Saturday, February 05, 2005
One final entry about N'awlins...
When we decided to tour New Orleans, Magazine Street was not high on the list. In fact, it wasn't on the list of things to do at all. It turned out to be a surprise adventure as a result of a brief glance at a thick city brochure. Magazine Street delighted my tendency to dive into vintage fashion. The amount of stellar vintage clothing stores, funky independent boutiques, and thematic antique shops that dominate Magazine Street is stunning. We explored the street, which borders the Garden District and parallels St. Charles St., over two different day trips and did not see half of it.
My final highlight would have to be the St. Charles Streetcar. This terrific green machine connected the edge of the French Quarter to the Garden District and beyond. The cars have wooden benches that have adjustable backs that can either face forward, like that of a typical bus, or be pushed so that a party of four can face one another. The fixtures in the streetcars are brass and the push-up windows have pull-down blinds in case the sun is in your eyes. Though it is an obvious tourist attraction, it is still frequented by the locals and makes for a bizarre cultural dynamic since shutters are snapping and newspaper crosswords are being completed synchronously.
When we decided to tour New Orleans, Magazine Street was not high on the list. In fact, it wasn't on the list of things to do at all. It turned out to be a surprise adventure as a result of a brief glance at a thick city brochure. Magazine Street delighted my tendency to dive into vintage fashion. The amount of stellar vintage clothing stores, funky independent boutiques, and thematic antique shops that dominate Magazine Street is stunning. We explored the street, which borders the Garden District and parallels St. Charles St., over two different day trips and did not see half of it.
My final highlight would have to be the St. Charles Streetcar. This terrific green machine connected the edge of the French Quarter to the Garden District and beyond. The cars have wooden benches that have adjustable backs that can either face forward, like that of a typical bus, or be pushed so that a party of four can face one another. The fixtures in the streetcars are brass and the push-up windows have pull-down blinds in case the sun is in your eyes. Though it is an obvious tourist attraction, it is still frequented by the locals and makes for a bizarre cultural dynamic since shutters are snapping and newspaper crosswords are being completed synchronously.
