I'm Home

I walked into India House and thought to myself, I'm home!  I spent about a year living in hostels/guesthouses and it was soo nice to be back at one among travelers.  I seriously just thought I am in my element again.  We are about 20 blocks off the French Quarter, but one of the parades went right by here on Canal yesterday.  I must admit, I've been here almost two full days and I haven't seen too much.  We arrived at 3 friday afternoon after a 20 hour roadtrip (our first meal stop was for grits in Mississippi) and it's been a party ever since.  The first night on lack of sleep I ended up hanging out in some interesting clubs and then partying in my hostel til 6:30 in the morning.  Yesterday I got up, had breakfast, and went back to bed before the parade started.  So today I finally acted like a proper tourist, walked around the French Quarter and did some shopping.  I love, love, love this city.  The architecture is amazing and the food to die for (muffaletta sandwiches are my fav).  I've not been here prior to Katrina, but her wrath can be seen everywhere.  Canal street near our hostel is a mix of thriving businesses and boarded up buildings.  The big church across the street has not reopened since and you can see the water line.  I'm not sure what the difference is for some businesses to be able to reopen (a decent ins. company maybe) but it's really sad to see places no longer going still at this time.  I get a sense that the locals are annoyed with the tourists but we are also a big reason their economy is slowly recovering.  Mostly I'm glad to be on the road, hearing accents from different parts of the country and world.  I've managed to gain and lose many beads, take some pictures (but not many) and eat, eat, eat.  What I haven't done much of is sleep.  There is just too much going on and so I don't want to miss anything.  Two more days to enjoy the 40+ better temps (although it is still chilly here!) and then off for another long drive home.  I'll post pics when I get back.  I am so out of practice blogging so forgive this crappy entry - plus I'm in the hostel lobby and it is chaos around me.  G o figure.