Bourbon Street (Orleans Parish, Louisiana)

I’ve always thought of the Las Vegas strip as the locale of the greatest Saturday night public parties. That is until I stepped foot on Bourbon Street for the first time. The only relevant analogy I can think of would be that of a parade of army ants marching to restock the nest’s cupboards. However, the human traffic on this small street in the French Quarter of New Orleans is not marching towards food, but marching to the next place that catches their attention with the promise of a good time.

The street itself is no more than a two-lane street with relatively wide sidewalks. The main area of the constant festival of Bourbon Street is concentrated in one area approximately 8 blocks long, but tends to spill out over onto the cross streets and even the streets running parallel to Bourbon, within the Quarter. This entire area, meaning practically every street, is like something frozen in time. Many buildings are two or three hundred years old and remain original in their outward appearance by city ordinance. Unlike the majority of the shop’s original businesses, nearly all have been converted into eateries, taverns, novelty shops, or clubs.

The French Quarter beats to the rhythm of its own distinct drum. The mix of cultures here is quite startling. From the Voodoo culture of Haiti and Jamaica to remnants of culture from the French courts in Paris, this place is alive.

Food, like every other aspect of this combined culture has elements of each parent culture, but has over time, developed into the harmony of Cajun and Creole cuisines. I have tried dishes like fried alligator, steamed crab claws, beef brisket, Jamaican jerk chicken, Cajun seafood gumbo to name a few. All have a distinctive flavoring and are infused with part of the love that people have for food.

As I have read a number of Ann Rice’s Vampire Chronicles over the years, I was a bit excited to have the opportunity to participate in a “vampire tour” through the French Quarter. Much of her interest and inspiration for her books came from local legends, which are told by the very knowledgeable tour guides as the group looks on at the houses where some of these strange, unexplained murders took place. While the guides do not try to sway your belief in vampires one way or the other, they simply end the tour by telling of how their own beliefs have become a little more open-minded since researching the rich and speculatively-supernatural history of this great city.