Obsessing about New Orleans
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 3,027
Obsessing about New Orleans
I understand that this is part of my sickness. I thought I'd share, though: this has been growing in my head.
Following Nola accounts on Instagram and browsing them incessantly. Seeing pictures of the French quarter and tearing up. Watching "American horror story: Coven" repeatedly. Daydreaming about the city. Daydreaming about flying to the city. Daydreaming about the sex and alcohol fuelled trip I took with the husband in 2016.
I saw a friend at the reunion who we randomly saw in Nola on that weekend in 2016. He was pretty drunk and kept talking about us meeting up in chicago. I wanted to say dearest, I am as far away from thinking about chicago as you could imagine.
This Nola obsession went on all morning very intensely and then this afternoon I felt depressed. This evening, I told my husband that I wanted to go to Nola and "only drink there.". He laughed and said so this is your new sobriety plan, huh?
This, my friends, is how addiction weasels in and starts working on your head...
I of course had to remind myself that I am a dangerous binge drinker who has never drank normally, who goes on week long benders and almost poisons herself on the reg, and terrifies everyone when she drinks, and that I get to go right back to that if I drink, even if the drinking happens in New Orleans.
because I still remind myself.
Following Nola accounts on Instagram and browsing them incessantly. Seeing pictures of the French quarter and tearing up. Watching "American horror story: Coven" repeatedly. Daydreaming about the city. Daydreaming about flying to the city. Daydreaming about the sex and alcohol fuelled trip I took with the husband in 2016.
I saw a friend at the reunion who we randomly saw in Nola on that weekend in 2016. He was pretty drunk and kept talking about us meeting up in chicago. I wanted to say dearest, I am as far away from thinking about chicago as you could imagine.
This Nola obsession went on all morning very intensely and then this afternoon I felt depressed. This evening, I told my husband that I wanted to go to Nola and "only drink there.". He laughed and said so this is your new sobriety plan, huh?
This, my friends, is how addiction weasels in and starts working on your head...
I of course had to remind myself that I am a dangerous binge drinker who has never drank normally, who goes on week long benders and almost poisons herself on the reg, and terrifies everyone when she drinks, and that I get to go right back to that if I drink, even if the drinking happens in New Orleans.
because I still remind myself.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 1,183
The first time I went to NO, I was a mostly-moderate but occasional binge drinker, and I binged like a stupid tourist and was lucky I didn't get rolled. A guy got shot and killed right outside the bar I was in, no one seemed to care and they all kept on drinking in the streets, I kept drinking in the bar and staggered to my hotel and awoke to a hangover from hell.
Second time I binged less but drank more steadily, and hung around locals who knew the area. Guy got shot outside my hotel one night, never heard the rest of the story.
Third time was not long after Katrina, still drinking but I was there with family and kept it under control. I didn't hang around the French Quarter where most of the drunk tourists are, and I noticed how pathetic most of the population really is outside that area. Not everyone is a drunk, but a huge fraction of the population is drunk most of the time - that means fights and gunfire, people staggering around, homeless people living in abject poverty who think it's a big endless party, drunk driving on a massive scale, and street crime everywhere especially outside the police-patrolled tourist areas. And alcohol is the paint for that grim picture.
I haven't been back since I quit drinking, but I expect I will next year. If I do go, I'll stay safely indoors at night and leave the night life to the people who think it's all a big party, because I know better.
Second time I binged less but drank more steadily, and hung around locals who knew the area. Guy got shot outside my hotel one night, never heard the rest of the story.
Third time was not long after Katrina, still drinking but I was there with family and kept it under control. I didn't hang around the French Quarter where most of the drunk tourists are, and I noticed how pathetic most of the population really is outside that area. Not everyone is a drunk, but a huge fraction of the population is drunk most of the time - that means fights and gunfire, people staggering around, homeless people living in abject poverty who think it's a big endless party, drunk driving on a massive scale, and street crime everywhere especially outside the police-patrolled tourist areas. And alcohol is the paint for that grim picture.
