Getting lost in New Orleans
🌼From Escargot in the garden to Oysters at the lake 🐚
There's a version of New Orleans everyone talks about. She comes at you loud, proud, and gorgeous. And then there's the one you find when you stop to watch the flowers dance.
The New Orleans I love best lives in the margins. The Bywater block where the bougainvillea swallows a shotgun whole and stop signs are wrapped in crochet wraps. The Lakefront on a lazy Sunday where the sailboats outnumber the people. The garden courtyard you've walked past a hundred times, but this time hosts a couple sharing their love amongst friends.
Spring asks you to slow down. The air softens. The courtyards open. You can sit outside long enough to mean it.
In the Bywater, N7 has the kind of garden courtyard that makes you forget the time. Wildflowers blooming everywhere you look. Colors spilling over themselves. Little touches that say someone's paying attention — the kind of excellent service that feels less like a transaction and more like hospitality in the truest sense. I had the escargot there, under the umbrella, and stayed longer than I planned. I enjoyed catching up with my friend overhearing slinking silverware and laughter in the background. That's what a good courtyard does. It asks you to linger.
And when you make your way to the lake... because every good meander has a destination, even if it's a slow one there's Felix's. Oysters on the half shell. Live music. Boats passing by, pelicans all about, and the glistening water. The city showing off without trying.
So make the plans for the detours. For getting a little lost. For the version of New Orleans that doesn't shout... the one that waits, quiet and generous, for you to find it yourself.
When I hear people say "hidden gems," I always think... that it may not be an accurate description for a magical place. The best parts of this city aren't hiding. They're just patient.
With a secondline in my step wherever the rhythm carries me, Karlita
Karla Marie “Karlita” Cochran
In the Spotlight 504 New Orleans
