City of Saints.
I never had a chance to visit New Orleans before the hurricane. I took my first trip two weeks ago for a Mardi Gras event with the Hash House Harriers. The revelry and hedonism of Mardi Gras was compounded by the Saints’ Superbowl victory, and the entire city was one giant party, practically from the minute I arrived.
True, the purpose of my trip was Mardi Gras, and that consumed a lot of my time. But when I was not drinking, running, drinking while running, tracking down a port-a-potty (as a result of the drinking), or avoiding concussions from flying beads (those suckers hurt!), I was consistently in awe of the city’s sheer beauty. I did encounter a fair share of abandoned neighborhoods, but the jazz-era flair of New Orleans is ever present; the buildings and streets practically ooze joie de vivre.
I was enthralled by the architecture, but moreover I was impressed by how beautiful the people are; the locals I encountered were genuinely friendly, gloriously optimistic folks, with a true sense of love and pride for their city and all it has been through. Although man-made structures are flimsy, man’s spirit is not something that can be destroyed by a flood.
New Orleans is definitely on my list of cities I’d consider moving to, whenever I get the urge for a change of scenery.