I haven't been back since I quit drinking, but I expect I will next year. If I do go, I'll stay safely indoors at night and leave the night life to the people who think it's all a big party, because I know better.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 3,027
Originally Posted by JeffreyAK 
The first time I went to NO, I was a mostly-moderate but occasional binge drinker, and I binged like a stupid tourist and was lucky I didn't get rolled. A guy got shot and killed right outside the bar I was in, no one seemed to care and they all kept on drinking in the streets, I kept drinking in the bar and staggered to my hotel and awoke to a hangover from hell.
Second time I binged less but drank more steadily, and hung around locals who knew the area. Guy got shot outside my hotel one night, never heard the rest of the story.
Third time was not long after Katrina, still drinking but I was there with family and kept it under control. I didn't hang around the French Quarter where most of the drunk tourists are, and I noticed how pathetic most of the population really is outside that area. Not everyone is a drunk, but a huge fraction of the population is drunk most of the time - that means fights and gunfire, people staggering around, homeless people living in abject poverty who think it's a big endless party, drunk driving on a massive scale, and street crime everywhere especially outside the police-patrolled tourist areas. And alcohol is the paint for that grim picture.
I haven't been back since I quit drinking, but I expect I will next year. If I do go, I'll stay safely indoors at night and leave the night life to the people who think it's all a big party, because I know better.
Second time I binged less but drank more steadily, and hung around locals who knew the area. Guy got shot outside my hotel one night, never heard the rest of the story.
Third time was not long after Katrina, still drinking but I was there with family and kept it under control. I didn't hang around the French Quarter where most of the drunk tourists are, and I noticed how pathetic most of the population really is outside that area. Not everyone is a drunk, but a huge fraction of the population is drunk most of the time - that means fights and gunfire, people staggering around, homeless people living in abject poverty who think it's a big endless party, drunk driving on a massive scale, and street crime everywhere especially outside the police-patrolled tourist areas. And alcohol is the paint for that grim picture.
I haven't been back since I quit drinking, but I expect I will next year. If I do go, I'll stay safely indoors at night and leave the night life to the people who think it's all a big party, because I know better.
for me it's more than the party...alcohol is part of its legend, but it's the architecture, the food, the second lines everywhere, the humidity, the tropical plants, the history, the tours...just the way it feels there.
I have only spent one weekend there. Drinking. I only remember the magic, of course.
You'll go back as a sober person? What draws you back?
I am fascinated with this city on a grand scale, in fact I feel like I left my soul there...I'm not sure it's all alcohol.
But my soul got caught in the chains of booze too, so it's hard to know.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 1,183
Family there, is the only reason I'd go. It's a unique city, I agree, but it's also pickled in alcohol, and I'm sure for me at least, the main reason I thought it was so awesome early on was because of the drinking. I think I realized that the last time I was there, even though I was still a drinker (not yet an alcoholic drinker).
Forum Leader
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Posts: 16,945
Glad you are putting it out there. As a suggestion, perhaps cut back on the social media aspect? I find that more and more social media fuels unnecessary emotions, and not just in the minds of addicts. I find that the more time I spend away from social media platforms the better off I am in general.
Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 11,426
Hey Sassy;
I recall when I first quit drinking I had relatively little trouble not drinking the first 1 3/4 year(s).
But then, slowly thoughts like you're having started to surface.
Like, what about if I only do some wine tastings at the local vinyard?
Or, what about going out of town and having some drinks (in moderation)
while on holiday?
How about that Christmas single-malt to toast the season?
Because I had a relatively good start on sober time, and because I hadn't
really had to struggle once I'd made my mind up to quit, I didn't think I was
going to go back out, or if I compartmentalized, I could drink some without
losing it all.
When I had that first drink after my sober time, I enjoyed it quite honestly.
But the pattern began to slowly weave again. Not as low and desperate as before, but I didn't like the drinking me or the drinking lifestyle.
