Vous avez arrivé ala Nouvelle-Orléans

Add comment September 27th, 2008

Scott Morgan and I arrived in New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal yesterday at 4 p.m., within minutes of our scheduled arrival. That means we made up for almost all the delays caused by freight trains. Freight railroads, on which most Amtrak trains travel, are required to give priority to Amtrak trains and make their freights wait. But they often — some say usually – ignore that requirement.

The trip was pleasant, our crew was friendly, helpful and fun. The food was good — it was included in our ticket price. So, a 2,000 mile round trip from Chicago to New Orleans and back, with a roomette and complementary meals, can be had for $400 round trip. If you’d rather travel by coach class, where you’ll find wide, comfortable reclining seats, the round trip fare is $216. You could bring your own food on board or buy it in the dining car.  So, kudos to Amtrak for the service on the down train.  At 1:45 p.m. today, our “up” train journey begins.

Last night, Scott and I had a look-see around the French Quarter, which is literally around the corner from our hotel on St. Charles. The famed St. Charles Ave. Line streetcars go right past our front door. The 80-year old cars survived the 2005 hurricane and flood. We crossed Canal Street and walked down Chartres Street, where we saw the famed restaurant K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen, opened  in 1979 by Chef Paul Prudhomme and his wife, K, hence, K-Paul. K died a few years back, but Paul continues on. I said to Scott, “hey, I’ve heard of that,” and we decided to stop in. Though the place was busy and we had no reservations, we were cheerfully and quickly accommodated with a table on the second floor veranda of the 1834 building. The food — we both had the blackened drum fish — was wonderful, and surprisingly affordable.