Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Summer 2013 - (Page 38)

Fa l l i n g i n l o v e w i t h … T he aRT of T he Ci Ty From left: The Preservation hall Jazz Band’s Ben Jaffe on tuba and Charlie gabriel on clarinet warming up in the hall’s back garden; the Contemporary arts Center downtown. Ico n Ic n ew o rlea n s : what n ot to MIss Enjoy one of the truly original American cuisines by having dinner at one of New Orleans’ grand old French Creole restaurants, which have been serving guests for generations. Try Commander’s Palace, which dates back to 1880 and is in the Garden District. Reserve space for a tour of New Orleans’ cemeteries, known as “Cities of the Dead.” These tours depart from the old French Quarter, the original city filled with historic French and Spanish colonial architecture. Board the St. Charles Avenue streetcar for a ride on the oldest continuously operating railway system in the world. You will ride past the stately mansions of the American section of the city, the Garden District’s architectural beauties, Loyola and Tulane universities, and Audubon Park, home to one of the top U.S. zoos. Spend an evening at The Davenport Lounge at The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans, where you can dance the night away to the jazz stylings of Mr. Jeremy Davenport, the hotel’s headline entertainer. Rudy R a smussen ConCierge The riTz-CarlTon, new orleans 38 w w w. r i t z c a r lt o n . c o m From Top: CedriC Angeles (2); illusTrATion by wArd sChumAker Ideally it’s sunset when we exit Café Du Monde, and there’s just enough time for a walk up and over to the corner of Bourbon and Canal streets, where for as long as I’ve been here, school-age musicians have organized outside a Foot Locker store for brass-and-drum jam sessions. They play for practice, they play for tourists, they play for money, and they blow so hard on those horns you wonder how lungs of any age can produce so much air. Bourbon Street at night might not be the most conventional playground for small children, but it’s a harmless corner. And the cultural cred of such outdoor concerts — common in New Orleans — is a value I gift my son as you might bestow a ski-lift pass in, say, Wyoming. Then, we walk down Canal Street to our car, drive back up Tchoupitoulas Street past warehouses and impassable por t entrances, and listen to the train whistles as we brush powdered sugar from our teeth. River views, beignets, Bourbon Street, brass bands. I blush a little at how typical this reads. I could mention other favorite destinations, like the tranquil Besthof f Sculpture Garden, located within City Park’s 1,300 acres of green space and diverse recreation. Or my favorite sections of Magazine Street, a commercial thoroughfare that runs from Downtown through Uptown. Or Thursday evenings at the Ogden Museum of Southern Ar t, when musicians per form and talk about their craf t. Or later on Thursday evenings, at the classic hole-in-the-wall Vaughan’s Lounge, when legendar y musician Kermit Ruf fins wields his trumpet, sometimes while wearing pajamas. Or the French Quar ter’s collection of independent bookstores. Or the panoply of Saturday markets. Or the catfish po-boys at Guy’s. I can recommend it all. But 14 years into my domestic par tnership with New Orleans, river views, beignets, Bourbon Street and brass bands still get to the dynamic hear t of it, to all the reasons I continue to choose this city over any other. New Orleans’ most obvious charms also encompass its greatest mysteries, and that is never, ever boring. http://WWW.RITZCARLTON.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Summer 2013

Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Summer 2013
Contents
Contributors
Editor’s Letter
President’s Letter
Falling in Love With … New Orleans
Design
Technology
On the Boulevards
Shopping
Jewelry
Watches
Family
Local Knowledge
Sports
Cancun
Doha
Fashion
Culinary
Let Us Stay with You
Heritage

Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Summer 2013