THE SPOUSE WANTED TO SEE New Orleans' French Quarter. I had passed through NOLA several times, but never spent any time in town.
So we checked many of the travel sites and ended up with a Spirit Airlines' flight-lodging-rental car package.
diSPIRITed
The fun started when we arrived at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), an airport located neither in Fort Lauderdale nor Hollywood, but in Dania Beach, Broward County's first city.
L-O-N-G lines to get to the Spirit counter to drop off a pre-paid ($30) bag to be stowed in the belly of the Airbus A320 that was to take us to the Big Easy, a/k/a NOLA, Crescent City, and New Orleans.
When we worked our way to the Spirit counter we were told by Agent 65015 that the $30 I paid to get the bag on board was for only one "segment." Since the flight from FLL to New Orleans' (actually Metairie) Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) is non-stop, there can be only one segment.
Since arguing with a clerk serves no purpose, I paid and went to await my flight.
A snail mail letter was sent to Spirit HQ in Miramar, FL on our return.
Spirit Customer Service responded with an email telling me that since we had a "vacation package" we would need to contact Spirit Vacations. For how THAT went, see February 10's blog entry: "Spirit Vacations' address a secret?"
The lines for TSA wound outside the terminal, but they moved along rapidly and we were at the gate before the Airbus A320 to New Orleans and Houston arrived. The laptop remained in my backpack and my shoes remained on my feet (unlike the return trip: out with the laptop out and off with the shoes).
Trivia The three letter identifier for Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is MSY. It stands for Moisant Stock Yards.
We made it to the "stock yard" on time and collected the rental car from Hertz.
(Almost) Painless Hertz
We rode an open golf-cart type shuttle from the main terminal to the rental car garage and found our way to the Hertz counter. Late January is chilly in the Big Easy.
The woman behind the Hertz counter recommended an upgrade (from my 2015 Kia Rio) to a Chrysler 300; if she'd offered a Dodge Charger I might have reconsidered, but I stayed with the Kia.
Since we have two Hyundai Elantras - from the same stable and equivalent to the Kia Rio - I was happy with Spirit's and Hertz' selection. Comfortable car with a good heater and it took all the street construction in stride. (Winter is roadwork time all across "no snow" regions.)
When I returned the car Hertz informed me I owed more than $55 to cover taxes on the rental. Between state and parish (county) taxes, buying or renting anything in Metairie, where I airport is situated, incurs the local combined tax rate
| Louisiana State | 4.00% |
| Jefferson Parish | 4.75% |
| Metairie City | 0.00%/TD> |
| Total | 8.75% |
If the tax on a Kia was in excess of $55, imagine the tax on a Chrysler 300!
As bad as that is, New Orleans' sales tax is 9%.
Gasoline near the motel in Metairie was $1.41/gallon; Hertz' price was $1.56/gallon. We filled up before returning the car.
Renovating Ramada
Spirit booked us into the Ramada on South I-10 Service Road, a place I found after several hours of misdirections.
Fortunately we were expected; what I did not expect was a "temporary" charge of $200 to cover any damages, losses, or calls made during our stay. The day clerk assured us the charge would be cancelled in "5 to 7 days" - I was left wondering who was collecting the interest.
The room was "OK," if you discount the cold air seeping into the room through the balcony doors (single pane glass?), the noise of the nearby I-10 (single pane glass?) and the renovations within the building. Maid service was fine - once we begged the maid to clean the room. The "continental breakfast" offered a variety of items at the adjacent Ihop - the only problem was that some items, such as dry cereal, were unavailable. Fortunately, the room included both a mini-fridge and a microwave, so a visit to the nearby kosher deli-and-market took care of "dining in" for breakfast and lunch.
I had access to the business center where I could print out the return flight boarding passes.
Curious: Before cell (mobile) phones were carried by everyone from 1 to 100, motels used to generate a good bit of revenue from guests using motel phones for calls. A $5 or more fee for a local call was not uncommon. Now with cell phones, the motel loses the revenue. How does it make it back?
Kosher in "New Orleans"
New Orleans is famous for its crustaceans - crawfish, oysters, and a whole menu of things prohibited to observant Jews - so "going native" was not an option.
We were told there are about 11,000 Jews in "greater New Orleans." Most are Conservative or Reform. The majority of observant Jews reside in Metairie (met-a-rie), a suburb between New Orleans and MSY.
