05 March 2010

New Orleans, Pt. 1: Hand-painted Signs in the French Quarter


Kirk and I spent the last week of February in New Orleans. We wanted to escape the Olympic mayhem, Southwest Airlines had a really good seat sale (about $400 return for the two of us from Seattle!), and we decided to go south. The closest we'd ever been to the American South is Los Angeles and Las Vegas, so it was a fun new adventure!

We stayed in the Holiday Inn Express on Carondelet St, just outside of the French Quarter. It's in a historic building and is really beautiful for a chain hotel, plus the rates were really good because we booked so far ahead of time. It's two blocks away from the corner of Bourbon and Canal, and the St. Charles St trolley car goes right in front. The wireless was unreliable, but overall I'd recommend it.

Our favourite thing to do in all new cities is to walk. That way you can really get to know neighbourhoods, talk to people, and see things that you'd never notice from a vehicle. The first thing I noticed walking in the French Quarter was all the hand-painted signs. I absolutely LOVE the charm of hand-painted signs, and it seems to be a dying art in Vancouver and many other cities. But sign painters are alive and well in New Orleans! Even the digital signs seem to have more charm and humour than what you'd typically find in other cities. When I transferred all of my photos on to my computer, I discovered that I had over 40 photos of signs, out of 200 total. Here's a selection of my favourites:











Click the link below for the rest of the photos.



















1 comment:

  1. Ohh, I love that you took so many sign photos! The Big Daddy's love acts one is pretty fantastic.

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