Here is a link to some photos I took (including a couple taken by my wife) during a trip to New Orleans in February, about three months ago:
http://photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=1089362 New Orleans is located in the southern state of Louisiana in the US, not far from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. An active modern city, it is to some extent still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, which happened a decade ago -- it takes a long time to come back from that kind of damage. The Mississippi River, the largest in North America and one of the largest in the world, runs a serpentine course right through the middle of the city, so it's not hard to understand the city's inherent vulnerability. The French Quarter, the old, historical heart of the city, is located on somewhat higher ground than the rest of the city, so it avoided some of the worst direct effects of flooding, but still had to do without electricity, potable water, or functioning sanitary sewers for months after the storm.
While some of the places on Bourbon Street are tourist traps, the French Quarter and adjacent Faubourg Marigny neighborhood reflect the city's historical past under French and Spanish rule, and the strong and lasting African-American influence on American culture. There are architectural styles not seen in the rest of the country, some exceptionally fine restaurants, and live jazz still being played more than a century after the music began there. Even some of the street musicians, playing for tips and selling the occasional homemade CDs to passers-by, play better than many of the musicians one can hear performing in clubs in other cities. (I play well enough to know.) I tried to get the flavor of some of those things into my photos.
All in all, a fascinating city, and well worth a visit.
