This past week, while on a mini vacation in New Orleans, we wanted to take a carriage ride through the French Quarter. We found one that I could access the step into the carriage (others were too high) and we got the best gentleman ever. His name was Jimmy and his carriage only held 4 passengers. This was perfect for us.
He stood by the carriage and explained some of the early history of New Orleans and the French Quarter. Our ride was going to take about 30 minutes. He told us we would get 300 years of history in that time period. Then he hops on and begins to tell us ALL the history with dates and funny comments to make it really interesting.
The buildings, architecture, restaurants, bars, shops, voodoo stores, are sooooo worth this excursion.
As we came close to Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop and Bar, dating back to 1772, we stop and he calls for a certain server to bring out refreshments for us. Great! It is so strange to see the open liquor laws here. Also, he is the only guide to does this. The others just drive by.
This gentleman has a photographic memory and is a walking historian. If and when you go to New Orleans, go to Jackson Square and look at all the carriages until you find him.
You will love him and love the stories he tells.
