Diversity Rules in the Big Easy

The Swamp Tour conducted by a retired botanists is superb. You are within touching distance of alligators, some very large, that come up to the boat to eat the marshmallows tossed to them. A Cajun cooking school in downtown French Quarter was a highlight for both male and female and best of all, we got to eat the goodies.

Quick Tips:

If staying in the Garden District, be sure to take a self-guided tour of the many beautiful and historic mansions within a several block area. The paddlewheel boat leaving from the dock in the French Quarter is a leisurely way to view the Missippi River and learn about it's historic shore buildings.

Best Way To Get Around:

The trolley/cable cars route ran along in front of our timeshare resort which made it very easy to get transportation downtown and to the French Quarter at very reasonable rates. We had a rental car to get from the airport to the timeshare, but the parking around the resort was minimal and didn't appear very secure. We took advantage of the valet parking offered. The rental car was needed to go to outlying tours of the swamp, river road mansions, and countryside. When within the French Quarter, a horse-drawn carriage ride is a great way to see the sites and enjoy the fresh air.

Best Things Nearby:
Everything that you go to New Orleans to see and do is within 30 minutes of this timeshare. It is located in the Garden District and the historic streetcars run down St. Charles Avenue, a main thoroughfare connecting the French Quarter, downtown, Garden Distict, and the shores of the Mississippi, right in front of the timeshare/hotel. You are out of the noise and hustle and bustle of the French Quarter's 24 hour days but still within about a 20 minute streetcar ride, which is very enjoyable. You can take a leisurely stroll on your own to tour the Garden District and the beautiful restored and not restored antebellum mansions.

Best Things About the Resort:
The parking in this area of New Orleans could have been a bit daunting, not to mention dangerous, but the valet parking started our visit off on a high note. This is an old building, like most things in New Orleans, but it is elegantly restored, though not stuffy. The timeshare unit we occupied was nicely furnished in period pieces, different in style, but comfortable. The bedroom was around a corner from the main living areas, which made it super quiet for naps or reading away from others wanting to watch TV or talk.

Resort Experience:
I felt as though I was a southern belle checking into a upscale hotel when entering the small lobby of the Avenue Plaza. The reception clerk was humble, polite, and accommodating to our wishes.

There always seemed to be a lot of coming and going of people whenever we walked through the lobby. It appeared that bus tours used this hotel as there were times that groups of 20 - 25 people would be milling about.

Off the lobby is Mr. John's Steak and Seafood Restaurant, a well-known local establishment that is noteworthy. There is a small concierge office off the lobby as well.

Upstairs in our unit we were pleasantly welcomed by a compact living room with large TV, sofa, and chairs that shared a room with a one wall mini kitchen with a small table and chairs. The appliances, though small in size, were ample for a vacation. There was an apartment size refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave, and a small bar area.

To the right of the front door down a small S-shaped hallway was a bathroom and one bedroom. In the hallway was an extra storage and linen closet.

The bathroom was small, upgraded, but not luxurious at all. It met our needs but with nothing special to write home about. The bedroom was of average size, decorated in the heavier darker colors of the old South. It contained a queen sized bed, small desk and chair, second TV, and small closet. A nice touch was the overhead ceiling fan for stuffy hot New Orleans nights. Within hours of our arrival it was apparent that the air conditioning was not working correctly. Within minutes of a call to the front desk, a maintenance person arrived to repair it. We were nice and cool after that.

Windows in the bedroom and living room looked out over St. Charles Avenue and though we were initially concerned this might mean some noise, we were never bothered during our week's stay.

The timeshare also has a spa, but we did not partake of its pleasures - too many other things to see and do. Check-in and check-out went smoothly with no glitches.

• Unit Type: 1 Bedroom
• Activities: Very Good
• Amenities: Very Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Good
• Family Friendliness: Good
• Service: Excellent

Mr. John's Steak and Seafood Restaurant is located off the lobby of the Avenue Plaza and Spa Hotel where we stayed in a timeshare condo. We saw it at check-in time and didn't give it a second thought, figureing it was just another hotel restaurant - nothing special.

After spending several days in the French Quarter and eating at several small French establishements, we decided to stay in for the night and just get a bite at the restaurant downstairs. It was about 8:00 p.m. and we and one other couple were the only ones in the restaurant. Live piano music entertained us.

Not only was that first night's meal memorable, but we ate most of our meals there the rest of the week. It was as good as anywhere else we'd eaten and was fairly priced and convenient.

The steak was fork tender, the seafood was fresh and moist - properly prepared, and the Mr. John's Signature Salad ($5.95) was so unusual and tasty, I asked our waiter what was in it. He was so thrilled that I enjoyed it to ask that he did one better, he had the chef write the recipe down for me and she personally delivered it to the table. She too was genuinely pleased that I'd liked it enough to ask since it was the first time she'd "thrown together" the ingredients for the melon vinaigrette dressing over goat cheese, spiced pecans, and salad greens. It was so yummy and has become a favorite recipe at home. Now that's service.

Over the next few days we tryed breakfast, New Orleans Style French Toast and Design your Own Omelet, sandwiches, and salads. The menu even includes a rarity of Fried Green Tomato and Eggplant Napoleon layered with crab meat and remoulade sauce, $8.95. Of course there's the classic seafood gumbo, seafoods prepared many different ways, and terrific steaks. This place is a sleeper and doesn't seem to have been "found". We did not try it on the weekend, which I'm sure is much busier.

