It seems that when many people think of Detroit, they think of a worn out, tired and rough city. Detroit has been given a bad rap over the years and it’s certainly an over exaggeration. What I found is that Detroit is vibrant, electric and emerging from the rough times it’s had.
Like any city, there are some rough spots. However, you really have no reason to wander into those areas any more than you do in your own city. Detroit offers citizens and tourists a diversity of culture, sports, arts, fine food and entertainment. Like anywhere you would opt to travel, you just need to have some common sense to have a safe and fulfilling trip. You will run out of time before you run out of things to see and do.
Rainy view through the windows of the Palais des Congrčs in Montreal. Photo by Kayte Deioma
A Rainy Day in ….Montreal, QC, Canada
Montreal is a great place to escape from the weather any time of year. They have so much of it – snow, rain and sweltering summer heat – that they’ve come up with some ingenious ways to stay climatically comfortable all year long.
My memory of Montreal from a one-day family visit as a teenager was of ornate gray townhouses with multicolored doors. Very “old Europe.” That part of Montreal is still alive and well and as charming as ever. But in the last few years, Montreal has also come to the forefront of international design and architecture with its new International Quarter that links Old Montreal with the Downtown Business District. They joined the two by suspending a new office complex right over the freeway and adding branches to the RESO (from the French réseau), the largest network of interior passages in the world. Although much of it is above ground, locals refer to it as the Underground City.
In addition to exploring this indoor universe, we’ll look at how Montreal has brought the outdoors indoors in the Biodome, which recreates four ecosystems where visitors can get up close and personal with the wildlife. For a little winter fun all year long, we stop by the Atrium Le 1000, an ice skating rink in the middle of a mall and office building. For the historically inclined, we visit the Point A Calliére Archeology and History Museum built over an open archaeological site. The final stop on our rainy day tour of Montreal is St. Joseph’s Oratory on top of Mount Royal, one of the most visited shrines in the world.
A carriage tour stops in front of Jackson Square in New Orleans, LA.
(Updated 4/1/07) From gracious plantations and historic homes to alligators preening for swamp tours; from the captivating images in Rue Royal art galleries to the jazz, blues, salsa, rock n roll and karaoke emanating from Bourbon Street bars; from the National WWII Museum to the VooDoo Spiritual Temple, New Orleans is open for business. The only things missing are the tourists – which makes it a particularly good time for a visit.
A carriage tour passes by some of the French Quater's signature wrought iron balconies.
The Grande Dame of the city, the French Quarter or Vieux Carré (literally old quarter), came through the storm with a few cuts and bruises, but with a swish of her feather mask has replaced her sequins and is quickly sewing up the few remaining tears in her Mardi Gras regalia. If you’ve visited before, you’ll be more aware of the empty store fronts, where shops couldn’t keep up their $9,000/month rents without the steady flow of customers. Nevertheless, the lady’s charm twinkles through her flower-laden wrought iron balconies and her unquenchable sparkle of life vanquishes any thought of her early demise.
The Food
You know you’re in New Orleans when you sit around the table after a great meal talking about where you’re going to get your next great meal. The obsession with food affects locals and visitors alike. Whether Creole, Cajun, Soul Food or fusion, the cuisine is one of the region’s biggest draws, and there is no shortage of fabulous food post- Katrina.
Cafe au lait and beighnet at Cafe du Monde in New Orleans, LA.
It is traditional on a visit to New Orleans to be nudged gently into the day with a leisurely chickory-laced café au lait and an order of beignet (pronounced benyay) at the Café du Monde at the foot of Jackson Square. The clippity clop of passing horse-drawn carriages syncopates the ever-present jazz soundtrack of musicians playing for tips on the sidewalk. They will sell you the audio memory on CD, minus the hoof beat. The café is seat-yourself, so pounce when you see chairs being vacated. Only tourists wait for a table to be cleared before staking a claim.
It would be blissfully easy to spend the days going from three hour lunches to three hour dinners, especially on a Sunday, when many restaurants offer a Jazz Brunch. If you absolutely must fit in some sightseeing or a cooling cruise down the Mississippi on the Steamboat Natchez, you can grab a quick muffalletta at Central Grocery or a po’ boy at Mother’s or Johnny’s to cut down on time spent lunching.
Cafe Brulot and the Mardi Gras Museum at Arnaud's Restaurant in the French Quarter.
Of course, you can always do your sightseeing and dining at the same place. Historic restaurants like Arnaud’s and Antoine’s have their own museums featuring the restaurants’ and their proprietors’ roles in Mardi Gras and other New Orleans social events. You can visit the exhibits of Mardi Gras Queen costumes and photos for free, even if the dining room is out of your budget. Many of the hotels also have exceptional restaurants, like the Hunt Room at the Monteleone and the New Orleans Grill at the Windsor Court.
