A Funny Thing Happened in New Orleans Today
La Belle Esplanade is in Downtown New Orleans. When we say ‘downtown,” we mean downriver of Canal Street. All directions are different here. We don’t think in terms of North, South, East or West in New Orleans. We say, Lakeside, Riverside, Downtown, Uptown. We know what we mean. A funny thing happened in New Orleans today. It had to do with misdirection.
WHEN I SAY, “A FUNNY THING HAPPENED IN NEW ORLEANS TODAY,” I MEAN, EVERYTHING HAPPENED FUNNY IN NEW ORLEANS TODAY. IT’S THAT KIND OF A CITY.
I remember a few years ago, Frau Schmitt and I (Frau Schmitt is the better half of this operation) went to Le Petit Theater in the French Quarter. Dinner and a show. The play we saw was, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” You know who wrote that? Larry Gelbart, the guy responsible for the TV M*A*S*H. I you know have to be a certain age to appreciate anything I am saying in this story. For our loyal readers who are younger than your humble narrator (who isn’t an old man by a long shot) bear with me. There’s going to be a video in a moment. The video doesn’t have anything to do with New Orleans.
The following video has to do with the innkeeping profession. In our line of work, it always helps to have a good housekeeper, or, as I sometimes to say out loud when I’m thinking of this song, everybody ought to have a maid. This is my favorite song from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum:
No feminist hate mail, please. We readily admit that a man can be a maid, too. La Belle Esplanade has always been an equal opportunity employer.
That’s Phil Silvers, Zero Mostel, and Jack Giford in the above clip. The guy you don’t know is Michael Hordurn, though, in all probability, most of you don’t know who any of them are. A funny thing happened in New Orleans today. Funny things happen most days. Nowadays, we have a theater, the kind with actors on a stage, three streets from our front door. We can easily walk there, chatting with our neighbors all along the route. You can, too.
We live in a very interesting neighborhood. It is full of surprises. You will never see what you’ll find when you turn a corner. A funny thing happened in New Orleans today. We were walking to the Southern Rep Theater in the old St. Rose of Lima Church on Bayou Road, three streets from our address. We have a new movie theater in our neighborhood, too, not that you come to New Orleans to go to the movies. Both theaters have bars in them, so there’s that.
The beauty of staying at La Belle Esplanade when you visit New Orleans isn’t just that you’re staying in the small artisanal hotel that has been rated the #1 place to stay in New Orleans since April 2014 according to TripAdvisor (and #2 in the U.S., and #16 in the world). La Belle Esplanade is a two-time consecutive winner, one of the top 0.0001% of personalized boutique accommodations. This is your chance, but the beauty of staying at La Belle Esplanade isn’t that past guests think we’re #1, it’s that you do.
The best New Orleans memories are made in our neighborhood. Funny things happen in New Orleans all the time. The best things happen along Esplanade Avenue.
You never know what you’ll find when you turn a corner in New Orleans. Everybody knows it:
I don’t enjoy as many machine-made cigars as I used to when that answer appeared on Jeopardy. The question, of course, was “What is La Belle Esplanade?”
It really is magical in our part of New Orleans. You should visit like you belong here because you really do belong in the real New Orleans. Our small, five-suite inn is located a picturesque, 20-minute stroll to the French Quarter and other tourist must-sees, but we are located in the real New Orleans. The part of the city people consciously choose to call home. You’ll like it here.
A funny thing happened in New Orleans today but we’ve run out of room to tell you about it. Tune in next time. We publish our blog regularly. We have regular readers who have followed this blog for years. Hi folks!
We also sponsor a sister blog called “A New Orleans State of Mind.” Check out that blog, too, to keep yourself in a New Orleans state of mind. You can also follow us on Facebook. We post on our Facebook page a couple of times a day to keep you in—wait for it—a New Orleans state of mind.
When you are ready to experience authentic New Orleans off the typical tourist radar, you are on the right website. Our reservation page is here. La Belle Esplanade is the small New Orleans hotel that respects your intelligence. No hard sell, just pure New Orleans goodness.
Tuesday, November 12, 2019: Frau Schmitt’s and mine membership card from the Ogden Museum of Southern Art expires tomorrow. We’re going to go to the Ogden one last time as members. After that, we’ll pay as we go. The Ogden is nice. If you’ve never been, it is very interesting and the work on display is top-notch. Southern Art. It is totally worth a visit. So is the rest of New Orleans. You belong here.
P.S. This blog post is an update of an earlier blog post published three years ago. I’ve just deleted it, cleaning up the archives. The original post was about the same stuff in the past. Every day in New Orleans is a fresh day. Ours is a city with a long memory. As the Creole maw-maws who live in our neighborhood like to say—-Plus ça change plus c’est la même chose.
Laissez les bon temps rouler!