So I'd stop for a good period, then have a few, sometimes a few too many,
and climb back on the wagon.
I have compartmentalized it for the most part, but I see the best potential of what I can be is compromised each time I step out and step back.
I equate certain places and memories with the best of my life, and drinking was a big and not always negative part of that for many years.
I guess what I'm saying is I see that same thing surfacing in some of your posts.
It is milder, and so far you are staying strong, but the erosion is invisible, and a year or more of sober time is not really much protection.
Be careful, and it's great you are so mindful of what's going on.
I don't think NO would be the place to go for a number of years given what you've said.
Too much previous association, too early in sobriety, way too much of a drinking culture--only you can know that for sure, but the thing that finally brought me down was a flight of beer on a wine trail outing when I was thinking much as you seem to be about NO.
I recall when I first quit drinking I had relatively little trouble not drinking the first 1 3/4 year(s).
But then, slowly thoughts like you're having started to surface.
Like, what about if I only do some wine tastings at the local vinyard?
Or, what about going out of town and having some drinks (in moderation)
while on holiday?
How about that Christmas single-malt to toast the season?
Because I had a relatively good start on sober time, and because I hadn't
really had to struggle once I'd made my mind up to quit, I didn't think I was
going to go back out, or if I compartmentalized, I could drink some without
losing it all.
When I had that first drink after my sober time, I enjoyed it quite honestly.
But the pattern began to slowly weave again. Not as low and desperate as before, but I didn't like the drinking me or the drinking lifestyle.
So I'd stop for a good period, then have a few, sometimes a few too many,
and climb back on the wagon.
I have compartmentalized it for the most part, but I see the best potential of what I can be is compromised each time I step out and step back.
I equate certain places and memories with the best of my life, and drinking was a big and not always negative part of that for many years.
I guess what I'm saying is I see that same thing surfacing in some of your posts.
It is milder, and so far you are staying strong, but the erosion is invisible, and a year or more of sober time is not really much protection.
Be careful, and it's great you are so mindful of what's going on.
I don't think NO would be the place to go for a number of years given what you've said.
Too much previous association, too early in sobriety, way too much of a drinking culture--only you can know that for sure, but the thing that finally brought me down was a flight of beer on a wine trail outing when I was thinking much as you seem to be about NO.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Big City
Posts: 3,895
I too have family in New Orleans and have been a number of times. Yes, the huge fraction of drinkers there is astounding. It's obvious that tourists use their trip to the city to indulge on a level they wouldn't if they were in D.C. or San Francisco etc.
There is so much of the city that is unique and, at least somewhat, separate from the alcohol. Of course the food and music. The strange history of all these disparate cultures mixing. The nature too - amazing place to bird.
However I also acknowledge the sheer "pickling" of the place in booze, as Jeff awesomely puts it. It's an issue for me because I love it so and may even one day move there.
There is so much of the city that is unique and, at least somewhat, separate from the alcohol. Of course the food and music. The strange history of all these disparate cultures mixing. The nature too - amazing place to bird.
However I also acknowledge the sheer "pickling" of the place in booze, as Jeff awesomely puts it. It's an issue for me because I love it so and may even one day move there.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Baton Rouge, La.
Posts: 15,238
There is a show, NCIS New Orleans, that my
husband and I enjoy watching each season
because its show is next door to our own
city of Baton Rouge.
My own fond memories of New Orleans
is not that of as a drinking city but that of
as a place my family and I went to each
yr for Mardi Gras. Every Sunday, same
time for the 2pm Mid City Parade from
the time I was a little child to a teenager.
Yes, I too recall going to Pat O Brian's
for hurricanes or long island teas in the
early stages of my addiction, drinking
those sweet sweet drinks like water and
finding myself on the side of the road
puking my guts out over them. YUK..!!!
You'd think, since I live so close to
New Orlean's I must be the luckiest
women in the world to have access
to an oasis of over flowing booze and
fun.
