Frenchies come to Nola!

For the past week we have had 2 french women staying at our apartment. Their names are Isabelle and Sandrine. They are here for a total of 13 days and are with a group of students who are doing an exchange with Newman High School students. It's been really great, I am certain we have the best 2 of the group. They are both English teachers in France. We have done our best to show them the culture, music and amazing food New Orleans has to offer.

Friday night we brought them down to Frenchman Street to hear some amazing jazz music at Snug Harbor. A guy from England that Adrienne works with plays the Sax and was performing at Snug Harbor. He was able to get us into the sold out show for free! It was pretty impressive. Jazz music is such a mystery to me, how they flow and feed off each other- true talent. As we were leaving the show we decided to take a walk down the ever happening Frenchman Street. We could hear a brass band in the distance, me and Adrienne turned to each other in sheer happiness. We raced down the street to find the source of the music we were hearing. There was a brass band playing in the street with a huge crowd circled around. Some were dancing to the music, some listened with huge grins, while others watched in utter culture shock. As I watched all this I had a moment... and I thought to myself: This is why I love New Orleans so much.

Sunday evening we brought the whole crew (25 high school kids and 4 teachers) down to the quarter to Preservation Hall, a famous jazz hall nestled off the madness of Bourbon and St. Peter's St. We opted for the streetcar route to reach the quarter. Once again I had a moment. We had the hook up at Preservation Hall as well. When we arrived there was a long line of people waiting for the rod iron entrance gate to open. Adrienne shoved her way up to the gate to have a word with the manager, meanwhile we were getting yelled at by a group of Italians waiting in line. Once the manager knew we had arrived she opened the gate and let only our group in. When this happened the whole line bursted out in a loud yell. They were not happy. It was quite an experience, and we felt really cool. The jazz was simply enchanting. As I listened to the notes bounce off the piano, drums, clarinet, trumpet, and trombone I closed my eyes and got lost. As the melodies rolled off the instruments so beautifully it took me back in time. Need I say, I had another moment.

Monday night Isabell and Sandrine cooked us an authentic French meal typical for their region in France. It was delicious. Salmon with a cream sauce full of butter and challots, a side of veggies consisting of leeks and carrots, and homemade crepes for dessert. Yummy! Tuesday night Adrienne took them to Jaques-Imos. If you haven't ever been there than you've never truly experienced New Orleans. That place is chalk full of character, and needless to say AMAZING food! Tonight we will go to the warehouse district for some music and good food at Couchon.

Having these two ladies stay with us has really meant a lot to me. When I was living in France the people there opened up their homes to me so many times. People I didn't even know were so hospitable to me. In turn, I am opening up my house to these strangers. I am living life with them for 2 weeks. I am learning from them and hopefully they are learning something from me. My desire is to always have an open door to serve people, even when it's not the most convenient or comfortable situation for me. They have offered us to come stay with them in France, and of course we took them up on the offer!