You Belong Here

The simplest statement can only be the most prosaic.  The sun shines.  New Orleans is.  The simplest statement can be, on reflection, the most profound.

The sun always shines in New Orleans, even when it’s raining.  It happens every day in August for about 20 minutes in the afternoon.

The sun doesn’t shine at night in New Orleans.  People do.  

Everyone is on their best behavior in New Orleans even when their best might be your personal worst.  I’m not a municipal judge, I’m just a humble innkeeper.  Everyone is welcome in New Orleans.  That’s why I chose this profession.  Home is where the heart is.

I live on Esplanade Avenue, in case you didn’t know.  Right in the middle of Esplanade Avenue, too, on the uptown side.  It takes me an equal number of steps to walk to the banks the Mississippi River from my front door as it does to get to the steps of the New Orleans Museum of Art.  My house is your house.  I live at La Belle Esplanade, and it is a beautiful avenue, indeed.

In a New Orleans state of mind, every day is a good day, the best day it can be.  The only way it could be better is if it were Mardi Gras Day.  Settle for the season and everything will be just right.  No day is better than any other in New Orleans.  All are good.

When your get-up-and-go has got up and went, you’ll wish you spent more time in New Orleans.  New Orleans puts pep in your step.  Everyone looks better in New Orleans.  Everyone feels better in New Orleans.  

Who does voodoo in New Orleans?  It’s a collective project.  We’re all in this together making New Orleans the magical city that it is.  Even if you are here for only a week, you’re a part of New Orleans history.  Something grand is happening in New Orleans.  It always is.  It always will.  You belong here.

Have a great New Orleans day today, wherever you may happen to be.

-La Belle Esplanade