We
visited New Orleans in November 2008. Diane attended the
American Heart Association conference there; Brett tagged
along. The conference was all over the local news.
It was the first large conference (30,000 attendees!) held in
New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina flooded the city in August 2005.
Diane
at the American Heart Association conference
Diane
participated in a press conference where 5 nutrition-related
studies were selected for presentation. She recently
concluded a 3-year human research study on the blood-pressure lowering
effect of hibiscus tea. Diane presented her research results
to the media and led a Q&A session. Funding was
provided by the USDA and Celestial Seasonings, who also provided
materials (e.g. tea) for the study.
Later, during
the Scientific Sessions portion of the conference, Diane conducted a
formal presentation of her study to conference attendees (e.g.
cardiologists).
In this 2-minute interview
with MedPage Today, Diane discusses the blood-pressure lowering effect
of hibiscus tea. _____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________ This
video is also available on MedPage
Today and YouTube.
Or if you would prefer to download a video file, right-click
this .wmv
file (7 MB) or this .mov file
(3 MB) and select "Save Target As". In
this 2-minute interview with Elsevier Global Medical News, Diane
discusses the blood-pressure lowering effect of hibiscus tea. _____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________ This
video is also available on YouTube.
Or if you would prefer to download a video file, right-click
this .wmv
file (9 MB) or this .mov
file (4 MB) and select "Save Target As".
New
Orleans
New Orleans Louisiana is the last major city on the
Mississippi River, before the Mississippi reaches the Gulf of Mexico.
The city is wedged between large Lake Pontchartrain to the
north, and the Mississippi River to the south. But the city
is not actually on the Gulf -- after New Orleans, the Mississippi flows
another 100 miles before it enters the Gulf. New Orleans is
one of the oldest cities in the United States. Click any
picture for a larger image.
The
French Quarter
This was our first visit to New Orleans.
We stayed at a hotel in the French Quarter (the Royal Sonesta
on Bourbon Street), and spent most of our tourist time in the French
Quarter. We also took a paddlewheel steamship cruise
on the Mississippi River (see below).
The French
Quarter is one of the oldest neighborhoods of New Orleans.
The highest ground was settled first, so the French Quarter
went relatively unscathed even while the rest of the city flooded after
Hurricane Katrina.
This
is a typical street in the French Quarter. The streets are
narrow (and one-way), lined on both sides with low-rise buildings
placed closely side-by-side. Most of the buildings have
balconies, often consisting of intricate ironwork.
The
buildings are old, but very well maintained. Many of the
residents decorate their street-facing balconies with plants.
The French Quarter is a dense urban neighborhood,
is populated with
both year-round residents and tourists, and maintains its own distinct
character and charm. In this way it reminds me of the North
End
(Italian) neighborhood of Boston.
It
is easy to get around the French Quarter on foot. You can
also get a mule-drawn carriage at Jackson Square (or simply hail an
empty carriage from the street).
The
close-packed facades of the buildings in the French Quarter often
conceal lush courtyards within the block's interior. You get
narrow glimpses of the courtyards from the street, but they are
revealed best in this overhead view.
Our
first day for lunch we stopped at Johnny's Po-Boys. A Po-Boy
is the local version of a submarine sandwich (sub, grinder, hero,
hoagie). In addition to the usual favorites, you can get a
Po-Boy with catfish, oysters, crab cake, crawfish, or softshell crabs.
The day we were there, alligator was also available.
Although Johnny's serves breakfast (e.g. eggs with catfish
and a biscuit), note they don't open very early. In the
French Quarter, you party into the night, and then stagger in for
breakfast around 11:00 am. Diane
got a Shrimp Po-Boy. When you order, they will ask if you
want your Po-Boy "dressed" (e.g. with lettuce, tomato, and
pickle). Also on the menu without explanation was the "Judge
Bosetta" Po-Boy,
which we later learned was made with hamburger, Italian sausage, hot
sausage, and swiss cheese.
Brett
got a classic Muffaletta sandwich. It is made with ham,
salami, mozzarella, topped with a fabulously complex olive spread and
served on a round bun. They also have a Seafood Muffaletta
(with catfish, shrimp, and oysters).
Many
of New Orleans' streetcars were inundated by Hurricane Katrina.
They are gradually being refurbished and put back into
service.
We
had a creole breakfast (including Bananas Foster) at the elegant
Brennan's restaurant.
Another
view (through glass) of the courtyard at Brennan's.
Music
is everywhere in the French Quarter. These statues were in
the Musical Legends "Park" across the street from our hotel.
This
is Preservation Hall, the best-known jazz performance hall of several
in the French Quarter.
The
building housing Preservation Hall was built in 1750 (!), survived two
great New Orleans fires, and is one of the oldest buildings in the
French Quarter.
This
is a glimpse through the foyer of Preservation Hall into the courtyard
within. Note the cool cat dozing in the sun.
This
is a 35-second audio clip of street music heard in the French Quarter.
