li><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2" color="red"><b>If you're handy and ready to roll up your sleeves, come here through our Royal Insider Reaches program</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"> and help a family work on their damaged home.</font>
<li><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2" color="red"><b>If you like what we do and want to be a part of it, please </b></font><a href="#" csclick="4ED64ABF2,4ED64ABF3" onclick="CSAction(new Array(/*CMP*/'4ED64ABF2',/*CMP*/'4ED64ABF3'));return CSClickReturn();"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><b>subscribe to Royal Insider Web Magazine</b></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><b>.</b></font>
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<font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">These dispatches were published from within New Orleans during the flood. They began the day we installed a generator at Royal Insider home base in the French Quarter and continued until it seemed time to move on to the next phase.<br>
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<a href="#26-sep-05"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">14 Sep 05, Wed</font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
French Quarter sleeping<br>
9th Ward ghostly & grim<br>
Lakeview boat crews<br>
Downtown awakening<br>
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</font><a href="#26-sep-05"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">19 Sep 05, Mon</font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Spark of life<br>
A few FQ residents return<br>
Uptown OK<br>
St. Bernard wasteland<br>
NOCCA military base<br>
Scrounging for food<br>
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</font><a href="#26-sep-05"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">26 Sep 05, Mon</font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
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Fire at 911<br>
Rita re-vac<br>
Intrepid Chef Scott<br>
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<a href="#07-oct-05"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">02 Oct 05, Sun</font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
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Ramshackle renaissance<br>
Second Line spells hope<br>
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</font><a href="#07-oct-05"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">07 Oct 05, Fri</font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Yacht harbor spectacle<br>
NOMA escapes unharmed<br>
Landlords strip culture<br>
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</font><a href="#26-sep-05"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">10 Oct 05, Mon</font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
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A prayer for Kashmir<br>
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<a name="02-oct-05"></a>02-Oct-05<br>
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<font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">The Red Cross has finally arrived in force. They have, of course, been doing vital work wherever the masses of refugees are. But they've been conspicuously absent from New Orleans, while the Salvation Army has been doing a bang-up job of providing food and water to those in need (all of us not fed by the military). It has to be said, though, that when the Red Cross arrives, they arrive. Bless their beautiful volunteer souls.<br>
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Also arriving en masse in the last few days have been local business owners and residents of the French Quarter. They, in concert with the re-advent of electricity, are effecting a sort of ramshackle renaissance of the Quarter. From a handful of bars and three crisis-mode restaurants ten days ago, to a couple of dozen bars, Bourbon Street strip clubs and various eateries (still serving very limited fare) this weekend.<br>
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The next phase of recovery has definitely begun, marked with great symbolic significance by the opening Friday of the first restaurant to be certified post-Katrina by the health department, Red Fish Grill. Truly fitting that the first should be owned by Ralph Brennan. One of the Commander's Palace Brennans, Ralph is restaurant aristocracy, here. It may actually be a money-losing proposition to be the first to open a major restaurant, even with the limited menu they've adopted, but it was the right thing to do and cudos to Ralph for doing it. Kudos, also, to Chef Scott Boswell, who closed his crisis-mode version of top-ranked Stella! restaurant (serving hamburgers and sausage sandwiches), after only ten days or so in existence, to prepare for the opening of his new Stanley Café in the same location a week hence. Scott fed our bodies and our spirits when all else was dark, and he won't be forgotten for it.<br>
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The very first post-Katrina Second Line will be held next weekend in honor of the great Chef Austin Leslie, who passed away during the storm aftermath. This is an event of ENORMOUS significance, flying in the face of all those who've predicted that New Orleans' unique and vital grass-roots culture was somehow washed away with the flood waters. With repairs only just begun to many neighborhood churches and funeral homes, a full jazz funeral will likely not be possible. But nothing's going to stop the second line from spreading its joyful noise through the streets of the Faubourg Tremé, with a full complement of locals dancing and swaying behind a brass jazz band to celebrate, as only we do, the life of one who has brought joy to so many.<br>
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<a name="07-oct-05"></a>07-Oct-05<br>
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<font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="4">Friday, 07 October 2005</font></center>
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<font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">The main yacht harbor on Lake Pontchartrain is a scene of the most spectacular destruction that I've witnessed to date. Katrina swept forty- and fifty-foot sailboats out of the harbor and tossed them into a tangled heap on land nearby, blocking access to the burned-out shell of the Southern Yacht Club by all but a narrow passage navigable only on hands and knees. In a smaller collision of three boats, someone had clearly failed to yield right of way—on the street that rings West End Park. Another, lone boat seemed to sail contentedly along the road nearby, perfectly upright, its keel on the pavement and its mast lodged in the branches of a huge oak tree. Similar compositions of pleasure craft gone mad posed fantastically throughout the marina, itself, rendered whimsical by the sight of several sailboats resting sleek and serene in their slips, miraculously untouched by storm or neighboring vessels lurching through the air.<br>
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Like those sailboats supernaturally spared, the New Orleans Museum of Art stands in pastoral repose amid the storm-pruned oaks of City Park, waiting patiently to welcome visitors once again. In the meantime, a NYPD officer sits in the great hall entryway, his shotgun poised on the table in front of him, pointing directly at whoever dares cross the threshold. Four senior staff members were gathered in the museum's café and they graciously invited me to join them for a delightful lunch of MRE's and spring water. There was virtually no damage to the priceless collection of art works housed there. Even more miraculously, there is only one sculpture in the newly opened and internationally acclaimed Besthoff Sculpture Garden that will require the ministrations of its creator. A huge generator is powering alarms and interior climate control until electricity is restored. And by the way, kudos to the NYPD for being first on the scene to secure NOMA, dropping down from helicopters onto the raised island on which the museum was built. It was literally an island when they arrived, jutting out of the great lake of the (now drained) City Park.<br>
