Mardi Gras, New Orleans

Mardi Gras, New Orleans
The French Quarters in New Orleans has changed since Bob first was there over 30 years ago. The French Quarters had sustained very little damage from Hurricane Katrina. The buildings are old and most look like they are in need of repair but this was true before Katrina. One thing that definitely can be said of the French Quarters is that there are plenty of fine restaurants and many bars and some not so fine as well. Between the Saints winning the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras, New Orleans is just one big party.
The parades, with the floats and people all decked out, are a sight to see. There are so many people in New Orleans during this time of year that you have to wait hours in line in the restaurants and cafes. We definitely are enjoying the party atmosphere and have taken in a lot of parades and events. Everyone, in the area, celebrates Mardi Gras.
Listening to the politicians you would think that New Orleans is back in full force. The local people have a different view though. There were 980,000 people before Katrina and now there are about 460,000 people here. The thing that struck us was that many of the commercial buildings are now just vacant and no repairs have been made to them. There is a hospital that was never repaired or reopened, mainly because the people have not returned. Most of the apartment buildings that were damaged have not been repaired but they have built some new complexes. There are many subdivisions where between 25 and 50 per cent of the houses, remain vacant and damaged. Where there are buildings that were totally destroyed, the trash has been removed. Many of the buildings that are now vacant should be torn down but there is very little effort to do so. I cannot imagine living in a nice home where half of them in the neighborhood are still boarded up.