Away From the Usual Haunts

My good friend Crystal once said that New Orleans was the city of her heart. I have come to recognize the Big Easy is the city of my soul. I visit every chance I get. In fact, I just got back from a research trip.  

My Under the Moon series is set in New Orleans and most of the action of Under the Blood Moon takes place in the French Quarter. I absolutely love the Quarter. It has an energy found nowhere else.

Most of the time when I visit, I stay in the Quarter. Sometimes at a hotel, sometimes at a quaint B&B. I have occasionally stayed in the CBD, but ended up spending most of my waking hours wandering through Jackson Square, down Royal, and dodging drunks on Bourbon.

I changed it up this visit. I stayed in the Garden District. I’ve been through the area before – written the St. Charles streetcar to the end of the line, drooled over the magnificent houses, and sought shade under the stately old trees. I decided to chuck the guided towards both self and otherwise and explore off the beaten path. I ate in some amazing restaurants. By the way the ribs at Lulu’s distillery are to die for and the sushi from Sushi Brothers is some of the best I’ve ever had. Look for some of the things that I discovered to show up in my next novel, Under the Harvest Moon. 

By day, I am an academic. My original specialty was 20^th century German history, so a trip to the World War II Museum was in order. Wow. It is very well done. There are tons of interactive displays and lots of personal stories about the soldiers, doctors, nurses, factory workers, and others who contributed to the war effort.

I also took the historic River cruise aboard the Creole Queen. Likewise, it is fabulous! The onboard historian, Dr. Wendell, is both informative and entertaining. The food and the bottomless mimosas were total bonuses. I learned great tidbits to add into later books. I would have loved to explore the Chalmette Battlefield more but with the mercury heading past 98, I decided that A/C was necessary and went back to the boat.

There are lots of other things that happened on this trip, but I’ll save those for later. Right now, I’d like to hear about your favorite NOLA places. Please post them in the comments below. If you want more tidbits, please subscribe to my newsletter.