Nawlins

I'm headed to New Orleans on Sunday, to take part in a three-day NASA Fault Management workshop. Sessions start at 7 or 8am and go 'til 5pm. Home base will be the Ritz-Carlton on Canal Street, a block and a half north of Bourbon Street. (All you taxpayers, never fear - the room costs only the basic government per diem rate. No more expensive than the Holiday Inn.) The last day, Wednesday, ends at 3pm, and it's pretty much straight to the airport - and even at that rate, I'll still be getting in around midnight. There is an hour for lunch each day. Unlike a conference, this is a small affair with fewer than 100 attendees, and you're expected to be there for everything. (Occasionally at a conference, you'll find a 4-hour slot with no presentations that interest you, and no one is taking attendance if you slink off.) So I'll be there for three dinners and three lunches.

Sunday is the last day of the French Quarter Festival, and I hope to touch down in time to catch some free jazz and maybe see the St. Louis Cathedral. Also, from 5-9pm at Tipitina's in Uptown (cab time, I suspect), there is a fais do-do, a Cajun/Zydeco dance. Poking around YouTube, this appears to either be a country line-dance sort of thing or, more traditionally, a combination of dances like the two-step and waltz. I don't know what's the standard at Tipitina's - I may call to find out. (I suspect I would be horribly embarrassed to fumble my way through a line dance, but can fake 1-2, 1-2, or 1-2-3, 1-2-3 all right, especially with a decent lead.)

I have a recommendation (via curiousangel) to try the Court of the Two Sisters for a meal. Perusing the New Orleans website has convinced me that I might want to hoof it over to Cafe du Monde for a cuppa coffee with chicory and a square doughnut. My eating options are otherwise unplanned.

I'm not sure what interesting things there are to do past 5pm on weeknights, past the "haunted tours" - kitschy, but perhaps not a bad way to see some interesting buildings and hear some local stories. I'll take a pass on Harrod's (gambling), I think. Of course, there's the live music all over the place. I could do worse than planning a rambling dinner menu (appetizer here, soup there, sandwich down the street) and listened to a bunch of jazz/blues/Cajun/Zydeco music.

Any other recommendations?

Quote of the Day

"If you're a tourist, you are required to visit Pat O's, order at least one high-velocity Hurricane and listen to the piano-players. It's the law."

- Pat O'Brien's entry on the French Quarter restaurants list - because if it weren't the law, it's such a cliche that I think many folks would take a pass on it.