As I got the gene's apartment in uptown New Orleans I was immediately thinking- wtf have I got myself into here. We bumped into each other very Briefly ; as I arrived he was leaving for work. Nice enough dude he seemed. However he lives on top of a f***ing toy store ... OK!?
Was still a little rattled from my 20hr bus from Texas. So much so that I left my skateboard on the bus in Houston - DEVO! Was still obviously pretty broken up with the whole situation with me and Kate (which hung around for acouple days). But after having a good chat with Nicole (from Huntington), speaking with Kate, mum and just having a little sook I was determined to pull my s*** together.
First few days were cool just cruising around downtown solo. Eating po-boys (famous NOLA sandwich) and drinking beers. Always something to see or do on the infamous bourbon st.
My first night me and Gene (he was a connection I got from mike Lyons) went to watch the New Orleans re-birth brass band play In a sketchy uptown dive bar. Amazing! One of the greatest musical experiences I've ever had! Litterally wow! Met up with Nolan (Jonathan's brother) and Thomas (Jonathon's cousin) there .. Great guys, Nolan gave me a ride home.
New Orleans is an amazing amazing city - by day or by night. Great food! I ate possibly one of the most delicious meals I've ever had in Jackson square. Poached eggs Benedict with deep fried oysters! Yumm! And of course the famous cafe du monte for hot chocolate and binéts !
Went on a city tour by bus. Seen the cemetery, down town French quarter and the hurricane Katrina affected sites. Very emotional and very moving! Learnt alot.
Think me and gene partied pretty hard that night cause I remember being hungover as s*** the next day on my way to lefeites swamp for an alligator tour.. Sick day! Seen some gators and learnt alot about the 30day Hunting window in Louisiana. The guy who drove our fan boat and took our tour was a super cool guy who really knew his s***!
This is where s*** starts getting weird ..... On the way back on the bus i meet this group of dudes from Baltimore who are in NOLA for a bucks weekend. Ofcourse they wanted me to join ! We attacked bourbon st straight away bar hoping and doing test tube shots from fat black women's breasts ... Was actually quite intimidating
Went back to the boys apartment for pizza and beers before heading back to bourbon.
Ricks saloon - one of Nola's most famous strip clubs. The boys were giving me wads of cash and I was making s*** rain !!! Like a boss !!
We had booked a table at a really flash club but I was ejected immediately as I seemed to have misplaced my pants in the foyer. Boys were happy to leave that snooty place anyway ...
Anywhere we went rickshaw was the mode of transport ... Nothing special but when your s***faced makes for a great laugh.
Found some niggz riding skaters around the corner from bourbon and drinking 4 lokos , had a few cans , did a few 180s and I was off again ... Think we may have went back to ricks but its a little blurry now .. All I remember is waking lough (one of the dudes from Baltimore) into a cab and taking him back to genes to stay the night. The bloke was dead set legless, if i didn't he would of surely got mugged and/or molested.
Waking up the next morning and meeting the boys for breakfast was hysterical !! "WTF happened last night !! Where did you guys go" ... Great banter . And watching the guys take shots of hot sauce was prett intense too . This is like 10am mind you...
Google search : New Orleans rooftop pool... Umm did we just break into the rooftop pool of a 5star hotel , yes , yes we did ! Jammed a towel in the door got a few cases and that was us for the remainder of the day ! So fun... Sun goes down back to ricks , derr !
My nice button shirt still ripped half way down from when one of the strippers opened me up the night before. Never mind wore it for my last 72hours straight in New Orleans.
Kinda got over throwing out stacks like a kingpin in da club so I left the boys to go meet gene and his buddy Parker at another bar. Gene wasn't there but me and Parker got loose as. I ended up back down near bourbon with one of their other mates. Next thing I know the sun is up its Like 11am , peaking hard and in the middle of some f***ing mardi gra parade ! Again gets little blurry now ...
Remember being back at genes and booking a flight out for charleston the following morning.. If I didn't get out soon I was going to be property of NOLA. Still partied on till that night. Patrone + Gas Duster + Fish (genes fav band) = some pretty fried Brains. Went to lefeites pub (apparently like the oldest bar in USA?) drank some purple drinks and yeah can't remember much other then waking up quick smart packing my s*** up fast so I didn't miss my flight to South Carolina ... Holy s*** - HEAVY!!