My trip to New Orleans, Louisiana was a two-day “layover” during a much longer road trip home from Los Angeles, California to Washington, DC. In true introvert fashion, and for the purpose of my mental solace, I meandered around the city alone, on foot and by street car, wandering up and down vacant streets of the French Quarter on an early morning in October last year. I savored the tantalizing sugary goodness of Café du Monde beignets, and the ultra-satisfying wash of an iced Coffee Au Lait. I took in the mesmerizing architecture and unique color motifs of this beautiful place. And with all the visual, gustative, and olfactive beauty that surrounded me, nothing could match the magnanimous beauty of the folks there.
The warmth displayed by the people in New Orleans is unlike anything I have ever experienced in any place I’ve had the pleasure of visiting. There was a humble pride held on onto by all the residents; a wondrous reflection of that stereotypical benevolent southern hospitality presented in the most genuine of ways. One interaction after the next made my heart swell with returned love for individuals and city, both of which, I hadn’t had the pleasure of knowing as intimately before. From my Uber driver who simultaneously expressed his worry for my safety in the way my Grandfather used to while offering me advice about the best spot to eat the City’s world-renowned Gumbo after peeping that I was headed to a less-favorable eatery, to the newly-minted oyster shucker who shared parts of his intricate and humbling life story with me as I ate my shrimp étouffée at a place only blocks away from my St. Roche tiny house stay. Oh and I can’t forget about the man (pictured below in the yellow hat), meek in stature and not much older than me, who called me “Queen” in a way that could only come from a place of true admiration and caring, and who chose to share his more vulnerable side with me and my camera.
The only thing that left me wanting more was my pictorial records of all these moments and more. Unfortunately, I was only able to capture a few images that, to me, captured the city the way I saw and felt it. Nonetheless, this photo below is greatest representation of endearing qualities of this gem we know as New Orleans, Louisiana USA.
Otis Lily 