This past weekend, the last before Mardi Gras, I stayed with some friends in a large old house in the Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans. There, we each found our own little pieces of magic. Away from the tourist crowds in the popular French Quarter, we were surrounded by colorful, unique and beautifully restored houses, lending way to a blended French, Spanish and Caribbean vibe. On one sunny corner, a bright pink building, adorned with sparkles, stood in front of warehouses. On the next street, a white colonial porch housed a woven straw rocking bench. Inside our own oasis, palm trees shaded our inner courtyard.
Fantasy + Mystery
Fantasy and mystery permeate the city. You feel it right away, in the quiet lull of dusk as the boulevard parades begin on the other side of town.
On Friday night we ventured onto Frenchman Street. We stood scarfing down dinner and slushy coffee cocktails and then made our way into the midnight market. Beautiful crafts covered tables spilling into the crowded streets. Rings of gilded Nutria skulls, bracelets of silver spoons, terrifying masks, enchanting jeweled feather headpieces. Armed with little purchased pieces of our alter egos, we moseyed toward the street music and danced around the moving cars. Hours later as the crowd began dispersing, a little boy gave us a brilliant drums finale.
We went on to indulge in morning runs along the water, an afternoon of wine and cheese in the lower ninth ward, a hipster circus in an abandoned warehouse and a parade through the Bywater. Late night feasts, beignets and coffee, card games, and dancing around giant balloons.
It's blizzarding outside my window in Manhattan right now while I'm basking in the sunlight of fantasyland.
~Eileen