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I received phone calls today from two of New Orleans' most gifted resident musical performers. In separate, unrelated incidents, both of them are being forced to vacate their (undamaged) apartments by landlords demanding rent for the month of September, during which time these musicians were out of the city due to a mandatory evacuation order and a lack of power, natural gas and potable water—conditions that would have prompted any health department in the civilized world to declare their dwellings unfit for habitation. Both of these musicians had planned to return to New Orleans to participate in its musical renaissance. Both are now relocating. (And by the way, neither of these musicians is of African descent.)<br>
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<font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">A traditional jazz funeral procession held yesterday for Chef Austin Leslie marked not only the death of the Créole soul food luminary, but the rebirth of life in New Orleans post-Katrina. With the ashes of the deceased still in Atlanta, where he was evacuated after being rescued from his flooded home, the procession commenced not from a church, but from Pampy's Créole Kitchen, the 7th Ward restaurant at which Chef Austin has been practicing his culinary artistry in recent times. Launched with a prayer, the cortege set off in slow halt-step to the strains of the jazz hymn, "Just a Closer Walk with Thee." At the close of that mournful rendition, the Hot 8 Brass Band struck up a joyful jazz number, and a contingent of 5 brightly-costumed members of the Black Men of Labor Social Aid & Pleasure Club burst into dance as the small crowd of celebrants erupted into the "Second Line" with jubilation at the release of Chef Austin's soul into paradise and in commemoration of his life. International media seemed to outnumber the small band of about 30 locals who danced our way through the 7th Ward, stepping over piles of hurricane debris and past bemused recovery workers in haz-mat suits, stopping at the site of Chef Austin's original and much-beloved Chez Helene restaurant (the model for the short-lived 1987 TV show "Frank's Place") before winding our way through the neighboring Faubourg Tremé and disbanding at the (undamaged) Backstreet Cultural Museum. In a fully-populated New Orleans, this jazz funeral would have drawn hundreds of participants. But the symbolic significance of this event will resound in the hearts of displaced New Orleanians everywhere—a beautiful and irresistible siren's song calling them home.<br>
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With a jazz funeral to transform our mourning over Katrina's human toll into the rebirth of the joyful New Orleans spirit that will carry us forward up the long road of recovery and rebuilding, our hearts now turn to the people of Kashmir and the inconceivable devastation and suffering through which they are living right now. New Orleans prays for you, Kashmir. We will try to find a way to help.<br>
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<a name="14-sep-05"></a>14-Sep-05<br>
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<font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Today I installed myself back in Royal Insider Home Base on Dumaine Street in the French Quarter, equipped with a generator, gas, bottled water and a box of MRE's. Only a handful of denizens stayed throughout---and most of them are "morning drunks." A few intrepid, sober residents stuck it out and are surviving, too.<br>
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The French Quarter is sleeping. Largely undamaged by the storm and never flooded, it's resting almost perfectly still, waiting. The only vehicles are military, police, emergency and utility trucks. Guns everywhere. The soldiers at the checkpoints into town are still quite rigid: no one passes without emergency credentials.<br>
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Yesterday I saw some of the worst hit areas of the city. The 9th Ward is now dry, but layered with residue, ghostly and grim. The army was conducting removal operations, there, of the bodies of the deceased. No reporters allowed. They were also setting up some sort of base at a high school.<br>
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The water is receding much more rapidly than anticipated. I was able to go all the way out Esplanade Avenue through the Faubourg St. John to City Park--which was a swampland. Skirting the park, I managed to make my way through shallow waters to the edge of Lakeview to connect with a search and rescue boat team. But the water had gone down several feet overnight, leaving many of the boats stranded on concrete bridges, still tied to their makeshift moorings. No teams in sight. I finally found one team I knew at another bridge, but they were trailering their boat to move on from Lakeview. "No one left."<br>
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The half of the American Sector (Central Business District) closest to the river is bustling with the sound of generators. I don't know where Windsor Court Hotel found a sign painter, but there's a rather elegant sign out front stating that the hotel is "closed for renovations." Toward the Superdome, the city becomes a vacuum. Many downtown buildings are outwardly undamaged; others have a handful of random windows blown out; only a few suffered badly in the wind. One entire side of the Hyatt Regency is windowless. And there were evacuees seeking shelter in those rooms.<br>
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<a name="19-sep-05"></a>19-Sep-05<br>
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<font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Many changes in the last 5 days.<br>
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The upper Quarter (close to the now-electrified American Sector) has power. Still none for us in the lower Quarter. They've been shutting off the gas to all the buildings, one picked front door lock at a time, before draining the main gas lines of water then restarting the flow.<br>
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Over the weekend dozens of business owners and residents came back, some to survey, others to stay. The character is much changed by having just a few dozen more residents around. Molly's at the Market reopened its bar several days ago, and was a congregating point for returning locals this weekend. (Johnny White's is dingy in the best of times, and pretty squalid now, after staying open throughout the whole disaster.)<br>
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Have now been to most areas of the city, in recent days helping out a FEMA team that's maintaining generators for critical infrastructure operations like hospitals and water treatment plants. Media reports have exaggerated damage to homes in the Uptown area. It's all dry there now, and it's clear that most of the houses that appeared "under water" from aerial views actually had only about 2-3 feet of water around them at peak. Remember, a strong spring storm can produce flooding at that level, and most homes here are elevated for that reason. Although in some low sections of Uptown the homes did suffer significant flood damage, the majority of houses appear ready for their owners to move back in.<br>
