I've been really bad recently about keeping track of the places that I've been going to. I always forget to bring my camera and then I forget where I went. New Orleans has been really interesting so far. Today we were in the car and my sister asked Kat, "Is there a New Orleans ghetto?" Yes and no, was her response, "It's all mixed in together." I think that's a pretty accurate description really. Like I said in my previous blog, New Orleans has no zoning laws, so everything is pretty much mixed up together with houses and stores in the same block. I think one of the best examples of this is Magazine Street. The street sort of bounces back and forth between houses and businesses with no real discernible pattern. It almost seems as if Magazine Street just happened, which gives it an almost joyful kind of feel. Carolyn and I had been wanting to explore Magazine for a while, but we're lazy and passive and neither one of us suggested it, so we just didn't do it.
All last weekend Kat was out sick with this awful cold (which for the record, was given to her by her father!) and Carolyn and I were left to find things to do on our own *GASP*, which doesn't sound all that scary, but we're both creatures of habit, particularly the habits of procrastination and laziness. We decided that we wanted to go to Magazine street but were too cheap to ride the street car (the fact that it actually doesn't run on Magazine made that decision simple) and didn't have a car meant that we were going to walk. I actually really enjoy walking, especially in cities. Next to biking, it's one of the best ways to see a city up close and personal. So we walked to Magazine, or rather down Magazine, since it starts on Canal in the Central Business District. The first stretch of the street is almost exclusively residential, with the National WWII Museum, a school, and some cool-but-nondescript shops and cafés thrown in there for fun. The houses are typical New Orleans style, long and skinny with three or four pillars in the front and high ceilings.
Things really started to get cool when Magazine intersected with Camp street. This three block section is the first long section of exclusively businesses. The street was lined with cute cafés, restaurants, clothing stores, home decor stores, and a hodge-podge of other random places. I also like this section because of its bright colors. I have an affinity for bright colors, and this block is one of the more colorful blocks I've seen so far. My favorite store is the H&R Block office, which is painted the bright green color of the H&R Block logo. Unfortunately we walked this on a Sunday, which meant that the stores were closed. We will definitely go back here though, because some of the stores were really cool looking. There was one store with this INSANE shell covered chandelier/candelabra monstrosity that really shouldn't exist. Also in this section is a specialty sign store. The signs they make are in many of the different stores up and down Magazine, and are actually really cool
The next section is all residential, and extra gorgeous. There's this house that I particularly liked that is all white except for the shutters and doors, which are bright red. I think that's really cool, and kind of unexpected. Of course I didn't bring my camera with me, so pictures will be coming later. Also in this neighborhood is the leaning house, which actually looks crooked. The trees here are huge and very old, which give the neighborhood a very antique feel. The houses were also pretty eccentric and had a lot of character.
The section after this one is the next exclusively business blocks and continues on forever. This is where Slim Goodies and La Divina are (hint: read my other blog posts!). This is also the home of Breaux Mart, one of the best-named supermarkets in the history of supermarkets...and fraternity bros, or should I say breauxs. I like this section a lot, actually. It's really cozy and has an interesting mix of businesses. There's a sushi restaurant, several cafés, a Greek restaurant called Byblos, a pet shop called Petcetera, and many other kitchy places. I sort of get the feeling that this place is really hipster, but then again that vibe comes from pretty much all of Magazine street. We stopped here that day, but we came back to this section when Carolyn's friend Sarah came and visited. We went into a bunch of the clothing shops, which all seemed nice, but were mostly for women and pretty pricey. We did go to The Funky Monkey, however, which aside from having an awesome name, is also pretty cool inside. It's a vintage store, although it does have some brand new items, most of which are from American Apparel (which also happens to have shop on this section of Magazine). The store was painted orange inside and filled with all kinds of treasures. Like the giant pink afro, for example. Or the large men's platform heels. You know, something for everybody! I didn't end up buying anything, but I would totally go back. We ended the trip at a café called Rue de la Course, which had really mediocre coffee, unfortunately, but it's a local business and the only other option was Starbucks *barf*. This section is where Magazine takes off. The shops are an interesting blend of chains and local businesses (again, no zoning laws). I really, really, really want to keep on walking, but the night was coming so we decided to call it quits.
Unfortunately this is pretty much as far as I've been on Magazine, as it is right by Kat's house and we tend not to venture further. In total, the walk from our apartment to Magazine and Seventh was three miles and took one hour. It was really pleasant and I recommend going the distance, literally and figuratively. For those of you who want to scope it out before you go, Magazine has its own website, with a listing of all of the businesses that line it. You can find it at www.magazinestreet.com
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