Back on the road again, this time in the Southern State of Louisiana…
Dear All,
I left you a few months ago after one of the greatest trip of my life in Iceland. Back then, it was all about getting lost in mother nature, chasing auroras and mostly discover some of the most astonishing landscapes I’ve ever seen. This time, I’m taking you on a long road trip throughout the US (Louisiana, California, Oregon, Washington) and Canada (well actually only in the Beautiful British Columbia).
During this first leg, I’ll spend a few days in New Orleans and cruising in the surrounding area, in the swamps and visiting a few plantations (who said Django?).
NOLA aka « The Big Easy » has been on top of my bucket list for almost 10 years but I never could really find the time to make my way to Louisiana. But this time, having longer holidays before me, the set-up was just perfect.
Being a music fan, a dedicated foodie and having a strong interest in history, this city gathers pretty much all of it:
- a French and Spanish heritage (translated into food, architecture, slangs, music);
- a Caribbean vibe that makes you feel you’re not in the US anymore;
- yummy Cajun and Creole food and;
- probably one of the most unique musical culture in the World (where was Jazz born again? you’re damn right).
So forget Mardi Gras and Bourbon Street (almost too touristy) and let’s delve into the streets of the French Quarter, the Tremé Quarter or let’s club crawl till dawn on Frenchmen Street. This street boasts a very high concentration of great clubs with live bands. You can go from one club to the next one and will be amazed by the quality of the music. And even on the street itself the street artists are great. On weekend nights, because of the concentration of onlookers, car almost can’t drive throughout Frenchmen Street.
As for my gear this time, I pamper myself with a brand new lens, a 10-24mm Fujinon. I wanted to buy a wide-angle for quite sometime and eventually decided to buy it (this trip was the perfect plea haha).
Though, I could use it only one day. I don’t know if this is because of an emotions’ overflow, the humidity or the music bass, but after one day, the shutter of my camera got stuck in closed position and impossible to « unlock » it. So the camera was useless and I was really pissed cause Fujifilm has only one after-sales locations in the USA, in f******** New Jersey (!!!!!). So impossible to get it fixed quickly. Basically, I brought all my equipment for nothing!
So let’s focus on the positive side, I won’t spend hours sorting and editing the raw files. And having my GoPro and a functioning iPhone , I might offset the technical lack with a certain creativity and a sharp look right 😉 ?
However, the first results with this lens look promising. But still, highly frustrating to carry around 4 kgs of useless material, especially when you want to take that great night shot for instance but can’t because your iPhone doesn’t allow you to push up the ISO.
But anyway, I had a great time in NOLA and hope you’ll enjoy those few pics.
Stay tuned for the next episode.
A soundtrack to get in the mood Chuck Berry – You never can tell
Click on the thumbnails to enlarge the pictures.
Leaving NOLA on Sunday Afternoon, after a great Easter Parade with brass bands and everything, my aim was to cruise the countryside (Lafayette, Breaux Bridge, etc.) Plantations are also a big part of the historical and cultural heritage of Louisiana (Evergreen Plantation where Django Unchained was filmed and Whitney Plantation). Little tip, if you have to pick one plantation to visit, make sure it is Whitney, the only one that tackles the issue from the perspective of the slaves and not the one of the slaves’ owners.
There are still Cajun families who keep the ancient traditions alive and also run B&B or take you on tour in the swamps, in Lake Martin for instance. And food remains a common theme that guided my tour. So just a short tour but a great foretaste of what this region has to offer. I’ll be back for sure.
