Pictures from the second part of my latest US trip, to the Big Easy, New Orleans didn’t disappoint. Food, music, sun, Mississippi and an atmosphere second to none. Pictures were taken from my trip, music is courtesy of YouTube and, as always, copyright is not mine but I hope you enjoy anyway.
What can I say, back for just over a week and I still can’t believe it is over and work is such a pain. This post contains pictures from the first half of my US trip, to New York, hope you enjoy the pics and music (I found the clip to Jay-Z and Alicia Keys on YouTube so I don’t own the copyright).
Back home again after 9 days away, New York was amazing and in 4 days we couldn’t see or do everything. The four days in the Big Apple was spent walking miles doing a few touristy things and seeing a lot of what the city had to offer.
Highlights were the Radio City Music Hall tour with a meeting with a Rockette, the Top of the Rock with its magnificent views and also the horse and carriage tour of Central Park. We bought 3 day passes for the hop on and hop off city sightseeing bus and this was definitely the cheapest way to get around the city and the guides all gave different perspectives to the sights, sounds and smells of NYC.
We followed the hectic stay in NYC with a 4 night stay in New Orleans, celebrating the 300th anniversary of its founding in the French Quarter. In 1718 there were two tribes of Native Americans trading on what is now the French Quarter and that was why the city was founded there. It is interesting to see the differences between the old city (French Quarter and Garden District) with the new city which now covers a massive area. You can walk the French Quarter in around 2 hours going up and down every street, the highlights however are Canal Street (the widest Street in the USA) and Frenchman’s Street, Bourbon Street is touristy and adult themed, the locals stay in Frenchman’s and, apparently the best food is served in this street.
There is also a flea market which contains a wide selection of souvenirs and gifts for the folk back home. For my money The Big Easy is the ideal way to finish a trip to New York City as it really relaxes you and makes you more likely to arrive back home refreshed and not needing another holiday to recover from New York. Pictures attached and apologies for those on their side but they looked fine in preview on my laptop.
Music today is from Fats Domino and courtesy of YouTube I do not own the copyright to this.
Well, I have been trying to get my legs used to doing a lot of walking just to get ready for sightseeing this coming week in New York. The pain when I got home yesterday was excruciating and I ended up taking my pain meds like they were smarties again. This is going to be an interesting few days in New York then if I’m going to be flying most of the time in order to see the sights I’ll have to take loads of pictures to remember my time there.
The biggest points of interest on my itinerary are the 911 memorial (a reminder of the day we all became Americans), a visit to the Dakota building and Strawberry Fields, just to say a fond farewell to John Lennon, although he still lives on. I would also like to visit SoHo and bid David Jones a fond farewell and to say thank you for all the fantastic things he gave me the courage to do. He was the first person to say everyone was different and that was a good thing, I had thought that way for years before he said it but he told me I was right in my thinking. What a brilliant mind he had, he kept re-inventing himself every few years so no-one knew what he was up to until he released another album. Unusual for someone to be such a huge star and yet remain anonymous in between touring and releasing an album.
He was not a star in the normal sense as he was always one of us. When I went to see him for the first time in Edinburgh he was huge and there were too many outside the theatre waiting for him to arrive so I never got a chance to speak to him. However I did grab his hand and went to whisper in his ear when he gave me a full on kiss on the lips. I was stunned but returned the kiss before he moved onto someone else. This was in Ziggy mode and he was wearing full make up and a mini-dress but even so it was the highlight of my 1973.
He was such an amazing person and it would have been great to meet him in and around SoHo. I bet his spirit still haunts those streets, after all he had lived there since 1999 and New York was the place he finally called home after decades spent travelling around from city to city and country to country.
My New York odyssey will be followed by a trip to New Orleans but that is still not the end of my American dream, I want to visit Lubbock in Texas, Clovis New Mexico, Seattle and Minneapolis. Just to complete my musical heroes of the USA there will have to be a visit to Nashville which would have to be more than just a brief hello/goodbye trip. Also a visit to Dollywood, preferably while Dolly Parton is still around.
Leaving you today with another one of the maestro’s songs recorded by the Fab Four while they were falling apart, copyright is not owned by me so it is only here in deference to YouTube.
barclaydave 