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Saint Bernard Parish, however, is a much sadder story. It's completely wrecked. Mostly dry now, but the sediment is everywhere--and the winds really devastated the place. A sheriff's deputy there told me he doesn't believe there's a single habitable home in the entire parish. The cars at one dealership looked as if they had bobbed around like toys in a bathtub, jostling and crashing into each other before settling randomly back on the ground. Truly a wasteland.<br>
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Combined relief forces have taken over the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA) campus in the Faubourg Marigny. They've sealed the whole of the Marigny and the adjacent Bywater, apparently to establish a wide perimeter around their base. Barbed wire surrounds the checkpoints and the guards' guns are locked and loaded. No one gets in without FEMA credentials. It's odd to see soldiers massed around our premier high school for budding artistic geniuses. But the school looks fine and inside there are lots of civilian types, including lawyers, interestingly.<br>
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A medical van equipped with volunteer opthalmologists from Florida is set up near the casino and tending to the eyes relief workers. The doctors are very concerned about repopulation while our hospitals are still out of commission. At a recent FEMA meeting they attended, a field hospital was proposed, but they don't know if it's going to happen.<br>
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With the repopulation of the Quarter beginning, the authorities have closed the main mess tent on Decatur Street to all but military, police and professional emergency workers---which leaves out local volunteer relief workers. (Not many of us managed to make it back into the city, anyway.) But the Salvation Army is serving food over near the casino, and I hear the Red Cross is setting up somehwere. And there are always MRE's to fall back on.<br>
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<a name="26-sep-05"></a>26-Sep-05<br>
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<font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Power!<br>
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Literally just as I was sitting down to draft this dispatch, electricity was restored to the whole of the French Quarter. Have shut off the generator ... hopefully for good.<br>
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...But one never knows. Yesterday's first attempt to restore power was aborted 12 minutes after throwing the switch, when a historic house (now part of a small hotel) caught fire on Burgundy Street. The address on Burgundy: 911. Fortunately, dozens of fire trucks from around the nation were massed around the Quarter in anticipation of just such sparks. They doused it immediately. And right in there battling the flames at close hand with New Orleans Fire Department was as squad from FDNY. 911 indeed.<br>
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Rita dominated the past week's consciousness, prompting a "revac" emptying of the city. The majority of people here were recovery personnal, who were either evacuated or re-billeted from tent compounds to empty warehouses deemed hurricane-proof. Checkpoints once again forbade entry to all but official personnel. (Even journalists were turned away at the road blocks.) Some repatriated Quarter residents revacuated; a few decided to ride it out here (myself included). Rita was a formidable hurricane, to be sure, but one from which almost no one in New Orleans would have run---pre-Katrina. She was clearly headed far enough west of us to spare us hurricane force winds. But fear ran high that battered levees would buckle under the storm surge. In the end, the levees along both sides of the industrial canal were re-breached, sending flood waters gushing once again through the already sludge-bludgeoned Lower 9th Ward and St. Bernard Parish. Residents watching television images of their homes being immersed again were undoubtedly not amused when Mayor Nagin referred to this episode as nature's "rinse cycle." But the flood waters were contained in the natural hollows of those areas, and the majority of the city escaped inundation. A couple of missions, yesterday, to Uptown and Faubourg St. John, revealed that these areas, previously flooded by Katrina, were dry---if windblown yet again.<br>
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In the midst of the recovery efforts and a locked down city, one intrepid French Quarter chef opened a new project to fill the void. Scott Boswell of Restaurant Stella! (see Restaurant listings in the Accommodations section of this site), who is among the top rank of contemporary cuisine chefs in New Orleans, opened a bar & café on Decatur Street operating under the Stella! moniker and serving hamburgers and sausage sandwiches---alongside a pretty well-stocked bar. An intriguing scene has spontaneously generated, there: journalists, construction workers, firemen, FBI agents and the handful of locals who stayed for Rita.<br>
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With the return of power and a widening stream of locals pouring back into town starting today, word has it that other restauranteurs are preparing to open.<br>
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Hotels, too, are working diligently to re-open their doors to visitors (some have been accommodating recovery workers for weeks, now).<br>
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<font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">What began as a series of stories based on one writer's experiences through the storm and its aftermath has become a full-length book project. The (as yet untitled) work in progress will weave together a number of human paths through the storm and flood. In-depth interviews are still ongoing. Segments of the manu-script will be published here in the coming months.</font></div>
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<a href="#One"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">Stories: One</font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">All Creatures<br>
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<font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b>All Creatures</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
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The world breathes slowly, here, under the August heat. But the afternoon rains reign mercifully. And after, in the dripping still, our hearts listen for stirrings in the tropics with a faint dread but a secret thrill because we know if nature chooses us and doesn't destroy us she'll surely blow apart the stasis that's been suffocating our world and allow the future in.<br>
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We are not mad. Well, not most of us. But then it's hard for us to perceive the contours of the lens through which we view the world. And hurricanes have shaped that lens.<br>
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The air feels alive on your skin when a hurricane is approaching. Energy washes through the world in waves. The wind stirs with excitement, then a mysterious calm swallows all. Then another stirring of the wind. The birds spread their wings and soar without moving. Then they are nowhere to be seen. And then the world starts to swirl and surge with power and fury and forces that you didn't know existed and it is at once terrifying and thrilling.<br>
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It is a frightening truth that I have come to know without understanding: all creatures love a hurricane—until we die from it.<br>