Well, im sure there are a many a N. O.
cities out in this world similar where
alcohol is abundant. What about Sin City,
Las Vegas?
The only thing difference there is, Vegas
doesn't have New Orlean's Ladies.
Anyway.....
I moved to Houston for 10 yrs in my 1st
marriage with hopes that after our kids got
into college or finished their schooling we'd
return to our hometown of B. R.. Sadly we
didn't as a married couple.
However, I did alone because I absolutely
love it here in Baton Rouge. Even after hurricanes
that have come and gone thru out my lifetime
here, I wouldn't trade it for nothing.
Yes, I have fond memories here because
it is where I got sober 28 yrs ago and where
I began my recovery journey. Yes, I know
New Orleans is just a breathe away with
all its history galore, but im just as happy here
in BR and never tempted by the memories
I had of Pat O Brian's sweet, toxic poisons
that kept me sick in my addiction.
I may not be a New Orleans Lady but
I sure am a Baton Rouge grateful woman
in recovery.
husband and I enjoy watching each season
because its show is next door to our own
city of Baton Rouge.
My own fond memories of New Orleans
is not that of as a drinking city but that of
as a place my family and I went to each
yr for Mardi Gras. Every Sunday, same
time for the 2pm Mid City Parade from
the time I was a little child to a teenager.
Yes, I too recall going to Pat O Brian's
for hurricanes or long island teas in the
early stages of my addiction, drinking
those sweet sweet drinks like water and
finding myself on the side of the road
puking my guts out over them. YUK..!!!
You'd think, since I live so close to
New Orlean's I must be the luckiest
women in the world to have access
to an oasis of over flowing booze and
fun.
Well, im sure there are a many a N. O.
cities out in this world similar where
alcohol is abundant. What about Sin City,
Las Vegas?
The only thing difference there is, Vegas
doesn't have New Orlean's Ladies.
Anyway.....
I moved to Houston for 10 yrs in my 1st
marriage with hopes that after our kids got
into college or finished their schooling we'd
return to our hometown of B. R.. Sadly we
didn't as a married couple.
However, I did alone because I absolutely
love it here in Baton Rouge. Even after hurricanes
that have come and gone thru out my lifetime
here, I wouldn't trade it for nothing.
Yes, I have fond memories here because
it is where I got sober 28 yrs ago and where
I began my recovery journey. Yes, I know
New Orleans is just a breathe away with
all its history galore, but im just as happy here
in BR and never tempted by the memories
I had of Pat O Brian's sweet, toxic poisons
that kept me sick in my addiction.
I may not be a New Orleans Lady but
I sure am a Baton Rouge grateful woman
in recovery.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 3,027
Thank you so much for all your responses...Will read more carefully but two jumped out at me: Scott, I am overdue for a screen detox. It's cutting into my sleep, stirring up thoughts and I think, making me more sedentary and tired than I should be.
Hawkeye: this is exactly what's happening. It's another form of romanticizing the drink.
Hawkeye: this is exactly what's happening. It's another form of romanticizing the drink.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 3,027
Sharon,
so cool you live in baton rouge! I love louisiana: the food, culture and history there.
It's funny but you are right: only a tourist would think of Nola the way I do, the odd thing is I live in Sacramento, which has its own beautiful architecture and art scene, so I don't know why I obsess about Nola so much, I think it's the free flowing alcohol but also it's exotic to me considering the difference in landscape from northern CA.
also my husband has been to Vegas a few times (I have not) and he draws a lot of similarities also....but Vegas doesn't have witches, voodooo (had to change spelling on that, the system wouldn't allow it), French, African and Creole influence, and that swampy, heavy feel of the south.
so cool you live in baton rouge! I love louisiana: the food, culture and history there.
