Visitor Questions

How New Orleans Got Its Name

New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Sieur de Bienville who was actually Canadian. The spot that he picked was recommended by the Natives of the area at the time. It had a natural levee that help to protect it from seasonal flooding when the Mississippi River overflowed its banks.   There were many times in the early days when that levee could not contain the river and the French Quarter was inundated by water. So in its early days the

Read More »
cold front, warm front, hurricane-63037.jpg

Can New Orleans Survive Another Hurricane

New Orleans can absolutely survive another hurricane. What a question! We are a city that is over 300 years old and the challenges that they had in the beginning of the city were a lot more than we have today. Back then there were no levees or at least there were no manmade levees.   There were only the levees that the Mississippi River naturally built but they were not enough to protect from all flooding. There were hurricanes and there

Read More »

How New Orleans Say Baby

New Orleans says baby in many ways. One very popular way for some folks to say baby is the French word “cher” which means dear.   The word can even mean expensive. And that word in English “dear” can mean expensive in Britain like if you remember in The Beatles song When I’m Sixty Four he sings … if it’s not too dear.” Meaning if it’s not too expensive.   So in the city some people say baby like Babee or

Read More »
Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=308109

How New Orleans Recovered from Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina dealt a pretty savage blow on the city. The winds were very strong and caused a lot of destruction with huge trees blown down, roofs torn off, and even some unstable building collapsing. In the central business district many windows were blown out and took months for those to be replaced.   Because the storm was so huge stretching from it seemed Texas to Alabama many in the people chose to evacuate. Before then people did not leave the

Read More »

Can New Orleans Saints Make the Playoffs

The New Orleans Saints have made the playoffs many times over the course of their history. But there success has always been spotty. In recent years when they played the Rams and that famous no call when it was obvious that a call should have been made, kept the Saints from going to the Super Bowl again.   They have only been to the Super Bowl once and they won the game with the excellent coaching by Sean Payton and play

Read More »
mississippi, bridge, sunrise-112000.jpg

Can New Orleans Be Saved From Sinking

First of all New Orleans is not sinking. I don’t know where anyone would get this idea. over 50% of the city is at or above sea level. What Hurricane Katrina did was expose the areas that were originally swamp that was filled in without building it up first. And this causes the neighborhoods in this area to flood more readily than other areas. So no New Orleans is not sinking.   Then there are those that want to blame this

Read More »

Can New Orleans be saved?

Yes, New Orleans is always being saved. New Orleans has always struggled against the elements and has always come through over its more than 300 year history. It’s survived fires, hurricanes, floods and yellow fever epidemics. As well as terribly poor management by city government. Hurricane Katrina dealt a heavy infrastructure and financial blow to the city. And it is still recovering in some areas.   Also you have to look at saved from what? Poor government, incompetence by city officials,

Read More »

Are New Orleans streetcars air conditioned?

One of the great things about riding the St Charles streetcar is that it is not air conditioned. Even in the summer time when it can get pretty hot here when the streetcar takes off and the windows are open you get a really nice breeze and you can hang out the window and look at all the beautiful homes going by. Now, there are newer streetcars that roll on Canal Street and the spur that goes to City Park.  

Read More »
new orleans, nola, streetscape-2038359.jpg

New Year’s Eve New Orleans 2022 – What’s Cookin’ With Da Music?

The New Year’s Eve New Orleans music scene is going to be chock full of groovy artists this New Year’s Eve. How about these guys: Billy Strings, the Revivalists, Big Freedia, DJ Soul Sister, the Hot 8 Brass Band and many many others. You can check out this site to get more info.   I saw Billy Strings at the New Orelans Jazz Fest this year, had never heard of him and man he was awesome!! Unfortunately his gig is already

Read More »

Are There Any Differences Between Cajun and Creole Cooking?

Although both ways of cooking are heavily influenced by French cuisine they differ in the ways dishes are cooked and the base ingredients with which they are made. Remember too that Cajun cooking is country cooking and Creole is really something that originated in New Orleans and has different influences. The way gumbos are made are different and many times the recipes cross over so you really can’t tell where Cajun cooking begins and Creole style ends. As shared on The

Read More »