<br>
I don't know if this is something that should be said out loud. In Katrina's horrific wake of devastation, some of you must now think that I am, in fact, mad ... or contemptible ... or merely foolish. Many have died. Many more have been changed in ways we didn't wish to be changed, and we can't go back to the way we were before. But if you will let me tell you a story, I will try to find words that will lead you to know without understanding, too. And perhaps then you will forgive me.<br>
<br>
<br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b>Portent<br>
</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
I truly hadn't envisioned the magnitude of it. ...How many windows can this house have?<br>
<br>
My brother had called me Saturday morning to get started with the routine of boarding up the windows at all of the properties of our immediate family members. With six houses and a restaurant, that's a fair amount of screwing plywood onto window casings. And this house was a great deal larger than his previous one (he was recently married), a rather stately wooden home in a lovely Uptown neighborhood—with about a zillion windows. But Katrina wasn't due for another 48 hours, so we had plenty of time.<br>
<br>
I was perched on an extension ladder several feet up, using a cordless screwdriver to attach a sheet of plywood as my brother stood on the ground to one side, lifting another sheet over his head to balance it on the sill of the next window. Assembly line hurricane protection. But his sheet was warped and refused to stay balanced and just then a gust of wind caught it and he knew he couldn't control it anymore.<br>
<br>
So he heaved it up over his head and behind him—which would have tossed it clear had another gust not come along, flipped the sheet around and driven one edge right into his heel. For a stunned moment he didn't realize he was wounded. Then he felt it.<br>
<br>
The bleeding wasn't too bad and he was brave and his wife rushed him off to the nearest emergency room, where he was to spend the next few hours waiting for stitches and the good news that his Achilles tendon was intact.<br>
<br>
In the meantime I called in reinforcements (my brother-in-law) and we finished buttoning up the house. It was nearing dusk by this time so we decided to do the rest of the properties the next day.<br>
<br>
New Orleans trains us from childhood in the techniques of hurricane preparedness. We board our windows against winds and flying debris, stock up on water, non-perishable foods, batteries and candles. Some have gasoline-powered generators, and so they stock up on gas. In between these chores that have become second nature to us, our attentions are riveted on the approaching storm. And we take its measure by every means we have: weather forecasters, internet computer models, the smell and feel of the air, Vodou and sheer intuition.<br>
<br>
<br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b>Gravity works</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
<br>
On entering my office, I'm often heard to observe with a shrug, "Gravity works." A pen or brochure or sheaf of papers will be on the floor, mysteriously, instead of the surface where it rested when I left. Occasionally a glass vase or some such object will be seen squatting among scattered shards of itself, fractured beyond hope of redemption by superglue.<br>
<br>
Gravity, it seems, operates with capricious glee in my office, propelling things downward, sideways and sometimes even up and around other things. And I'm quite resigned to it by now.<br>
<br>
Once, I went into the back office to use the FAX machine, only to find it reeling from a terrific blow, its glass scanner surface smashed to smithereens by one of the bulky stage loudspeakers that lives in that office, perched high on a tripod stand awaiting an event to amplify, but now crouching guiltily beside the table of its victim.<br>
<br>
To date, this has been Gravity's most spectacular (and destructive) feat of whimsy—and I was duly impressed, somewhat amused, admittedly irked but in no way angry. How can one be angry, after all, with a furry force of nature, a calico cat who's just fulfilling her named role in the world? And so, a bit grudgingly but sincerely, I offered the little beast my congratulations. (And ordered another FAX machine.)<br>
<br>
But it was an entirely different genus of gravity that was welling up from some unseen source within me as Katrina approached. Hurricane preparations, as I've mentioned, are routine in our world. More often than not, these preparations are followed by near-misses or glorified thunderstorms. And very thankfully so. But this time was different from the start.<br>
<br>
Retrospect has stained my brother's injury with portent. But the truth is that I'd been feeling something disturbing since before that incident. I had been trying to hold my breath through the preparations, rushing through what I knew had to be done so that I could get it all over with and get back to the matters at hand that were—or that felt to me at the time—so pressing in my life. Yet some strange force inside was wrestling with me, and as hard as I tried to maintain my personal and business streams of consciousness uninterrupted, this force wouldn't let me.<br>
<br>
Sleep, which had been blissfully quick to join me in bed each night, turned coy. Fatigue set in. It would be some time before I finally gave in to this inner gravity, let it well up from unknown depths to completely engulf fear and sadness and all other emotions that might interfere with what had to be done. In the days and weeks that followed, I would come to embrace its clarity, breathe in deeply its adrenaline calm, and through its prism I would watch, urgently yet somehow dispassionately, as the world around me exploded in fury, then disintegrated into squalor ... and madness.<br>
<br>
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<font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="#dc143c"><b>Personal Notes</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">from the author relating<br>
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<a href="#Personal_Notes">Personal Notes</a><br>
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<font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="#dc143c"><b>Mardi Gras</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">A privileged view<br>
from within.<br>
<br>
<a href="#Mardi_Gras_1">1- Luncheon & Parade</a><br>
<br>
<a href="#Mardi_Gras_2">2- <i>Bal Tableau</i></a><br>
<br>
<a href="#Mardi_Gras_3">3- The Center of the Jazz Universe</a><br>
<br>
<a href="#Mardi_Gras_4">4- Fat Tuesday</a><br>
<br>
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<br>
</font><a href="#"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">French Quarter, Gentilly, Lakefront - Dec 05</font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
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<a href="#">Lower 9th Ward - Jan 06</a></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
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</font><a href="#"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Lower 9th Ward - Jan 06</font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
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<a name="#Mardi_Gras_1"></a>Mardi Gras: Luncheon & Parade<br>
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<font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="#dc143c" size="4"><b>Mardi Gras</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2" color="#0000cd"><b>A privileged view from within</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="#0000cd">Luncheon and Parade</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
