Lost My Heart on Bourbon St: Part Two
Written: Jun 10 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: If you want to drink and oogle flesh, this is it.
Cons: Do you like the smell of stale booze, vomit and urine in the morning?
The Bottom Line: You have to experience Bourbon Street - for better or worse.
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| jasonkirk's Full Review: French Quarter |
In part one I focused on the hotel we stayed at in New Orleans - now I turn to Bourbon Street.
There is no doubt that the famous street is aptly named. As soon as we checked in at the Hotel Dauphine Orleans we made our way to the hotel bar for our free drink and I had to try something with bourbon. The barkeep made me a strong Old Fashioned while my friend Thao stayed simple with a rum and coke. After two drinks we felt prepared to venture to Bourbon Street.
We were in New Orleans in November. The night was mild and the crowd was manageable. It was nearly 11 p.m. when we joined the semi-chaotic flow of already soused men and women walking down the street.
Our first impressions were a mixture of awe (here we are in New Orleans!), intrigue (what brings so many people here?), visual overload (beads, booze shops, bars, colorful signs), auditory overload (drunk people trying to speak over the music and other drunk people), olfactory repulsion (as the night grows old so do the scents of stale booze, vomit and in the mornings, urine) and especially for Thao, slight disappointment (she thought it was a particularly unattractive night - but then again drunk people don't always look their Sunday-best!).
I was a little bit more open minded. The crowd was decidedly frat boy and sorority girl (think five years after the first attempt atgraduation). To give credit, there were plenty of good looking people dressed up in anything from club clothes to loud vacation print Dad shirts. I think Thao was mostly out of luck looking for a preppy Vietnamese boy ready for marriage in this crowd!
We stopped off at one of the many booze and bead counters along the road and ordered our Hurricanes. We were amazed to see them come out of a slurpy type machine. More than once that night I was bent over in the agony of brain-freeze. Warning: drink cautiously!
Our destination were the gay clubs that were toward the end of the rowdy crowds on Bourbon Street. I had been told about one called OZ by an ex and Thao owed me for making us stop for longer than I had wanted in Fort Worth, TX. That night OZ didn't seem to be happening, so we ended up across the street at a club I never learned the name of. It was dark and filled with a new breed of gay man to me - the Southern Gay Man. We were, of course, greeted by a half naked man dancing on the bar as soon as we entered the club. Thao was happy to see someone she found attractive - even if he didn't swing her way.
The crowd was remarkably polite and the hurricanes came on, well, like hurricanes. Thao was soon spouting off her disappointment at the homliness of the drunken masses on Bourbon Street and somehow not offending the gay men she spoke with. I think they found her a funny distraction - I know I did.
After about an hour we left the club and on the way out I handed Thao a dollar to tip the dancer. Let's say she got more for her bargain than she expected. Although she quickly complained that it was really less than she had expected if you know what I mean. I hoped he hadn't heard her as I escorted her back onto Bourbon Street.
There is something about being in the crowded drunken mass that is found on Bourbon Street nearly every night of the year that easily brings out the over-the-top, obnoxious, often fun and sophomoric side of people. I would have to say that is the charm of this bachaus celebration, to a point. We only ventured out together onto the night time Bourbon street that one night (I went out another night on my own . . . that would be when I met the heartbreaker that comes later in this story).
If you want a party, the party is there and it is colorful, loud and unavoidable. Don't expect order or the best of people and I wouldn't recommend navigating it on your own . . . the results aren't always safe or pretty.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Students
Best Time to Travel Here: Dec - Feb
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Epinions.com ID:
jasonkirk
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Member: Jason Kirk
Location: Charleston, SC
Reviews written: 111
Trusted by: 101 members
About Me:
Seattle transplant living in the deep south . . .
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