Some places just stick with you, and for me, nowhere stirs my soul quite like New Orleans.
I’m a homebody at heart, always content to stay in, play video games, read, or just relax alone. Travel can be stressful and takes a lot of planning, especially for someone like me. Going on vacation isn’t always restful. In fact, it usually leaves me drained.
But it’s worth it.
It’s important to push myself to go out and experience the world, especially as someone you might call “chronically online.” I usually try to visit new places and try new things, but some places call me back over and over again. My family often returns to the same beaches in Alabama, the same cabins in the Smoky Mountains, and most importantly, to New Orleans.
Born There, Drawn Back
There’s nowhere I love visiting more than New Orleans. My parents lived there for seven years, and it’s where I was born (though not where I grew up). Still, it feels like it’s in my bones.
New Orleans is bright, lively, and steeped in history. In one day, you can visit the St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, where renowned chess master Paul Morphy and famed Voodoo queen Marie Laveau are buried, dine at a restaurant rumored to be a meeting place for the infamous pirate Jean Lafitte, hear incredible live music on street corners, and browse handmade goods in the historic French Market.
Of course, the first thing many people associate with New Orleans is Mardi Gras. The parades are like nothing else. The floats, the dancers, the marching bands, each parade is a spectacle. My family prefers the smaller, more family-friendly parades where we can catch beads and watch the festivities without being overwhelmed by massive crowds.
One of my favorite stories is how my dad, a Midwestern man unaccustomed to flamboyant street celebrations, was reluctant at his first Mardi Gras. But it didn’t take long for him to dive into the fun. Now he wears his beads proudly and tries to catch trinkets from the floats like the rest of us. That’s the magic of Mardi Gras: it brings out the joy in everyone.
A City You Can Taste
Another reason people fall in love with New Orleans? The food—and they’re absolutely right to.
Nowhere else have I eaten so well. I’ve had red beans and rice and a debris sandwich from Mother’s Restaurant, crawfish étouffée and a muffuletta from Pierre Maspero’s, po’boys from countless little neighborhood spots, and more beignets than I can count from Café du Monde.
If I had the time, money, and stomach space, I’d spend my entire visit just eating my way through the city.
“There’s a rhythm to the city that gets under your skin, a feeling that hums in the air like the echo of distant music.”
When I say I love New Orleans, I don’t just mean I love the parades or the frozen daiquiris on Bourbon Street (though I do!). What I love is something less tangible. There’s a rhythm to the city that gets under your skin, a feeling that hums in the air like the echo of distant music.
Being in New Orleans makes me feel more like myself. It’s a place that invites you to slow down, be curious, savor life, and embrace a little strangeness. It’s a city with a soul, and once you’ve felt it, it’s hard not to fall completely in love.