<br>
It's Monday before Mardi Gras, or "Lundi Gras" as many locals have come to call it in recent years. The busiest lunch of the year is going on at the venerable Antoine's Restaurant in the French Quarter, a phenomenon that only a local would truly understand.<br>
<br>
One of the four most élite of the "Old Line Krewes" (the oldest of the private Carnival clubs, all tracing their origins back to the 19th century) is holding its annual krewe luncheon in the Large Annex (aka the Red Room) at Antoine's. This krewe's 400 or so all-male members, who could be expelled from the club for revealing their affiliation at any other time of year, are in plain view, dressed in business suits and ties.<br>
<br>
The voyeuristic lure of this is too much for wives, friends, wannabe socialites and a host of others involved with or intrigued by the traditions of old New Orleans society. It's a diverse collective, but drawn together by singular purpose on this day as they pack every room throughout the rambling sprawl of this sacred bastion of haute Créole cuisine. (Antoine's is inextricably interwoven with New Orleans' upper crust, maintaining private rooms year-round for a select few old line krewes. These rooms are lined with display cases holding photos and artifacts of the krewes' parades and balls through the years.)<br>
<br>
Though any New Orleanians who care about this sort of thing already know which krewe luncheon we're attending right now, out of respect for their tradition of secrecy, we'll call the krewe "Aristaeus." (Most krewes take their names from Egyptian, Greek or Roman mythology.)<br>
<br>
So the members of our mythical Krewe of Aristaeus enjoy a lavish lunch together at the center of attention in the central dining room, the focal point of a swirl of well-heeled bustle and buzz that leaves little doubt to all present that they are, on this day, feasting at the center of the known universe.<br>
<br>
About three hours later, their year-long appetite finally sated, the bustle has been salved and the buzz is wafting out into the French Quarter streets. The krewe members then make their way over to the Municipal Auditorium in Armstrong Park, eight or so blocks away, in the Faubourg Tremé, where the ball is to be held later that night.<br>
<br>
As each krewe member enters the dressing area, he must find his way to the correct room and rack where his costume is to be found. There, a white-gloved valet stands at the ready to help him don said costume, which he'll wear throughout the upcoming parade and ball.<br>
<br>
Though the luncheon is barely over, an amply-stocked and well-staffed bar is strategically positioned in the dressing area. It's this free flow of libations, still early on in what will be a fourteen or fifteen hour marathon of festivities, that explains why each krewe member must be secured to his parade float with a strap resembling a standing "seatbelt."<br>
<br>
...Which occurs after the motorcoaches have collected the krewe members from the auditorium and deposited them at the krewe "den," Uptown, a warehouse where the floats are created and stored throughout the year.<br>
<br>
For every parade that makes its exhibitionist way through the streets of New Orleans, there's a ball that happens somewhere in private. From a simple party in a neighborhood lodge hall to an extravaganza at the Superdome to a white-tie debutante ball, these gatherings are as important to the krewes as the parade, itself. Indeed, there are many krewes that don't parade at all, whose members are in it solely for the pleasure of an extravagant, once-a-year dress up affair.<br>
<br>
Pleasure and, to many, prestige. In <i>haut monde</i> New Orleans, one's Carnival krewe affiliations determine just how <i>haut</i> one is.<br>
<br>
Carnival is, in fact, the culmination of the social year. For everyone, not just the white-tie debutante ball-goers. A significant percentage of locals are involved in at least one Carnival krewe, and it's these krewes who pay for the floats, beads, bands and everything else that makes up a parade.<br>
<br>
Indeed, most outsiders don't realize that Mardi Gras is put on by and for the locals. If not a single tourist came, it would go on exactly the same way—except for a considerable reduction of crowds (and breast baring) in the French Quarter.<br>
<br>
The krewes who plan all year to put on their parades are all private clubs, and it's their members' dues that fund it all. These clubs are as diverse as the people, here, and like private clubs everywhere, acceptance into their ranks is determined by their own chosen guidelines (although a couple of "super-krewes" now accept guest memberships to accommodate visitors wanting to experience the unique thrill of riding in a Mardi Gras parade).<br>
<br>
The private, non-commercial "purity" of Mardi Gras has always been understood by locals, and sometimes fiercely guarded—until Katrina, that is. And it's not the krewes that are accepting corporate sponsorship now (flood or no flood, that would still be anathema). It's the city government, which is committed—but not currently in a position—to pay for all the extra police, traffic control and sanitation services required to deal with the storm surge of spectators spawned by each parade. It'll be interesting to see how this sponsorship scheme plays out. (Gratitude aside, in the spirit of Mardi Gras these commercial sponsors might just end up being lampooned by any given krewe.)<br>
<br>
But our Krewe of Aristaeus is not of the controversial, lampooning variety. The Aristaeus parade themes favor classical literature and mythology. Each of its twenty or so traditional floats is a <i>papier maché</i> construction mounted on a wooden chassis, with metal-rimmed wooden wheels. The super-parades, through modernized float construction techniques, now feature gigantic floats with dazzling fiber-optic lighting effects. And though virtually everyone is wowed by the results of this annual "mine-is-bigger-than-yours" competition, most locals voice strong appreciation for the beauty and refinement of traditionally-designed floats.<br>
<br>
Pulled along by tractors and loaded with masked and costumed krewe members tethered in place, the floats depart the den just as the sun is setting. As they set off onto their route, the other cards in the parade's festive deck are shuffled in: marching bands, "captains" of the krewe on horseback and squads of flambeaux carriers.<br>
<br>
Before floats were equipped with electric lighting, the kerosene-fueled flambeaux were the only source of illumination along the night parades' routes. The carriers, dancing and swaying to the beat of the nearest marching band, became a favorite attraction, inviting showers of coins from the crowds all along the route. Though they outlived their original purpose long ago, the primordial thrill of flames gliding and swooping rhythmically through the night has made the flambeaux a much-beloved part of the locals' Mardi Gras.<br>
<br>
Peering out through the eyeholes of their masks, the krewe members see an amazing spectacle being played out on the streets before them. All along the route, throngs of parade-goers raise their arms, cheering and shouting as each float nears, straining to catch the attention of any or all of the maskers. From polite waves to the wild flailling of arms, from the decorous, tradtional call, "Throw me something, mister!" to every manner of cajoling, pleading and wacky antics of enticement, the crowds engage with the maskers in the mystifying Mardi Gras ballet that is danced, en masse, along every parade route throughout the season.<br>
<br>
Mystifying because what can vault parade crowds into delirium, the precious commodity they'll risk injury leaping to grab, the treasure they'll step on fingers and toes to acquire, at any other time and anywhere else on the planet is utterly worthless.<br>
