Last day in N.O………crap!!! I will miss this place and the wonderful food that is available!!!
We were up and in the breakfast room for coffee by 9am…..and then Jeremy got up and we decided to go to Café Du Monde for coffee. After a walk of a few short blocks we arrived and saw the LONG….VERY LONG line of people waiting on Sunday morning to have their dark, rich chicory coffee with beignets covered in powered sugar. Hmmmm…….as warm and sticky as was we elected to go another coffee shop and not stand in line in the hot sun for an unknown amount of time. It was a good choice as the coffee was good!!!
We then returned back to the hotel to pick up the car……and off we went to the lower 9th Ward. OMG……..there is no way in hell that I can describe the “war zone” that we visited where the waters from the broken levee had invaded after the hurricane. We drove for miles in this residential area and nothing but deserted houses that were in terrible, terrible condition………I just couldn’t believe the immensity of this devastation from the flood!!!!! No pictures can ever, ever show this accurately……..they just cannot give the complete picture of the blocks and blocks and blocks and streets and everywhere the homes that have been lost.
We went by Fats Domino’s home….and it has been repaired and looks great…….sitting in a sea of flooded out homes and businesses. HORRIBLE!!!!!
Then Jeremy took up out to the eastern entrance to N.O. coming in on Interstate 10 from Slidell……and for miles and miles and miles and miles there was nothing but vacant, devastated houses and businesses along I-10 in the suburbs of N.O.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nothing I have seen on the tellie prepared us for this!!!!! Where are all of these people???????? Of course, we know that they are not here and probably will not return.
This afternoon I visited with the lady in charge of the housekeeping and other employees. She had evacuated when the storm came and her house is not in the affected areas and so had very little damage….just a bit to her roof. One of the employees of the hotel was killed in the flood, along with that individual’s mother and daughter. The people are still fighting the insurance companies to get reimbursements for the damage to their property…….two years ago this month and they still not have had the settlement to their claims. It is a damn shame that we have not risen up and demanded that they receive their claim monies. I am not only ashamed, but very angry that these citizens of our country have, and are, being treated this way by the insurance companies AND our government in Washington.
The lady and I talked for over a half hour……and I was so upset when we parted!!!! THIS has bothered me for the rest of today and this evening……..it has taken away the fun and enjoyment we have had these past few days. I also visited with two young ladies from Korea who are staying here in the hotel…..and they were just unable to comprehend the lack of assistance that is not being given for the thousands and thousands of people who have been forced from their homes…..TWO YEAR AGO!!!
Prior to this upsetting conversation, we had gone for a late brunch to a wonderful little….LITTLE….restaurant called “Petunias”. WOW……and another WOW!!!! We had crepes and Jeremy had their French toast. My crepe was filled with crap meat, shrimp, peppers, onions, and a wonderful sauce….and the entire crepe had been drizzled with a mild cheese. OMG……how incredible this was!!! All of the reviews and evaluations of this little place are accurate. It was recently featured on the “Food Network Channel”………and it certainly lived up to their feature story. The 1st Lady’s crepe was filled with chicken and asparagus and was just as delicious as mine. Jeremy’s French toast was the best I have ever, ever tasted……what more can I say???!!! Again, this little jewel was located just down the our street a few short blocks…..here in the FR. Quarter.
We returned to the hotel and we enjoyed the little pool in the courtyard beside our building. We remained there for a couple of hours just reading and relaxing. This evening we spent a couple of hours at Pat O’Brien’s off of Bourbon Street……in the dual piano bar. Lots of fun….lots of good music…..and great fun. It helped me to forget temporarily the afternoon conversation.
We walked around later this evening and went into a little Cajun Zydeco café and listened to the music which we don’t hear very often in Missouri. Had a small bite to eat…..just ordinary food…..nothing special.
Back to the hotel and we are getting packed up to leave fairly early in the morning. More on our trip later……
Life is Great……and I hope it is for all of you, also!!!
1 comment:
I also had the same thoughts about how vast the devastation was. Talking to the families of the homes we helped demo was hard. The last house we did was owned by a couple who had built the house themselves many years ago. It felt awesome to help them get back on their feet. In the first house we worked on we found a newspaper on the kitchen table with the headline "Katrina Takes Aim" The paper hadn't been opened yet.
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