If you're staying at the Avenue Plaza Hotel you couldn't get any more convenience either. A menu and prices can be found on their website at: . Bon Appetit! >

Three words are used to describe the Garden District: elegant, lavish, and historic. There are several tour companies that conduct tours of the Garden District in New Orleans, but our timeshare was located there so we grabbed our map and set off on our own. It is not a huge area and you can do justice to seeing most of the sights on foot within a couple of hours.

The Garden District has an eerie, lush, almost tropical feel to it. You can definitely feel like you are in the Gone With the Wind movie as you walk the narrow, uneven sidewalks. The sidewalks are very old and the roots of the huge old trees have upended many of the blocks.

The day we walked in this area, we did not see another person for over one and a half hours. The houses almost looked deserted and almost sad, as though they'd seen a lot over the years. Many of the mansions are still strikingly beautiful with ivy covered walls and stonework. They are very large with typical southern columns and porticos encircled with the classic New Orleans ornate iron scrollwork on the balconies.

You can get to the Garden District by riding the streetcar from the French Quarter, downtown, or within the Garden District itself down St. Charles Avenue and getting off at one of the many stops. I don't think would be an area that you'd want to be walking around at night. The Garden District area is south of the St. Charles and the area north looks pretty rough. Many ghost and vampire novels are set in this mystical area.

It began as a suburb of New Orleans in the 1830s and large mansions were built on large tracts of land before the Civil War. After the war, smaller houses filled in the areas between the larger homes. Within this area is Lafayette Cemetery with a history all its own, the house were Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, died, and homes for famous authors and musicians.

While this may not be an exciting journey, it is nonetheless an enjoyable way to spend a few hours to get the sense of what life must have been like in the age of elegance and southern charm.

There are several swamp tours within 45 minutes of the French Quarter. We decided on Dr. Wagner's due to his credentials.

We made the right choice. Dr. Wagner, himself, conducted our tour as he has been since 1982. It was a very hot muggy July day when we ventured out of our air-conditioned condo to track around the swamps in search of alligators. Were we crazy or what! The boat we boarded held about 12 people and was covered. Some of their tours are on uncovered boats. While this might not seem to be a big deal, in the 100 degree hot sun it made sense to us.

Honey Island got its name from the honeybees seen on the island. We didn't see any ourselves. This swamp is almost a pristine wilderness in an unaltered state. The moss hanging on the gnarled cypress trees, along with the smell of wild azaleas, made for a charming tour.

As the boat quietly glides through the swamps you are able to see all types of wildlife on the banks and in the water. Old stumps of dead trees lie just below the water's surface, the reason for a shallow draft boat. Each type of bird, fish, and bear is pointed out, a good thing since our less experienced eyes would have missed most of them. The entire trip we were all on the look out for an alligator.

Dr. Wagner tells tales of how the pirates of olden days "laid low" in the swamps and gives an ongoing dialogue on the migration and feeding patterns of all his wildlife friends. He is extremely knowledgeable and has a wonderful sense of humor.

About halfway through the tour we came upon our first recognizable alligators. They obviously knew Dr. Wagner too because they came swimming toward the boat to retrieve their marshmallow treats that he tossed out to them. The two largest alligators we saw were each about 10 feet long and came within touching distance of the boat, though no one was fool-hearty enough to try. You got a good glimpse of their teeth when they snapped at the next marshmallow.

The last portion of the tour consists of a high speed run down the center of the wide Pearl River with tales of the inhabitants and human interest stories of the area. We even pulled over to "visit" a named pot-belly pig living at one of the river homes. It was a light-hearted but very informative tour, one we'd definitely recommend to others. Be sure to get Dr. Paul Wagner's Honey Island Tour - there is another Honey Island Swamp Tour in the area. I'd also recommend a covered boat - we were told stories of how snakes hanging in the cypress trees have dropped into the boat for a visit. I'm not that adventureous, give me the roof.

Reservations are required and can be made by calling 985/641-1769.

There's something about the idea of cruising down the Mississippi River on an authentic sternwheel steamboat that takes us back to days of a gentler world. We too succumbed to this notion and bit the bullet and shelled out $25 each for a ride on the Steamboata Natchez. It leaves from the center of the French Quarter and is a two hour experience.

Upon arriving for our reserved time of sailing, we were immediately thrust into the 20th century as we lined up in roped off lines awaiting our unrequested photo before boarding. The romance and beauty of a bygone era was nowhere to be found as noisy, pushy throngs stampeded each other to get that all prized "best" seat on the boat.

Once seated the noise level did not diminish. We strolled to the interior parlor, decorated in worn grubby prints with tacky small tables and rickety chairs, to listen to the jazz band. They were entertaining, but not especially talented. The room was stuffy, so after consuming our expensive drinks - a buffet style lunch is optional, expensive, uninteresting, and unappetizing - we opted to enjoy the river with the wind in our face.

The "ugly Americans" were everywhere thinking they were the only ones on the boat and ruining the calm for others. The tour down the river on one side and then back up on the other was uneventful and rather boring. There just wasn't a lot to see other than some retired cotton warehouses.

The boat ride itself was relaxing but not nearly what we'd hoped for. As we disembarked, there were the photo hockers waiting to separate us from yet more hard earned money for a sub-par photo of us in front of an buoy that said Natchez. I could have done that at home myself. Needless to say, we left our copy for someone else.

It wasn't a bad experience, but having done it, there are a lot better ways to spend two hours and $50 in New Orleans than this. So much for the "beauty and romance of old New Orleans".