It's funny but you are right: only a tourist would think of Nola the way I do, the odd thing is I live in Sacramento, which has its own beautiful architecture and art scene, so I don't know why I obsess about Nola so much, I think it's the free flowing alcohol but also it's exotic to me considering the difference in landscape from northern CA.
also my husband has been to Vegas a few times (I have not) and he draws a lot of similarities also....but Vegas doesn't have witches, voodooo (had to change spelling on that, the system wouldn't allow it), French, African and Creole influence, and that swampy, heavy feel of the south.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 3,027
Originally Posted by lessgravity
I too have family in New Orleans and have been a number of times. Yes, the huge fraction of drinkers there is astounding. It's obvious that tourists use their trip to the city to indulge on a level they wouldn't if they were in D.C. or San Francisco etc.
There is so much of the city that is unique and, at least somewhat, separate from the alcohol. Of course the food and music. The strange history of all these disparate cultures mixing. The nature too - amazing place to bird.
However I also acknowledge the sheer "pickling" of the place in booze, as Jeff awesomely puts it. It's an issue for me because I love it so and may even one day move there.
There is so much of the city that is unique and, at least somewhat, separate from the alcohol. Of course the food and music. The strange history of all these disparate cultures mixing. The nature too - amazing place to bird.
However I also acknowledge the sheer "pickling" of the place in booze, as Jeff awesomely puts it. It's an issue for me because I love it so and may even one day move there.
Maybe one day I'll open a crossfit/coffee house there...
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 3,027
Also hawkeye: you've settled it for me. I'm taking what you said and I'm going to stop planting the seed in my husband's brain, I don't need him suddenly buying tickets when I am this vulnerable. My husband is a musician in love with live music and he fell hard for the swamp tour, he'd go back in a heartbeat, so I'm going to shelve this and watch from a distance on instagram.
Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: East Coast
Posts: 1,906
I had to chuckle a little at the nola reference. I was born and raised in LA. My father is Cajun.
You did the right thing by sharing about it and thinking it all the way through. I was shaken up a little bit today-myself. I'm not used to getting triggered like I did today.
However, like you, I went to the arsenal of tools and went to work on sorting it out. It's been a minute since I've had that happen to me.
I wonder if the fully recovered ever completely shake the occasional thoughts.
I'm just glad their really far apart nowadays.
You did the right thing by sharing about it and thinking it all the way through. I was shaken up a little bit today-myself. I'm not used to getting triggered like I did today.
However, like you, I went to the arsenal of tools and went to work on sorting it out. It's been a minute since I've had that happen to me.
I wonder if the fully recovered ever completely shake the occasional thoughts.
I'm just glad their really far apart nowadays.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: West Tn
Posts: 3,043
I think there are certain places and events which we can associate with heavy drinking.
In my case, it was car races, which were always a lost weekend for me.
I tried to go for a weekend of car racing in Atlanta about 6 months after I got sober.
After a very disconcerting day at the track on Saturday (as a result of the presence of so much beer and pot), I sold my Sunday tickets and drove home on Saturday evening.
I watched the Sunday race on television from the safety of my own home.
This was actually somewhat of a watershed moment in my early sobriety, because I went to any lengths to protect my rather nascent recovery.
I go to many car races these days and the alcohol and pot don't bother me any more.
But if they ever do, I will turn around and exit the track.
It's certainly understandable that someone would associate New Orleans with drinking.
I had never been there sober until a couple of months ago (I hadn't been there in 40 years), but my wife and I had a great trip there and caught the Eagles in concert.
We stayed away from Bourbon St. - we simply had no desire to be around a bunch of drunks.
I'm sure you will be able to return there one day and not think about the old drinking experiences there.
It just takes some time.
Very good topic.
In my case, it was car races, which were always a lost weekend for me.
I tried to go for a weekend of car racing in Atlanta about 6 months after I got sober.
After a very disconcerting day at the track on Saturday (as a result of the presence of so much beer and pot), I sold my Sunday tickets and drove home on Saturday evening.
I watched the Sunday race on television from the safety of my own home.
This was actually somewhat of a watershed moment in my early sobriety, because I went to any lengths to protect my rather nascent recovery.
