NOLA

Everyone should visit New Orleans at least once in their lives.

It’s crazy, cool, funky, lively, lazy, musical, quirky, humid, multicultural.

There is music in the streets. Bars don’t have to close unless they want to. The accent is not Southern and it’s not Cajun, but is has elements of both, with a little bit of Brooklynesque thrown in.

People there are resilient, tenacious and stubborn … at least the ones who moved back after Hurricane Katrina. Some say they are a little crazy or stupid for moving back. If you’re from there, you get it, even if you disagree with it. If you visit for more than four or five days, you might also understand.

If you grew up there, as I did, this sentence says it all: You can leave New Orleans but New Orleans never leaves you.