<br>
Oh, the plastic beads, cups and trinkets cost money. Each masker will spend a few hundred to a few thousand dollars on his stash of "throws" that will have been tossed to the crowd by the end of the parade. Individually, though, each item is practically valueless (with the exception of the krewe-themed plastic cups that make their way into the kitchen cabinets of virtually every New Orleans household).<br>
<br>
Yet it is these ersatz trinkets that fuel the near-hypnotic state of mass ecstasy that is a Mardi Gras parade.<br>
<br>
If a culture is a system of things that a group of people agree to care about, surely this is one of the most bizarre accords fashioned by any culture anywhere.<br>
<br>
But if the value of a cultural activity can be measured by its capacity to bring sheer, mindless joy to every participant, then Mardi Gras is absolutely wondrous. Because as any local—and countelss visitors through the years—can tell you, no matter how nonchalantly you stroll up to watch a parade, the first moment that a strand of Mardi Gras beads is lofting toward you through the drum-pounding, fire-enraptured night, <i>you want it</i>.<br>
<br>
And that is the moment you become a living cell in the hypnotic, ecstatic, mass harmonic-resonant body that is Mardi Gras.<br>
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_________________________<br>
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<a name="#Mardi_Gras_2"></a>Mardi Gras: Bal Tableau<br>
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<font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="#dc143c" size="4"><b>Mardi Gras</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2" color="#0000cd"><b>A privileged view from within</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
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</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="#0000cd"><i>Bal Tableau</i></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
<br>
As the Krewe of Aristaeus parade is snaking its way through the crowds toward the city center in the early evening hours on the night before Mardi Gras, the wives and guests of krewe members are gathering to view the parade from the balcony of the private club that serves as home base to Aristaeus' members year 'round.<br>
<br>
Located in the American Sector, just across Canal Street from the French Quarter, the (also pseudonymous) Tupman Club is one of the last bastions of Victorian-modeled gentility still clinging to life in the 21st Century. This "gentleman's club" isn't in the business of serving up lap dancing and jello shots, but rather weekday set-menu lunches to its all-male membership—many of whom are also members of the Krewe of Aristaeus.<br>
<br>
Intricate mouldings frame slender windows lofting upward to corniced heights of elegance, a perfect proscenium for the pageant now taking place of ball-gowned ladies attended by gentlemen clad in white tie and tails.<br>
<br>
As quaint and unthinkably chauvinistic as it may seem to most Westerners living in this century, New Orleans still conducts elaborate debuts for its daughters as they reach the age of twenty-one. The debutante season actually commences in late summer with a series of parties funded by the parents but attended primarily by the debutantes and their peers.<br>
<br>
The debutante life is given structure by the Carnival krewes, since it is at the balls that the young women are to be formally "presented to society." Each krewe will present the twenty-one year-old daughters of its members as its "court," one of whom will be accorded the honor of being its "queen" for the year (the rest are referred to as "maids"). Some girls (with socially active fathers) will appear in the courts of multiple krewes, but can only be queen of one.<br>
<br>
Within this complex system, the highest prestige is associated with girls who are crowned queen of one the oldest of the Old Line Krewes. It is on Christmas Day that the top officials of each club arrive by limousine at the home of the lucky debutante, presenting her with a calligraphic scroll "commanding" her to serve as Queen. Interestingly, though most of these krewes still officially conceal their membership, photos of their debutante courts are published prominently in the local newspaper for all to see. And the honor is carried through a lifetime. It's not uncommon in New Orleans, after being introduced to a woman in her eighties, for someone to whisper in your ear that she was queen of this krewe or that.<br>
<br>
Debut-related events kick into high gear at the start of Carnival, which is an entire season in New Orleans. It begins each year on January 6th (King's Day, the Twelfth Night of Christmas, the Feast of the Epiphany) and builds to a fever pitch over the ensuing weeks as it approaches the city-wide festivities of Mardi Gras day.<br>
<br>
While the rest of the country is swearing off the excesses of the holidays and striding with renewed virtue into the New Year, New Orleanians are just getting warmed up. After all, the fasting of Lent is approaching, and we have to get it in while we can. The season of <i>carne vale</i> ("farewell to meat") culminates on Mardi Gras ("Fat Tuesday") before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. (Lent is the forty days, not counting Sundays, leading up to Easter, which is the first Sunday after the full moon that follows the Spring Equinox. So in any given year, Mardi Gras will fall somewhere between the 3rd of February and the 9th of March.)<br>
<br>
Now, the first weeks of Carnival belong to the balls of the non-parading krewes. About three weekends prior to Mardi Gras, a few parades start to roll. It all builds in intensity right through the day, itself, by which time about 50 parades in all (not counting marching clubs without floats) will have celebrated through the streets of New Orleans and its surrounding areas. (This year, post-Katrina, both the number of parades and the period of days during which which they roll have been reduced.)<br>
<br>
Here in the crystalline glow of the Tupman Club, the guests are all assembled on the second floor balcony. The King's float has just come to a stop on the street, and the King is raising a glass of Champagne in a toast to his "subjects." (The King, by the way, is a member of the krewe selected for the honor through secret proceedings, and his identity is not revealed to the public.) The same ritual toast will be performed a few blocks away at the (pseudonymous) Philadelphia Club, where the Queen of Aristaeus is holding court with her maids and the members of that club. By some arcane reciprocal tradition, the two clubs swap courts during the parades of their affiliated krewes.<br>
<br>
Once the final float has passed, the club-dwellers descend to earth and make their way by limousine, car or chartered motorcoach the mile or so to the Municipal Auditorium for the ball.<br>
<br>
Since the parading krewe members still have to ramble along to the auditorium, dismount their floats and compose themselves before the ball, there's a cocktail reception for the guests as they arrive in the foyer. (Don't fret for the krewe members—the bar in the dressing area is still fully stocked and staffed.)<br>
<br>
Shortly before nine o'clock, the guests enter the theater to take their seats in the various sections ascending upward from the ballroom floor, facing the curtain. The women are all seated together in the sections that arc around the floor, which are referred to collectively as "the call-out sections" (the reason for which will become apparent shortly).<br>
<br>