I go to many car races these days and the alcohol and pot don't bother me any more.
But if they ever do, I will turn around and exit the track.
It's certainly understandable that someone would associate New Orleans with drinking.
I had never been there sober until a couple of months ago (I hadn't been there in 40 years), but my wife and I had a great trip there and caught the Eagles in concert.
We stayed away from Bourbon St. - we simply had no desire to be around a bunch of drunks.
I'm sure you will be able to return there one day and not think about the old drinking experiences there.
It just takes some time.
Very good topic.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 3,027
Originally Posted by SoberCAH
I think there are certain places and events which we can associate with heavy drinking.
In my case, it was car races, which were always a lost weekend for me.
I tried to go for a weekend of car racing in Atlanta about 6 months after I got sober.
After a very disconcerting day at the track on Saturday (as a result of the presence of so much beer and pot), I sold my Sunday tickets and drove home on Saturday evening.
I watched the Sunday race on television from the safety of my own home.
This was actually somewhat of a watershed moment in my early sobriety, because I went to any lengths to protect my rather nascent recovery.
I go to many car races these days and the alcohol and pot don't bother me any more.
But if they ever do, I will turn around and exit the track.
It's certainly understandable that someone would associate New Orleans with drinking.
I had never been there sober until a couple of months ago (I hadn't been there in 40 years), but my wife and I had a great trip there and caught the Eagles in concert.
We stayed away from Bourbon St. - we simply had no desire to be around a bunch of drunks.
I'm sure you will be able to return there one day and not think about the old drinking experiences there.
It just takes some time.
Very good topic.
In my case, it was car races, which were always a lost weekend for me.
I tried to go for a weekend of car racing in Atlanta about 6 months after I got sober.
After a very disconcerting day at the track on Saturday (as a result of the presence of so much beer and pot), I sold my Sunday tickets and drove home on Saturday evening.
I watched the Sunday race on television from the safety of my own home.
This was actually somewhat of a watershed moment in my early sobriety, because I went to any lengths to protect my rather nascent recovery.
I go to many car races these days and the alcohol and pot don't bother me any more.
But if they ever do, I will turn around and exit the track.
It's certainly understandable that someone would associate New Orleans with drinking.
I had never been there sober until a couple of months ago (I hadn't been there in 40 years), but my wife and I had a great trip there and caught the Eagles in concert.
We stayed away from Bourbon St. - we simply had no desire to be around a bunch of drunks.
I'm sure you will be able to return there one day and not think about the old drinking experiences there.
It just takes some time.
Very good topic.
Our addiction sure gets tied up in it. For some reason the fun and romantic drinking I did in Nola seems like a completely different phenomenon than the three day bender I spent in bed, crying, confused, sending pitiful texts to people closest to me, using a laundry bucket to hold empty and half full whiskey and diet coke bottles on the floor so when my family walked in they wouldn't notice all the wreckage.
yet they are one and the same.
My brain wakes up and gets aroused with even just the thought of Nola, the images burning into my brain, I am sure on a scan it would be lit up like crazy.
Just the associations start to feed it. What a sneaky bastard it is...
Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 185
I went to NOLA this summer for a wedding--my first time there. I stayed stone sober the entire time--drank a lot of delish lemonade--but I was honestly taken aback that the entire city seemed smashed after, say, early evening. I was right smack in the thick of it--the wedding hotel and venue was literally 10 steps off Bourbon Street--but if anything the whole scene made me more committed to sobriety. The smell, the staggering, the fighting and screaming and oversexed grinding of strangers on strangers... the whole thing felt filthy.
It also helped that my husband (who was with me in NOLA) never drinks. He thinks of drinking like... oh, maybe brussels sprouts. Nothing wrong with them, but certainly not worth actually keeping around. Thank heavens for that.
We spent our non-wedding time touring the city on a double decker bus... riding a steamboat... and eating PoBoys.
I liked the city but was really ready to go home-- just too much alcohol running down the streets for me. I don't know that I'll go back.
