New Orleans

New Orleans is located in Louisiana, a state in the south of the USA. It is to the left of Florida towards Texas if you look at a large map.

What's it famous for? Well, there's Jazz, food, and Mardi Gras for starters.

The city is divided into various quarters. There's the French Quarter, which contains Basin Street - where Jazz is alleged to have started - and Storyville - the old red light district. To the east there's Faubourg Marigny, which contains bars and restaurants. Bywater is the riverside neighbourhood. There's Mid City/Esplanade Ridge, where people walk along the Esplanade to the City Park. There's the Central Business District containing Canal Street, but no canal. There's Uptown/The Garden District, the Irish Channel, and Algiers Point.

There are streetcars (trolley cars) for people to travel on. For film buffs there's a Streetcar Named Desire, and for Simpson fans, there's a Streetcar Named Marge!

Cajun cooking is based on French cooking, coming with the French settlers who were expelled from Canada and came to Louisiana. It's traditionally what they ate in the countryside. It is hot and spicy. Creole cookery was developed in the towns. It uses sauces. It's a mixture of French, Spanish, African, Native American, and Italian! In truth, no one knows where one ends and the other begins.
Jambalaya - like paella.
Filé - a thickener made of ground sassafras leaves.
Gumbo - a thick spicy soup served with rice.
Grits - dried corn grains.

Mardi Gras societies are called krewes. They parade through the street and throw things at the crowd. The best souvenir to get is a doubloon