Banana bread pudding in praline sauce at Galatoire's in the French Quarter, New Orleans, LA.
Restaurant dishes may have similar names from venue to venue, but a gumbo, jambalaya or étouffée can be a completely different dish, depending on the whimsy of the chef. The greatest surprise to me was the bread pudding which seems to have become the competitive dish among pastry chefs, each trying to outdo the other in embellishments on a theme. I couldn’t pick one favorite, but the banana bread pudding in praline sauce at Galatoire’s, the version with caramel sauce and almonds at Tujaque’s and the white chocolate variety with brandy sauce at Mother’s are all outstanding. The hot apple bread pudding with whiskey sauce at the Gumbo Shop is no slouch either, but packs more sugar per bite than the other three.
Bienville House Hotel on Decatur Street in the French Quarter, New Orleans, LA.
All but two hotels have reopened in the French Quarter and neighboring Central Business District, providing over 30,000 hotel rooms. The hot and humid summer is the slow season in New Orleans, but everything is air conditioned and you can get a lot more for your money. Great accommodations are seriosly discounted in the off season, so you can plan a luxury getaway on family budget.
The Service
Doorman at the Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter. The Monteleone, a family owned hotel registered as a literary landmark, is the largest hotel in the French Quarter.
Service workers have been among the hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina, living predominantly in the devastated low-lying areas. Rental properties are now few and far between and rents have tripled, making it difficult for most service workers with families to return.
New Orleans hotels and restaurants have made a valiant effort to track down, take care of and keep their staff employed, but have nevertheless had to re-open with about a third of their pre-Katrina staff. There are a few places where this is noticeable, such as limited room service some places – but for the most part service remains seamless.
The Tours
Carriage tours depart from Jackson Square.
There are a variety of traditional historic walking tours of the French Quarter, including a free tour that leaves every morning at 9:30 from the Jean Lafitte State Park Visitors Center on Decatur. If that’s too early, the Cabildo Museum in the Arsenal on Jackson Square, one of the few State museums that is open, offers $12 walking tours of the French Quarter, about half of what some commercial tour companies charge. Grayline offers a unique Southern Comfort Tour for those interested in the history of New Orleans’ bars, restaurants and distinctive libations. Historic New Orleans Tours guides a Weekend Jazz Walk. Most companies have some variation of a VooDoo/Cemetery Tour and/or Ghost Tour.
Carriage tours still depart from Jackson Square as soon as there are enough people to fill a carriage. If you want a private carriage tour you can pay the full rate yourself.
Devastation in the Lower 9th Ward near the levee breach.
Disaster tours have been getting a lot of publicity, not all favorable. They give a good overview of the devastation caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in New Orleans and surrounding areas. While this may sound morbid, it is really helpful to get some background on the infrastructure, ecosystem and social system before and after the storm. It is ok to take photos of the devastation. In fact, it’s important to take those images back to the people back home who didn’t make the trip. But residents and volunteers complain that they feel like animals in a zoo when people pull up and snap photos of them without asking. So shoot the debris, and just give a friendly wave to the people. (If you’re on your own, most people are usually happy to tell you what they’ve been through if you show a genuine interest.)
GrayLine’s big tour buses are no longer allowed into the hardest hit 9 th Ward flood area, so they visit the two other levee breach neighborhoods. A local company, Tours by Isabelle, runs smaller vans that can go to all three areas. Some hotels use GrayLine as their concierge service, in which case, you might have to look beyond your hotel concierge desk for access to local tour companies.
Shopping
Violet's in the French Quarter.
In addition to the boutiques, souvenir shops and galleries in the French Quarter, the Jax Brewery shopping complex, the Riverwalk and the Shops at Canal Place are all open for business. For the more adventurous, the unique and funky shops and galleries on Magazine Street from the Central Business District to Uptown offer an alternative New Orleans shopping experience. There are several different shopping and dining areas on Magazine Street, broken up by residential stretches.
The New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau website, www.NewOrleansCVB.com, updates the status on which hotels, restaurants, clubs and attractions are open and which are still under construction.
You planned for everything…except the weather… Things to Do on a Rainy Day Around the World and other Travel Tales
Montreal is a great place to escape from the weather any time of year. They have so much of it – snow, rain and sweltering summer heat – that they’ve come up with some ingenious ways to stay climatically comfortable all year long.
international design and architecture with its new International Quarter that links Old Montreal with the Downtown Business District. They joined the two by suspending a new office complex right over the freeway and adding branches to the RESO (from the French réseau), the largest network of interior passages in the world. Although much of it is above ground, locals refer to it as 
