High Schoolers Part 2: Anvrell, New Orleans, LA

Some club on S. Peters...New Orleans, LA

Fun in NOLA has a way of sneaking up on you. At dinner the night I took this picture I had a scorpion bowl sized drink. No, I didn't order a drink that size, but I guess that's how they come in NOLA. It tasted sweet and fruity with almost no alcohol...or so I thought. Despite having paced myself with water and another two beers over the next four hours of dancing let's just say the pain I experienced the next day made me promise not to drink ever again.

So we're in line at a club on S. Peters looking to dance, and we see the gentleman above. I grin. He was obviously a VIP, so he went in while we had to wait in line. I would see him later in the club, but then would lose him. But as we were heading out for the night there he was right in my path.

This look, and I'll be posting others, always seems put together. These guys obviously had to think about their outfits. Their sneakers match their pants which matches their shirts AND there's sometimes a bit of bling. In short they look pulled together.

I still hesitate on approaching people, but it's amazing how a few drinks and a camera will give you a boost of confidence. It was loud in the club, so I didn't get to chat him up. I wanted to step outside, but he said, let's do it here (my silly self wanted to giggle and say, oh shucks, not in front of all these people).

Snapshots of NOLA after Katrina

You can’t go to New Orleans, or NOLA as some friends refer to it, without thinking or talking about Hurricane Katrina. The hurricane’s presence is everywhere from the horizontal clay colored water stripe on the highway walls to indicate the 7 feet of water stewed the city for weeks, to the house shells that continue to litter the Lower Ninth Ward.

I particularly enjoy Boston in the early mornings when the city hums with a quiet energy. By 8:30 the city teems with people. In NOLA, you keep waiting for the crowd, but the crowd doesn’t come. There’s a ghost like quality to walking around the French Quarter or the Garden District. The New Orleans Index estimates that about 71.5 percent of the preKatrina population has moved back into the city. The levee walls that now protect the Lower Ninth Ward aren't guaranteed to protect the area against another category 5 hurricane such as Katrina.

Joy on Chartres Street....New Orleans, LA

Stand out in plaid....Decatur Street, New Orleans

After three hours of walking around the French Quarter, I spied Elizabeth across the street from Cafe du Monde. When she turned around I was taken aback. The dress is so young and fun, but her eyes. Holy moly. Imagine eyes the color of wet grass. Stunning.

Elizabeth's an student studying architecture. She is a bartender on the side.

A sunny outlook...Chartres Street, New Orleans, LA

Tricia is visiting New Orleans from San Francisco. Her rafia and patent leather flats are from BCBG and her jeans from H&M. Here is a closeup of her shoes.

Still in New Orleans...Royal Street

I really dig Yokiko's scarf. I would have kept such a scarf for a night on the town, but I like how she wears it during the day.

April in New Orleans....The Sheraton on Canal Street

I'm at a conference in the Big Easy. I spied April at the Starbucks in the lobby of the Sheraton as I desperately needed fuel in the morning. I would later run into her around 3:00 PM as I exited a session. She's studying sociology at the University of Texas in Austin.

In New Orleans...Toulouse Street

Elizabeth is attending the International Association of Culinary Professionals. That dress makes her legs look so long.

Elizabeth and her friend were on their ways to Stella's a new restaurant on Chartres. When I'm in a new town it's all about the food for me. I case out the newest chefs, and the best restaurants that I can afford. I have it in mind to go to Restaurant August and Cochon while I'm here. I'll let you know how it goes.