At the last minute I decided to go to New Orleans to see all my Phi Psi friends from Stanford. I was a little hesitant to go after the hurricane, but I'm really glad I did. New Orleans is a beautiful city (at least the French Quarter) with lots of great things to see. I with I had more time there. Highlights from the trip:

Friday: Beignets at Cafe Du Monde, great dinner at Pelican Club, partying on Bourban Street, live music on Frenchman street.

Saturday: jambalaya and po boy at Mother's, walking history tour of the French Quarter, beignets at Cafe Beignet, art galleries on Royal Steet, waking along the river, taking the Algier's Ferry across the Mississippi and back, relaxing at the W pool

Sunday: Katrina disaster tour, lots of time at the casino

We were lucky to get a really cheap room at the W hotel ($110 per night!). I think i'm obsessed with the W now. It's really cool and trendy, rooms and service are nice, and they always play great music in the lobby. The bar at the W New Orleans (Whiskey Blue) was always busy and fun.

Areas like the French Quarter weren't really affected by the hurricane. Unfortunately the poor areas were completely desroyed. It was sad taking the bus tour of that area and seeing house after house destroyed or empty. It was like a ghost town. New Orleans isn't getting enough Federal support to rebuild everything. Income tax is way down since people left, and tourism is way down, so they don't even get money through those channels.

I'm really hoping they are able to rebuild New Orleans to what it once was. The music, food, architecture, and culture there are unmatched by any place I have seen in this country.

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I took some really cool long exposure (10-30 second) shots from the Algier's ferry.