It was recorded using a cellphone, so the sound
quality is only fair. ________________________
________________________
If you would prefer to download an audio file, right-click
this .wav file
(< 1 MB) and select "Save Target As".
Many
of the bars in New Orleans are
also oyster bars. We stopped into the Acme Oyster House for a
bowl of Seafood Gumbo and a bowl of Crawfish Etouffee. The
creole-style and cajun-style food in New Orleans is tasty, but it is a
dietitian's nightmare.
Jackson
Square
A popular gathering place within the French Quarter is
Jackson Square. On the plaza of the Square you can listen to
music, get your fortune told, buy some local art, and visit the
cathedral and the park. In this picture, the cathedral is to
the left and the park is to the right. Visible in the
background is one of the two Pontalba buildings that flank Jackson
Square.
New
Orleans was founded in 1718 as a French colony. It
was ceded to the Spanish Empire in the Treaty of Paris and remained
under Spanish control from 1763 to 1801, when it reverted to French
control. Most of the surviving architecture of the French
Quarter dates from this Spanish period. Napoleon sold the territory to
the United States in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The
Place d'Armes was renamed Jackson Square in 1814 after general Andrew
Jackson.
This
is the St. Louis Cathedral at Jackson Square. First
established in 1718, it is the oldest continuously operating cathedral
in the United States. The Cathedral, and the two adjacent
buildings, were the city's heart in the colonial era.
Inside
the St. Louis Cathedral.
The
Holtkamp pipe organ inside the St. Louis Cathedral. Hurricane
Katrina tore a small hole in the roof of the cathedral, and rainwater
poured into the organ, severely damaging it. The organ was
sent back to Holtkamp, rebuilt, and reinstalled in the Cathedral in
June 2008.
A
view of the ceiling of the St. Louis Cathedral.
Hurricane
Katrina knocked over two large oak trees in this courtyard behind the
Cathedral. One tree clipped the marble statue of Jesus
Christ, which lost a forefinger and a thumb. Because Katrina
turned to the north right before striking the Louisiana coast, locals
have declared that Jesus sacrificed his two fingers while flicking the
storm away from the city. Now, about those levees...
Inside
the park at Jackson Square. I have no idea what type of plant
this is. The climate of New Orleans is classified as "humid
subtropical". When we were there (in November) the
temperature was in the upper 60's.
This
large statue of general Andrew Jackson sits in the middle of the park
at Jackson Square.
This
is one of the two red-brick 4-story Pontalba buildings flanking Jackson
Square. They were built in the 1840s. The
apartments in the upper floors are the oldest continuously rented such
apartments in North America. The Jackson Square park is on
the
left. A line of mule-drawn carriages are out of view to
the left. The Café du Monde and the French Market are out of
view to the right.
Café
au lait and fresh beignets (deep-fried dough) with powdered sugar at
the Café du Monde. The Café is open 24x7
and is popular with tourists and locals alike.
Powdered
sugar on the floor of Café du Monde. It was like this when we
got here. Honest.
The
guest rooms at the Royal Sonesta Hotel open onto an inner courtyard.
The
courtyard walkways lead to a poolside bar and the pool.
The
pool at the Royal Sonesta Hotel.
Another
view of the courtyard inside the Royal Sonesta Hotel.
Bourbon
Street
Bourbon Street is the most famous street in New
Orleans. Most of the establishments on Bourbon Street are
bars; most of the bars in the French Quarter are on Bourbon Street.
You can carry your drink (in a plastic cup only) in the
street. Some of the bars have take-out windows where they
sell their drinks to passers-by. Note the sign, "Huge ass
beers to go".
Bourbon
Street by day. The New Orleans "Central Business District"
(CBD) is visible in the background. Best t-shirt seen:
"I am a drunk not an alcoholic. Alcoholics go
to meetings.".
Bourbon
Street is the center of nightlife in the French Quarter. Note
the well-dressed scientists in the foreground; this is not a common
sight on Bourbon Street.
Bourbon
Street at night.
The
French Quarter has some marvelous signs. The neon stays on
night and day. Click any picture for a larger image.
This
is a street bar named Desire (get it?). There is
a Desire Street in New Orleans but it is not in the French
Quarter; it is 2 miles east of here. It was named after
Napoleon's lover Désirée; the accents and one E have been
lost. A streetcar crosses this street, and Tennessee
William's play A Streetcar Named Desire is named for it.
Bourbon
Street at night. Most of the bars are very loud, and their
music spills into the
street.
At
night, the police bring this two-person observation
gizmo and elevate it above the crowd to keep an eye on things.
The debauchery on Bourbon Street is small-time, limited and
controlled. The British failed in their attempt to conquer
New Orleans during the War of 1812; alas, their Puritans have subdued
the city instead.
The
Mississippi River near New Orleans
One afternoon
we took a paddlewheel steamship cruise on the
Mississippi River near New Orleans. Our pictures are on this page.
New
Orleans and Hurricane
Katrina
New Orleans is still struggling to recover from the
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. We have put some information
about New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina on this page.
