Before the Memory Fades: New Orleans Pt. 1

I've been meaning to type out some remembrance of New Orleans before I fail to recall any of it at all.  In fact, it's rather handy that my phone categorizes backed up photos by date, otherwise this would be a blur.  

October 23rd

Angela and I took a car service to LAX and flew to New Orleans, arriving at 4:50pm.  We grabbed our bags and stood inline for a taxi to take advantage of the flat rate to the French Quarter.  We were staying just outside of the Quarter proper at :

Pelham Hotel

444 Common St
New Orleans, LA 70130

Our room was nice and comfortable, but really lacking in lighting.  The act of applying a thick layer of make up in a room this dark is really a challenge.  Apply before the sunsets... that's the only way.  Wanna see the view from our window?  

We were the last members of our group to arrive so we scuttled up to our rooms to change and meet them for after dinner drinks.  We burst into the New Orleans night for our first taste of the city and to meet our new companions.  The Quarter was bustling and teeming with life, in short order we found our new/old friends and something to drink.  Good times began to roll.

Our first night out was to be fairly tame for most of our group.  We explored the Bourbon Street and the oldest bar in America.  Ending our night with friends at Cafe Du Monde for coffee and beignets.  It was then back to the hotel for rest... for everyone but me.  Angela being smart drifted quickly into slumber, but I was far too excited to finally be in New Orleans.  I took it upon myself to head back into the Quarter, to search out the place where Blind Melon recorded there 2nd and official final album, one of my all time favorites "Soup".  I put the album on and walked into the night.  It was now close to 3am, The Quarter at this hour takes on an overall flavor of mild depravity.  The depravity seeming to be only tempered by the fact that most of the tourists can't stand up under the weight of all they've had to drink.  I with my headphones on am merely a specter removed from the lot.  I've procured a cigar and a tall boy, and I'm off to an address.  

At the end of my journey as I find the intersection I'm debating on which building they recorded in.  Just as I find the address marker, and focus on the building pictured above, another lone wolf passes by.  In my exuberance of discovery I asked my fellow night trawler if he can confirm that the location is in fact correct.  This is information that he does not have, but stranger still he tells me that Nico, the album Blind Melon released after the death of their singer, is one of his favorite albums.  I leave him with more information about the city he lives in than he has before, and I've only been in town for about 11 hours.  

I feel accomplished and I've walked a fair distance.  I plug my ears back in and hoof it back to the hotel where my first night of sleep takes hold.