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A Creole Christmas
Life Is Merry in New Orleans!
By Belinda Clarke
If you're looking for a little Creole to season your holiday, New Orleans is the place to be for frost-free fun and food. With mild temperatures in the fall and early winter, you can take full advantage of the various courtyards and patios where exotic fountains (some flaming!) make for a special al fresco experience. And for the holidays, special events and festive displays abound to make your visit even merrier!
During the holiday season, in addition to the ever-present great food and music, New Orleans offers unique celebrations including Celebration in the Oaks, a light display in the city's main park, which features more than two million dazzling lights draping 100-year-old oak trees. You can also walk through the 12-acre botanical gardens, amusement park and fairy tale theme park. New 2002 light displays include a 32-foot animated paddlewheel boat called "Rolling on the River" which will float through the lagoons nightly. Nearby is another new animated exhibit of famous local musicians and instruments called "Crescent City Music."
Or visit the Angel Hair Lobby at the Fairmont Hotel where you'll see a block-long canopy decorated in its holiday finest. There you also can enjoy a Teddy Bear Tea party for the kids. In the French Quarter, as you stroll the historic streets, look for various holiday characters and singers.
With so much to offer tourists, the City of New Orleans, and specifically the famed French Quarter, will inspire even the most discerning guests. As one 40-year resident put it, "If you want a party, it's Bourbon Street, but just a block away on Royal Street, you can peruse the antique stores, photo galleries and jewelry shops to your heart's content – and even hear yourself talk!"
From the galleries to the historic French Market, a walk around the French Quarter is a rich experience. A must-see is the Caf矄u Monde, which was established in 1862 and is famous for its limited menu of dark roasted coffee and chicory, beignets, milk and orange juice. Steps from the French Market, across the trolley tracks, flows the great Mississippi River, where benches offer respite for tired tourists and huge paddleboats drift slowly by.