The orchestra strikes up the music, the lights dim and the great curtain is peeled back to reveal, through the gauze-like scrim that remains, a misty vision of undersea splendor (presumably a depiction of Aristaeus descending to the realm of his mother, the water-nymph Cyrene). Fish formed of projected light swim across the scrim, which is slowly withdrawn, unveiling a dazzling tableau scintillating with color. The entire spectacle is floating in a sea of bubbles that drift and mingle through the air.<br>
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So commences the Aristaeus ball.<br>
<br>
After the procession of the debutantes, who are escorted around the ballroom floor with great pomp, the krewe members, still in costumes and masks (and now referred to as "maskers"), flood the dance floor.<br>
<br>
In the aisles between the call out sections, the members of the "Floor Committee" (invited male guests dressed in white tie and tails) are standing at the ready. A masker will approach a Floor Committee man and give him the name and, if possible, the section number of the woman with whom he'd like to dance. The Committee man will then "call out" the woman, escort her to the dance floor and present her to the masker.<br>
<br>
Although in practice almost all of the women these days know the masker to whom they're being handed over, the system was devised to facilitate mischief that still sometimes occurs. A masker can call out any woman he wants, whether he knows her or not. The only requirement is that, at the end of the dance, he must reach into his satin sack and present her with an attractively-wrapped "favor."<br>
<br>
Ball favors are typically small, relatively inexpensive items of jewelry: pins, earrings, etc. But they can be very appealing and usually there is one official krewe favor bearing the krewe's insignia and the year. These official ball favors enter permanently into the jewelry collections of many ball-attending women, as they confer on the woman wearing them the cachet of the krewe, itself.<br>
<br>
In years past, the entire ball consisted of call-out dances, but in recent years they've been reduced to the three or four first dances. Afterward, a bar commences service at the edge of the dance floor, and all of the invited guests, men and women, take to the floor and mingle at will. The King and Queen typically remain seated on their thrones at the center of the tableau, receiving a continuous line of well-wishers, their "subjects."<br>
<br>
It's about eleven o'clock, and the Krewe of Aristaeus ball is winding to a close. But the festivities aren't over, yet. Along with prestige, the role of queen carries with it the obligation to hold a Queen's Supper after the ball—which is paid for entirely by the Queen's family. This lavish after-ball reception is held either in the family home, if it's grand enough, or in one of the traditional venues like the New Orleans Country Club.<br>
<br>
Not everyone who attends the ball is automatically on the invitation list for the Queen's Supper. The Queen's family control that list. But those who do attend will be entertained opulently with food, drink and dancing into the wee hours. It's typically around 1:30 AM on Mardi Gras morning that the traditional breakfast is served of <i>grillades</i> (veal cutlets) and grits, after which the festivities of the Krewe of Aristaeus come to a close for another year.<br>
<br>
But we're not attending the Queen's Supper this year. Instead, we're deserting the rarefied ranks of Aristaeus after the ball and strolling across Rampart Street to plunge ourselves into the Center of the Jazz Universe...<br>
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_________________________<br>
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<a name="#Mardi_Gras_3"></a>Mardi Gras: The Center of the Jazz Universe<br>
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<font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="#dc143c" size="4"><b>Mardi Gras</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2" color="#0000cd"><b>A privileged view from within</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
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</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" color="#0000cd">The Center of the Jazz Universe</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
<br>
"We'll take a boat to the land of dreams" is how one jazz classic beckons listeners to New Orleans, to a particular avenue that it proclaims "heaven on earth." The land of earthly delights that was Basin Street in the early days of jazz has been fading from memory for decades. But one block over, along a short stretch of Rampart Street, Basin Street's rakish and rhapsodic heart beats on.<br>
<br>
The Krewe of Aristaeus ball has just taken place in the Municipal Auditorium within Armstrong Park—overlooking the length of Basin Street from its south side and bordering the jazz stretch of Rampart Street to the east.<br>
<br>
So, with midnight approaching, and with it Mardi Gras day, still arrayed in white-tie-and-tails and ball gowns from the <i>bal tableau</i>, we stride across to the French Quarter side of Rampart Street and step right into the Center of the Jazz Universe.<br>
<br>
Let's be straight: Donna's is a dive. But it's the kind of New Orleans dive in which jazz music was born a hundred years or so ago. And it's here, today, that virtually all of New Orleans' finest jazz musicians will come—some frequently and others occasionally—to visit, eat Charlie Simms' down home barbecue chicken wings with red beans and rice, and sit in with whatever band is on stage that night.<br>
<br>
The <i>Basin Street Blues</i> lyric "where all the white and the black folk meet" has been politically corrected through the years in various ways like "where all the poor and elite folks meet." Politically correct or not, all the lyrics could be singing about Donna's Bar & Grill.<br>
<br>
And this is one of the prime nights of the year. It's a Monday, so Bob French is holding court—a very different sort of court than the King of Aristaeus just held across the street. Bob is a drummer, radio personality and leader of the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band (as was his father before him). Over the years, Bob's band has been a fertile breeding ground for some of the finest jazz players coming out of New Orleans. On this Monday before Fat Tuesday, Bob's got an all-star lineup on stage—and more stars of the local jazz scene keep arriving just to be part of the scene.<br>
<br>
Standing just inside the entrance, the stage is only a few feet away and the band is in full swing. Bob spots us and calls out through the music, "Where y'at, cousins?" One by one, the rest of the band nods in greeting as they reach pauses in the music, and we scan the room to see dozens of local jazz devotees, bunches of local irregulars and a sprinkling of visitors who've somehow caught wind that this is the place to be. Every seat is taken by this time, so we make our way through the crowd, between the bar and the one row of tables fronting the stage.<br>
<br>
"It's our pleasure to have in the house, tonight," Bob is announcing through the sound system, "...The First Lady of New Orleans Song..." Miss Germaine Bazzle, herself, gives us a kiss on the cheek just as she's being called up to the stage.<br>
<br>
We grab her barstool and station ourselves around it just as she launches into a swooping, sailing, utterly astounding version of <i>Almost Like Being in Love.</i> Germaine probably only ever sings twenty or so songs, but she never sings one the same way twice. Each song is merely a launching pad for her passionate, scat-peppered, sometimes instrument-mimicking, always breathtaking vocal improvisations. Which, at this moment, are being met with wild applause and shrieks of almost spiritual fervor.<br>
<br>
Jazz, in New Orleans, is a religion. And we are a devout people.<br>
<br>
