EUROPEANIZE!

This was very cool - the first annual "San Fermin in Nueva Orleans" a mock running of the bulls in the French Quarter. Brilliant. The Big Easy Rollergirls acted as bulls on rollerskates, and a pretty decent group of runners showed up to participate. It started at 8:00 a.m., so I missed the begining, but I caught up with them when the crowd made a turn on Royal from Toulouse. Everyone seemed to just be laughing their asses off. I think this wil become a big deal and definitely worth waking up early for. Not to mention the fun white with red 'kerchief outfits. The metal bull was also the dj/music/boom box getup.

Earlier this month I went on a very short trip over to Austin. I rented a car and hit the road with a stack of This American Life cds. I had heard that Austin was very different from the rest of Texas, and was actually very cool. I found this to be true with lots of things going on around town such as the old Paramount Theater downtown playing Breakfast at Tiffany's, lots of thrift stores, the giant, amazing original Whole Foods, lots of scooter shops, a public springs/pool, etc. These were my two most European experiences: Being the "overflow" person in the hostel and getting the bed on the floor in the t.v. room. (It really wasn't that bad) and stopping in Houston at Mecca

The yahoo group, "scootneworleans" have organized themselves and are riding on Sundays. Whoever shows up at NOMA at 4:00 pm - or I think it's CC's on Esplanade now - is welcome to ride around for a while and usually end up at some restaurant. This is from the first ride that ended at Angeli. I think its a fun idea, but like a veterinarian allergic to cats, all those two stroke vintage bikes put out a nasty exhaust that gives me a headache. I'l start going more if the modern "cleaner" bikes outnumber the stinky ones. This is the opposite of what most of the hardcore scooter dudes think, they snort up that blue smoke like its cocaine.

This is one of the best bands in New Orleans right now and they are now playing Friday nights at the Spotted Cat from 6:30 to 10. And there's not a cover, but a tip jar contribution is encouraged.

La Vie en Rose, the life of Edith Piaf, Canal Place, magnifique.

I wish the French Quarter location would re-open, but for now I'll make the drive all the way down St. Charles to La Madeline in the Riverbend for the Frenchy atmosphere. But the BEST thing about La Madeline is the free bread. There's a yummy variety of sliced breads with butter and jelly next to the fountain soda, so you can help yourself to as much as you'd like. With this in mind, I thought I could eat a cheap dinner out. I made some bad choices though, and three things added up to $8.75. I treated myself to an Orangina, and a chocolate chip cookie, and I picked the bowl of soup instead of a cup which was over $4. I learned my lesson. I should have got a cup of soup, picked up about five slices of bread, drank tap water, and (maybe) lost the cookie. . deliciousness.

Ahhh, no, Paris - I - love you.. This film finally came out in New Orleans and you better believe I was there the opening weekend at Canal Place. I read about this movie a while ago, it is eighteen short stories (some French and some English) from different Paris arrondissements. Most of the stories were clever, lovely, sweet and beautiful, two were totally off-the-wall bizarre, and only a handful were sad. This will be a great DVD to own so I can create my own movie by editing out the sad stories, and watching my favorites over and over. One of favorites was a middle-aged American tourist with a fanny pack describing the events that led up to her realizing that she had fallen in love with Paris. This hit my soft spot because I remember the precise moment this happened to me. It was not until my fourth trip to Paris that I fell in love with the city. It was the first weekend of December in 1999 the weather was goregous and the sun was going down in the Tuileries Garden. I had snatched ...