The Big Easy

​New Orleans… far and away, is one of my favorite places.
 
Why?
 
Maybe it is the weather. Because admittedly, it is nice this time of year. And unlike Buffalo, it rarely drops below freezing. But come summer time (I’ve been there in August, I KNOW) it gets HOT! And as one of the residents told me, yup there comes a time when there is only so much you can take off. Personally, I’d rather put on layers than get to that point!
 
Maybe it is the parties and nightlife. For New Orleans only requires its bars to close one hour a year (from midnight to one am after Fat Tuesday for clean-up). It even puts Buffalo with its 3am last call, to shame. And this would have been alluring in my earlier days, but at this point I’m ready to crawl into bed by ten. Then with the baby and the dogs, I’m up in the morning.
 
The music and art. I do enjoy both tremendously as anyone who visits my home and has viewed our collections from two NOLA artists, Craig Tracy and Sarah Megan Jenkins, knows! But with the art adorning our walls, it surrounds us. And as for the music, isn’t that what Pandora is for?
 
The food. YUM! There is nothing like a good etouffee or red beans and rice. The mix of spices and the seafood dance in my mouth. But honestly, after a few days, the richness gets to me and I definitely am missing my hometown eats. Plus, I’m learning to incorporate those flavors into my cooking palate!
 
The history! Perhaps it is that – there is such a rich and diverse history. And, it is a spiritual one at that with the mixing of Santeria, voodoo and Catholicism. Unfortunately, due to the fame that has been brought to New Orleans be it by Ann Rice or the Originals, the esoteric side of New Orleans is gitchy. You’ve got to hit the right places.
 
It’s not one or any of these, rather the reason I love love love New Orleans is probably a little bit of all the above… but then there is that little bit more, or as the residents say, “the lagniappe.” There is an energy in New Orleans that is impossible to define. It is eclectic. It is magnetic. It is alive.
 
And perhaps part of that lagniappe is astrology. After having my Astrocartography chart (an astrological chart that outlines places in the world with significance both in this life and past lives for you) completed, I was surprised (and not) that few of my lines cut through the United States. Most of them are located in Europe, specifically England, Ireland and Spain – not surprisingly the places I am drawn to. In this chart there is one dominant line in the United States. This line cuts through both Buffalo and New Orleans. Perhaps one of the reasons why New Orleans calls.
 
Why am I going on and on about New Orleans? Well, the few days before Thanksgiving, my husband and I introduced our daughter to its glory. We strolled the French Quarter and Bourbon Street. Shopped the French Market. Played in Jackson Square. Ate lots of red beans and rice, gumbo, and etouffee. Went to City Park. And of course, being who I am, it wouldn’t have been a complete visit without checking out the witchy and voodoo shops. And while I considered getting a reading, I did not. No one called to me the day I considered it and I didn’t feel drawn again. Perhaps next time, because I know I’ll be back.
 
This is my special place… do you have a special place that beckons you?

---