Like Germaine, Juanita Brooks (who is now just taking the stage) is a star of the New Orleans jazz scene. She's rightly welcomed throughout Europe as a virtuoso jazz vocalist, and she can do it all. Including blow up a church.<br>
<br>
Juanita is one of the many, here, who came up singing in a gospel choir—and one of the few gifted enough—and blessed with the opportunity—to bring it to a worldwide jazz audience. But given half a chance, Juanita, like the vast majority of jazz musicians here, will "take it to church." Yes, right there in a club, they'll launch into a gospel number that will "blow up" the place, "tear the roof off" and otherwise send the crowd into fits of delirium (have them "falling out").<br>
<br>
Much of the inspiration for early jazz sprouted right out of church, and the literal strains of gospel services still echo throughout the jazz clubs, here. But it's the <i>culture</i> of gospel, even when no gospel music is heard, that suffuses the local music scene, and the <i>passion</i> tapped by those spirituals that drives every one of the best New Orleans jazz musicians, religious or not.<br>
<br>
So, too, with our listeners. A decorous European jazz audience will recoil in alarm if a New Orleanian stands up in their midst in a moment of excitement and "calls out" to a musician who has just "torn up" a solo.<br>
<br>
In New Orleans it's expected.<br>
<br>
And it's happening all over Donna's, tonight. By the time Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews takes the stage to blow <i>Saint James Infirmary</i> sixteen different ways into the promised land, sending the crowd into syncopated convulsions of primordial rapture, every soul present is a true believer that Rampart Street <i>is</i> heaven on earth this night...</font>
<p><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">...This Mardi Gras day, that is.<br>
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_________________________<br>
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<a name="Personal_Notes"></a>Personal Notes<br>
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<font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b>On paying it forward</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><b><br>
</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">12 January 2006<br>
<br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">Everyone I've talked to who was involved in rescuing people from the flood has had a different perspective, but all have voiced one thing in unison. The people rescued were so profusely grateful that the rescuers were embarrassed, left at a loss for words. "Just doing my job," seemed a popular response—for those whose job it was. For the volunteers, they were just doing what was in front of them, what they were capable of doing, what their hearts commanded them to do. And not a soul, professional or amateur, expected any sort of payback from the individuals they helped reach safety.<br>
<br>
But when you're one of the rescuees, you see it differently. Those people who pulled you out of the water saved your butt. You could have died back there. How in the world are you going to repay them?<br>
<br>
Which, basically, is the boat every New Orleanian is in, now. The outpouring of support from across America and the world has been endlessly astounding. You've all saved our butts—and you're not finished, yet. The price tag in your tax dollars for rebuilding our levees, schools and the rest of our lives is going to be staggering. So how are we ever going to pay it back?<br>
<br>
Well, I hate to put it to you so bluntly ... but we're not. It's not that we don't want to. Like the people rescued in boats and helicopters, we feel as though we're drowning all over again ... in a vast debt we can't possibly ever repay. I mean, we'd really like to track down each and every one of you and knock on your door and invite you over for dinner. But that project is even further over our heads than the water was.<br>
<br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">So it seems the only possible thing we can do is to carry within us the inconceivable generosity that the entire world has lavished upon us and find ways small and large to pay it forward.<br>
<br>
Most New Orleanians weren't here for all the commotion, and the epiphany hasn't yet dawned on many of them. But at some point down the road, it's going to hit them...<br>
<br>
Remember when the world came to save us?... How are we ever going to earn that?<br>
</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><br>
We're going to pay it forward.<br>
<br>
For a very long time.<br>
<br>
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</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b>On the return of locals to the French Quarter</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><b><br>
</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">02 October 2005<br>
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</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">The first attempt to repopulate the French Quarter was aborted abruptly when Rita reared her scary vortex and most people re-vacuated. The real return began post-Rita and after power was restored on 26 Sep. And I really couldn't have anticipated my reaction. On Tuesday evening, 27 September, I had wandered into one of the only bars in operation at the time (the Touché Bar on Royal Street), expecting to find the now-customary handful of imported relief workers. Instead I stepped into a festive nest of just-returning French Quarter locals: friends and neighbors who had left before and were coming back after and were—very understandably—in a lighthearted mood as they celebrated being back in our largely undamaged village. But my heart was still heavy from the depth of the human loss out there, beyond the borders of our little enclave (I had just encountered another body that day). And I just didn't know what to say to them. It was the first time since I returned that I had the impulse to get the hell out.<br>
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</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b>On the Katrina Stories</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><b><br>
</b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">02 October 2005<br>
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</font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">The original title, "Until we die," is from the phrase, "All creatures love a hurricane ... until we die from it." I actually originated that phrase about a year before Katrina struck, along with the passage that precedes it. It was composed in an email to my girlfriend (at the time) in Germany to express what I had just been through with a near-miss hurricane. The Katrina Stories were begun less than 2 weeks after Katrina struck, and my overall vision of them has evolved. The original title doesn't seem to fit, anymore, and since they are a work in progress, I've reverted to their original working title, "Katrina Stories."<br>
The Katrina Stories were conceived as a series of brief episodes, chronologically presented, based on my experiences throughout and in the aftermath of Hurrican Katrina. Shortly after I started writing them, I contacted a number of literary agents with the thought that these stories may be a compelling basis for a book. A number of those agents agreed, and my conception began to morph into a larger-scale project. Concurrently, I was (and am, as of this writing) very much engaged in post-Katrina life in the largely depopulated city of New Orleans. Which has also changed the overall vision of the stories---and book. A new book title is germinating and will be born when it's ready, I suppose.<br>
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