The town, the zoo, the vibe
Trip Start
May 23, 1982
1
19
74
Trip End
Ongoing
New Orleans,
Louisiana,
United States
Wednesday, February 18, 1987
Around the early 19th century New Orleans was one of the busiest ports in North America, what with all the steam boats and all that cruising up and down the Mississippi. Turns out that the area used to be home to some Native Americans, just like over in Orlando, before it was names after the dead guy who fought against them. This time, a Frenchman going by the name of Rene-Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, was the first to get to there, but a settlement wasn't plonked there until Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, sieur de Bienville, thought it was a good idea
New Orleans 1
. It remained a piece of French soil until the Americans bought it sometime at the beginning of the 19th century.They must have gotten rid of the natives around the end of the 17th century, pesky little things - imagine wanting to set up a city and there's already one there! Of course, as history shows, the best course of action is to get rid of the original inhabitants and begin your own way of life with complete disregard.
There was so much to do and see in New Orleans in 1987 that we did not get to all of it. This was partly because my parents took us to the New Orleans zoo, so that we didn't have to be forced into the immense culture of the place all the time. Plus, we got to see some flamingos at the zoo and you can't really go to the South East and not see a flamingo. I remember staring at them for ages, wondering how they get their legs to bend forwards at the knees, rather than our own backwards. I tried to do it with my own legs, but failed miserably of course.
Unfortunately for this child in America, Disneyworld had upstaged everything that came after - I would have liked to remember more, but I suppose that just gives one more place to go to in the future and to see with my now 'adult' eyes.
