A Twlight Zone City

Driving In it was like any old city, the deeper we got into the heart I came to realize @NewOrleans was not like any city I’ve ever seen. Different colored houses zoomed by me as I read the names of store fronts in search of the restaurant my friend worked. It was very difficult to do this because the houses and commercial buildings were all mixed up together abandoned house with broken windows sat next to delis with lines out the door. Not one house resembled the next. It was lovely. It was @magical. Next to a subway and across the street from a run-down Shell station on the corner St.Claude Ave and Franklin Ave . We finally found the restaurant my friend worked. @TheArtisanCaféandbar was modest and charming. The front was painted green with a large red sign hung above the doorway displaying the name and an image of a paint palette. Looking in the two small windows to the right of the front door you can see a couple high tops to the right of the dining room and a bar lining the left wall. Upon Entering we were warmly welcomed by a wonderful gentlemen behind the bar, no wonder my friend chose this place to work it was an artist’s dream hang out. Local art work lined the walls, slot machines blinked colorful lights towards the back of the restaurant, farther into my stay I realized was not unusual for @NewOrleans. Highly recommend café if you are in the area. I was over-whelmed with joy to see my best friend, it had been a year since the last time we saw year other, we walked to an enclosed Outside area with stone walls decorated in more local art, three umbrella covered picnic tables, and white sand covering the ground. After many hugs, a strong well-made drink, and a brief catching up; we obtained my friend's address. To get a layout of the area, we drove around the neighborhood before heading to the address. The roads were rough and bumping as we zig zagged through the them, trying to stay aware of the one-way street signs while still in awe at how every building, home or other, was completely different from the next. The neighborhood had an assortment of homes, a church, a school that looked as if it came right out of a horror movie, and a few corner convenience stores. Oh, and did I mention countless bars? One on nearly every street. @NewOrleans was certainly a drunk man’s dream. Parking on the street, we walked toward the brick building my friend lived in noticing yet another bar less than a foot away from his front door.
It felt like a whole new experience every time I walked out the door depending on the time of day. It was kind of overwhelming at first. But, I quickly got use to the sights; like tents under the freeway, men sweeping porches of half burnt down houses, trucks pulling “party trailers” with live DJ’s on them at all hours, and woman twerking in the headlights of school buses under overpasses (Yes, this really happened). Did I mention you could drink in the streets at any time? DRUNK PEOPLE EVERYWHERE! The chaos crowded street of the @FrenchQuarter is no place to drive at night as we accidentally found out in the first week out exploring. My advice park and walk because it undeniably makes the must experience list for @NewOrleans. Every day of the week was a party here.
During the Day, we explored Above ground cemeteries, Museums, and just Drove around looking at the City and outskirts of the city.
One of our nights out during our stay, was at my friend’s favorite neighborhood bar @TheGoat. It was a dive bar located on St. Bernards Ave in the Seventh Ward. The nearly empty bar was a relief after experiencing the non-stop party of the rest of @NewOrleans. The inside was quiet except the sound of Frasier's voice coming out of a small TV in the upper right corner of the bar. To the left of the front door, Lights blinked from slot machines next to an arched entrance way to a room with secluded booths. Ordering my usual @CaptainMorgan and Coke, my friend and I sat outside at a rickety high top and finally caught each other up on our last year. This was one of the only bars I went to during my stay(I’m not much of a drinker), other than the Topless hotel pool bar my friend’s girlfriend brought us to. Now that was a experience I’d never had. There was nothing like that back home. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the name or location of it.
Due to the weather either being too Hot or too wet, I Spent a lot of time indoors as well. I was okay with this. It gave me time to work on my @fantasy ebook (including hand drawn art) and Photography. Some of my Photos are included in this post! Let me know what you think. I am happy to say in those periods of Down time I’ve made it to Chapter three in writing my book and began collecting my poems from through out the years to put together a book of them. Some of which are in previous posts I’ve made on here! Go check them out. Poetry has been one of the only passions I’ve found to get me through some of the hardest points in life.
If you liked this post, please upvote and follow me to hear about the rest of my journey. Our next stop is Colorado, Well... maybe somewhere in between as well we don’t really have a set plan just kind of wandering around, but Colorado is definitely on my list of places to see. I’ll also post my photography and more writing on thoughts and options of things I see, Issues I’ve notices, and just wonderful descriptive post of places I’ve been. So enjoy and Upvote, resteem, follow help My boyfriend and I earn some extra spending money for this self-growth journey we’re on!