28th of September 2007: Alligator Munching and More Money Misery
Feeling a good bit fresher and more alert than I have been, I get into town relatively early and explore Bourbon Street for much of the middle of the day. By daylight it's a completely different environment, the beautiful old houses with their wrought-iron balconies and peeling bricks have a quiet dignity which is the complete opposite of the street's night-time frenzy.
For lunch I stop into the Cajun Grill on Decatur for an alligator kabob, which to my surprise turns out to be exactly what it says. The alligator is in the form of highly seasoned sausage, and it's kind of hard to make out the flavour (particularly since, to my enormous aggravation, I have another cold coming on) but it's savoury and has a nice extra level of chewiness. It comes with beautiful crispy sweet potato fries.
Arriving back I finally get the next leg of my journey planned - going over the map I find that once again I'm out of hitch-hiking range, so I spend almost an hour trying different routes on Amtrak's infuriating website before finding that I can make it to San Diego for quite a reasonable price by the third of October, and then hitch up the coast to San Francisco with time to spare. It'll be a long journey, mind - two full days on board train. But with a good supply of reading material I reckon I can make it through, and anything's luxury after long-distance Greyhound.
In the evening we gather for the hostel's weekly barbecue by the pool, munch great steaks (eaten with our fingers as the hostel doesn't have steak knives) and chat. It's a really nice crowd right now, and a very mixed one - several other Englanders, Australians, French, and folks from all across the States. After dinner pretty much everybody seems to want to see Liquidrone, who are playing across town at Le Bon Temps, so we muster taxis and form a sizeable party.
The band are pretty good but I don't really appreciate them fully because I have yet another money panic - the ATM in the bar rejects my card about half an hour after I arrive. I have $15.00 to my name and I haven't yet paid for my hostel room for the last two nights before my train leaves. Tired, a bit drunk and panicking over how I could have miscalculated so badly again I end up ducking out of the bar and walking home, a journey of over two hours.
For lunch I stop into the Cajun Grill on Decatur for an alligator kabob, which to my surprise turns out to be exactly what it says. The alligator is in the form of highly seasoned sausage, and it's kind of hard to make out the flavour (particularly since, to my enormous aggravation, I have another cold coming on) but it's savoury and has a nice extra level of chewiness. It comes with beautiful crispy sweet potato fries.
Arriving back I finally get the next leg of my journey planned - going over the map I find that once again I'm out of hitch-hiking range, so I spend almost an hour trying different routes on Amtrak's infuriating website before finding that I can make it to San Diego for quite a reasonable price by the third of October, and then hitch up the coast to San Francisco with time to spare. It'll be a long journey, mind - two full days on board train. But with a good supply of reading material I reckon I can make it through, and anything's luxury after long-distance Greyhound.
In the evening we gather for the hostel's weekly barbecue by the pool, munch great steaks (eaten with our fingers as the hostel doesn't have steak knives) and chat. It's a really nice crowd right now, and a very mixed one - several other Englanders, Australians, French, and folks from all across the States. After dinner pretty much everybody seems to want to see Liquidrone, who are playing across town at Le Bon Temps, so we muster taxis and form a sizeable party.
The band are pretty good but I don't really appreciate them fully because I have yet another money panic - the ATM in the bar rejects my card about half an hour after I arrive. I have $15.00 to my name and I haven't yet paid for my hostel room for the last two nights before my train leaves. Tired, a bit drunk and panicking over how I could have miscalculated so badly again I end up ducking out of the bar and walking home, a journey of over two hours.
Labels: alligator, amtrak, barbecue, Beer, cajun grill, New Orleans, United States
posted by Mark at
20:23
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