You may hear this phrase spoken more than once if you ever make your way to New Orleans. It means ‘Let the good times roll’. You may hear this during Mardi Gras if you happen to be there one of the most celebrated celebrations of Louisiana.
No….. I’m not planning a trip to Mardi Gras but am planning on being in the French Quarter and thereabouts in the fall. This is one state-side trip I am really looking forward to since I’ve wanted to visit this city for years. Truth is, years ago, I was all set to visit the city. I had even purchased a round-trip flight, was going to visit with friends who lived in the Garden District and look for a job. That is how much this place affected me before setting foot in the city. I wanted to move there….. It didn’t happen. Katrina hit and devastated the city. Though reading accounts of what transpired from the people who lived through it, they inspired me to want to visit their city one of these days even with the changes that transpired from Katrina. They made me see that the underlying beauty is with the people who live in New Orleans and the surrounding areas; the beauty of the city is changed, but yet, unchanged because New Orleans is still standing. It’s standing tall and proud, changed yet unchanged…. Katrina may have swept through the city and changed the course of how New Orleans looks to the people that live there, to the thousands of people who visit it each year but it didn’t change the spirit of anyone whom has come in contact with the Garden District, Bourbon Street and the French Quarter.
The spirit of this beautiful city lives on…. Fast-forward four months from now….. November 2014…… I will be making my way to this beautiful city and experiencing the grandeur that is New Orleans. My expectations are high. Higher than any other trip I have planned.
Do you think I have set my expectations too high? Do you feel New Orleans will be setting the bar for any other trip I plan to take in the U.S.? I would love to hear your thoughts on this.