There are four (4) "Orthodox" congregations (of which I am aware) - ubiquitous Chabad (Chabad houses in New Orleans and Metairie), Beth Israel in Metairie, and "Anshe Sfard in New Orleans ." Anshe Sfard is "nusach Sefard"; I'm not certain what that means, but it is not Sefardi or Mizrachi and the Ashkenazi rabbi speaks Ashkenazi - vs. Israeli or Sefardi - Hebrew. Chabad has mikvehs for men and for women.
There are two (2) places in Metairie and one (1) in NOLA that are under supervision: one restaurant, and one deli-market (Metairie) and one waffle place (NOLA); they are listed at http://tinyurl.com/zxnvy93.
We tried two of the three and realized how good we have it in southeast Florida.
To be fair, we have a "slightly larger" observant community here compared to southern Louisiana. (My house is within walking distance of six "orthodox" congregations, two of which are Sefardi; there are at least as many places to eat - both dairy and meat - within the city limits, and three or four kosher markets, also within the city limits.)
NOLA has the "sixth oldest synagogue in the country" in the Touro Synagogue, The original synagogue was built in 1828, 25 years after the Louisiana Purchase. While NOLA was French - the entire city being what now is the French Quarter - only Catholics were allowed to live in the city. (Presumably slaves were not required to be Catholic.) Touro started as a merger between two orthodox congregations: the German Jewish Shangarai Chasset congregation, and the Portuguese (Sephardi) Nefutzot Yehudah congregation. It has been a Reform congregation since 1891.
Seeing the sights
Driving around New Orleans can be complicated, even with a GPS.
NEVER ask anyone for directions. We did and took a 48-mile detour trying to get to the lodging, crossing the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway both ways before ending up back in Metairie where the motel was located. According to Guinness Book of World Records , The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is the longest continuous bridge passing over water, the waters of New Orleans's Lake Pontchartrain to be exact. The bridge is so long that for 8 of its 24 miles, you can't see land in any direction.
We did, eventually, find the motel, but not before experiencing a great deal of frustration.
The best way to get an overview of NOLA is from the top of a Hop On-Hop Off bus - unless, of course, if the day is particularly windy or there is a deluge, both of which occurred during our stay. (There also are seats inside the bus.) A 3-day pass is $39/person - remember, 9% of that is tax - geezers get a $3 discount. All the tours include a knowledgeable docent; catching a different bus, getting off at a stop and getting back on a little later, gives tourists a different docent and that docent's unique perspective. We heard three, the last was best, but all were good.
There is nothing "Jewish" on the ride; in fact, the words "Jew," "Jewish," "Hebrews," and "synagogue" were never heard despite the fact than Jews were present in NOLA from 1757 - until the Spanish kicked them out in 1769; the foregoing compliments of the Virtual Jewish Library.
Keep in mind that "New Orleans" when the first Jews arrived - during French rule - consisted only of the French Quarter - an area well covered by the Hop On-Hop Off tour. The docents were knowledgeable, but I wonder if they even knew about the Jewish presence "back in the day." (If you visit NOLA and ride the bus, ask the docent if he or she knows about Isaac Rodriguez Monsanto or Judah Touro.) The location of the "new" - built in 1908 - Touro synagogue is about 10 blocks west of the Saint Charles - Louisiana avenues tour bus on/off stop.
Big Brothers are watching
The motel provided free WiFi to the rooms and since I'm an Internet junkie, I spent some time online (on line? on-line?)
I normally use Google's Chrome as my browser, with IE as a back-up for the few sites that, foolishly, are IE-specific. I have gmail which I POP down to an email consolidator.
I couldn't get gmail and the consolidator to communicate. Reason: Google was afraid I wasn't me. Why? Because I was logging on from Louisiana rather than my home.
Likewise, my credit card company got nervous when it received bills from someplace other than south Florida. It didn't REJECT any purchases, but it did leave me a phone message to either go online to check the purchases or to call an 800 number to have the purchases verified.
I suppose I should be glad that someone is watching out for me, especially in this day and age of cyber crime. Maybe I should tell gmail and the credit card company that I will be traveling, but that, too, is a (personal) security issue. Caught between the hammer and the anvil or, if you prefer, a rock and a hard spot. Still, Google should be more flexible and understand that people DO travel.
