Sunday, May 25, 2014

This morning


This morning, in the hotel courtyard, I sat before breakfast looking at the the terra-cotta architecture above me, watching the lizards jumping off the trees, bobbing and displaying their red throats, and smelling the gardenia behind me – the scent swelling as the humidity deepened – and, after last night's elegant party by the Tchefuncte River, wondering why it is a gardenia corsage or, for that matter, a gardenia buttonhole is no longer worn, even at weddings. The most heavenly of scents, gardenia, mixes well I find with smoke from the first cigarette of the day – not mine, for I gave up smoking thirty-six years ago – but that of the lank-haired trio tapping ash on the floor all the while ignoring the ashtray on the table between them. I wondered, too, at the other scent of the morning, coffee; why it is that however great the flourish with which it is presented and however risibly high the prices, this or that institution's weak and bitter swill is still served "with great pride "the continent over. It being too early in New Orleans for any Muse other than Moolah to be attentive. answers came there none.



I made two discoveries yesterday. The first that the Sazerac cocktail as made in the bar of the W Hotel – Sazerac rye, brandy, bitters, an absinthe rinse and a lemon twist – when combined with a good lunch, high heat and humidity, is one of the best reasons for an afternoon nap ever poured. Tasty, too.


The second discovery, recommended by a friend, was M S Rau, an antiques business, begun in 1911, the likes of which I have not seen outside Europe or New York. Here is the real New Orleans, I thought, cultured, learned, and almost hidden by the tourism-beset streets. M S Rau's business, of course, is rarely from people like me who, on a Saturday, walk in from the street and occupy the ever-patient staff members, but from museums, collectors, decorators the world over. I spent a brilliant hour or so looking at everything – from the exquisite Aesthetic Movement gasolier (now electrified), to the Hester Bateman silver jug; the Faberge cufflinks; a Belter child's slipper chair; a French Compendium clock; a micromosaic table; to the most moving set of photographs of Marilyn Munro (not, generally speaking, an object of interest to me) – the photograph of Monroe's ex-husband, Joe DiMaggio, with his son at her funeral, August 8, 1962 is an eloquent portrayal of loss and regret.


One very noticeable aspect of New Orleans, and I suppose it is true of any popular destination on this continent, is that casual clothing, judging by the hoards that overrun this city, is any variation of clothing more suitable to the gym – be it fitting or no. 

As to Bourbon Street after dark – best left to be the hell it is. 




7 comments:

  1. For a moment, judging by the last photo, I thought you might at Disneyland. However, as I read, the real magic is in the antique store. Evocative post!

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    1. Thank you, Daniel. We went to New Orleans twenty years ago and didn't like it but this visit makes me think the city would repay effort to get to know it.

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  2. People have to understand that to some degree NO is frozen in time. The income levels for the average resident is near poverty, the turn over as a tourist destination provides a customer new each day as it were. The hotels provide housing for tourists and sightseerers, so what is within walking distance from that area is what you see. A dirty urban center yes, smelly yes but wow what a scene. The magazine street bisects the town, the garden district needs to be seen on foot, the trolley cars the day we were there were packed with inebriated red dress clad men and women. A city of history and worthy of a visit or two How many people have been to Washington D.C.?

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    1. Anonymous, thank you. A most considered comment that has set me thinking about how, in future, I might visit New Orleans again with more insight. I would like to return and walk the city.

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  3. New Orleans has been on my "must visit" list for many years. I had a lucky escape as I would have been there on a trip right when the devastating hurricane hit the town, but had a last minute change in itinerary. Shall likely visit next year (early) before the humidity sets in. Rest assured, however, I will leave the gym clothing where it belongs. Why don't people dress appropriately any more? Don't get me started.

    Enjoyed your last few posts very much. Thank you.

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    1. Chronica Domus, thank you. For years, after a not-too-successful visit to New Orleans I vowed never to go back but this trip has opened my eyes. It's still the same mess I found it to be twenty years ago but there is a city behind the city one sees in photographs and on TV. Anonymous's comment above is very interesting and has given me thought.

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  4. I remember this nice place New Orléans during a travel, a fex year ago, greeting from Belgium

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