Random shots around town...

I had a Fendi mystery shop yesterday at Saks 5th Ave. and snapped these in the CBD (downtown) on Canal Street. I just love seeing and hearing the quiet streetcars lumbering through town. The St. Charles line has green cars and the Canal Street line has red ones. Fare is $1.25 and they're open air with working windows...

Remember when this was under water after Katrina and all the thugs were looting the stores? It's all cleaned up and revitalized now with lots of upscale shopping and office buildings, just blocks from the French Quarter.

 This is Brad and Angelina's manse at 521 Governor Nichols Street in the French Quarter...
Here's the real estate listing for the place:
http://www.eleanorfarnsworth.com/view.php?id=521_Gov

This is Lucy's Retired Surfer Bar in the warehouse district. I went to the original NYC Lucy's in 1987 and still have my souvenir glass... a very chill, popular bar with good food too!  ;-)

 From their website: Lucy’s first opened its doors in 1985 on the corner of 84^th and Columbus Avenue (deep in Manhattan in the upper west side), New York City, far away from the nearest reef break. Owner Bruce Rampick, a native Southern Californian, joined forces with long-board riders, Kim Rampick and Bill Durkin, to open New York’s first “surfer bar” and restaurant. According to legend, lore, and a few interesting characters, the name Lucy is the closest American translation of the Polynesian Goddess of Surfing (that’s our story, anyway). The décor featured old surfboards hung from walls and ceiling accented by red and blue neon lighting, black-and-white surf photos were the artwork of choice, and the wild drink concoctions were laced with tropical toys. The style was relaxed, the Cali-Mex dishes hearty and fulfilling, and the drinks inspired by the ocean breezes and the crashing surf. Long a hangout for  celebrities and sports figures, Lucy’s hosted the likes of David Letterman, Jennifer Anniston, Mariah Carey, and Tom Cruise was a fixture as he trained for the movie, Cocktail.

There are so many types of architecture here but this simple one, the shotgun double, is one of my favorites. Shotgun, meaning all rooms run off the center hallway and you could "shoot a gun straight through the house" and double, meaning it housed two families, like a modern day "duplex". Note the two front doors, symmetry, and floor to ceiling windows which were flung open to catch the breezes before air conditioning. FYI, my yoga studio doesn't have AC so they do the same thing at the historic home where they're housed. Whew....

 And finally, as I got in the car yesterday evening around 6pm to meet my cousin for happy hour, this was the temperature reading... welcome to New Orleans!