Thanks for the post, Sassy. Helped me process my thinking about it all.
It also helped that my husband (who was with me in NOLA) never drinks. He thinks of drinking like... oh, maybe brussels sprouts. Nothing wrong with them, but certainly not worth actually keeping around. Thank heavens for that.
We spent our non-wedding time touring the city on a double decker bus... riding a steamboat... and eating PoBoys.
I liked the city but was really ready to go home-- just too much alcohol running down the streets for me. I don't know that I'll go back.
Thanks for the post, Sassy. Helped me process my thinking about it all.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 3,027
Interesting, finding, thanks for the perspective.
We enjoyed bourbon street, but we did a haunted tour, the cemetery tour with an incredible guide...loved her, and a swamp tour; plus we met up with a friend there, watched a game at a local brewery with music, watched a funk band, a blues band and a jazz band, tasted hurricanes and the Sazarac and beignets, visited about 50 shops, toured the whole french quarter, took a billion pictures, drank the whole time: and we were there less than 72 hours!! I am in love with this city: the mystery, the architecture, the lore, the art, the legends, the music, the food, the people, the spirit, the second lines, the free feeling that seems to flow everywhere even when it veers into debauchery, black culture and voodooo, the witch scene, the african, french and creole contribution, the weather, the trials it's people have endured with natural disasters, the fact that it's topography is literally a big swampy bowl of colorful culture, a triumph of happiness, music, and dance. The jewel of the US. I'm in love. It's not just booze. But I was deeply in love with booze at the time as well....so it would be interesting and probably a good personal project to go completely sober. If any of you happen to be there if and when I go back...have a cup of coffee with me in the quarter!
We enjoyed bourbon street, but we did a haunted tour, the cemetery tour with an incredible guide...loved her, and a swamp tour; plus we met up with a friend there, watched a game at a local brewery with music, watched a funk band, a blues band and a jazz band, tasted hurricanes and the Sazarac and beignets, visited about 50 shops, toured the whole french quarter, took a billion pictures, drank the whole time: and we were there less than 72 hours!! I am in love with this city: the mystery, the architecture, the lore, the art, the legends, the music, the food, the people, the spirit, the second lines, the free feeling that seems to flow everywhere even when it veers into debauchery, black culture and voodooo, the witch scene, the african, french and creole contribution, the weather, the trials it's people have endured with natural disasters, the fact that it's topography is literally a big swampy bowl of colorful culture, a triumph of happiness, music, and dance. The jewel of the US. I'm in love. It's not just booze. But I was deeply in love with booze at the time as well....so it would be interesting and probably a good personal project to go completely sober. If any of you happen to be there if and when I go back...have a cup of coffee with me in the quarter!
Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 185
Yeah, yeah, yeah. You’re absolutely right. All those things were fantastic.
There is certainly a feeling in the air—acceptance, maybe?—that everyone and everything is perfectly okay with everyone else. I liked that.
And the coffee and beignets... *sigh*
It really was (is) nice that I remember every detail. Just some I don’t need to see again.... like, say, how easily I could see my 20-something self there, being the drunkest of the drunk. It made me realize that for some of them they’ll fall into the alcoholic trap... it’s godawful hard to scratch out.
I dunno. Feeling melancholy tonight.
But, yeah, Sass...All those things you listed about NOLA were pretty fantastic, booze or no booze.
There is certainly a feeling in the air—acceptance, maybe?—that everyone and everything is perfectly okay with everyone else. I liked that.
And the coffee and beignets... *sigh*
It really was (is) nice that I remember every detail. Just some I don’t need to see again.... like, say, how easily I could see my 20-something self there, being the drunkest of the drunk. It made me realize that for some of them they’ll fall into the alcoholic trap... it’s godawful hard to scratch out.
I dunno. Feeling melancholy tonight.
But, yeah, Sass...All those things you listed about NOLA were pretty fantastic, booze or no booze.
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
