I have a list of cities that are special to me. They’re not places I’ve actually been to — that’s an entirely different list. Rather, these are places I’d like to go to. But that makes it sound like this list is just a roster of possible vacation spots, and it’s more than that. The cities on this list are places that occupy large tracts of my imagination and which exert a pull on my spirit that is somtimes difficult to explain. I associate them with works of literature I’ve enjoyed, or movies, or ideals. They represent things to me, and I feel like I know them without ever having actually set foot on their streets.
One of these places is New Orleans, the legendary city of Mardi Gras and the Delta blues, of Tennessee Williams and The Vampire Lestat. Many times I’ve imagined myself strolling through the French quarter to the sound of a mournful sax drifting down from an iron-framed balcony, or touring the grand old mansions and mossy graveyards, or breakfasting on strong coffee and beignets and supping on spicy foods that, like a short-lived affair based entirely on lust, I’ll enjoy at the moment and regret afterwards. Yeah, I know they’re cliches and that there’s a lot more to a city than postcard slogans and imagery cadged from lush gothic novels. But that imagery is much of the reason why I find New Orleans compelling; my sense of the place, my desire to see it, stems from overheated sources. I guess it’s fair to say I’m in love with the idea of cities like New Orleans, rather than the actual places themselves.
Either way, I hope we’ll be left with more than just an idea of New Orleans by the time Hurricane Katrina blows herself out. The last I saw on CNN.com, the protective levees were failing and parts of the city were under six feet of water.
My hopes are with those who couldn’t or didn’t evacuate in time.
So as a world traveler, what did you think when you started visiting many of the places you have always dreamed about? I dreamed about France, Paris, and Mont San Michael (MSM) for eternities before I visited them. When I first went to Paris and MSM after my sophomore year in college, I was initially repulsed (or at least a bit disappointed) by both. Paris was much dirtier, crowded, and not anywhere as mystical as I had imagined. MSM was much more blocky and crowded than I ever imagined. With much lower (ok, ok, realistic) expectations I have returned to Paris a couple of times and I continue to rank it as one of my favorite cities. For me, it is a serious museum city, especially art that I don’t know if I could ever get enough of–not to mention San Chapelle–THE MECCA of stained glass windows–crepe stands, sidewalk cafes, great food, the Eiffel tower, Notre Dame…….
My thoughts are with them too. There’s a lot of culture and history there to lose. 🙁 It’s certainly going to take a lot to build it up again… there’s a lot under water still.
Keith:
I’ve definitely experienced the same clash of romantic expectations and mundane reality that you describe. London surprised me by being so ethnically diverse and filled with cutting-edge architecture (I guess I expected everyone to look like John Cleese and live in tidy little cottages, or something). Stratford-upon-Avon struck me as a depressingly tacky little tourist trap rather than a literary mecca or a quaint historical village. And here in the US, Florida turned out to be a lot less Miami Vice glamour and a lot more Dukes of Hazzard down-hominess. But then you know about that one yourself, don’t you? 🙂
I’ve also had the experience of a place turning out to be exactly what I imagined it to be. New York City was like that, a perfect balance of magical and filthy that had me constantly struggling to decide exactly how I felt about it.
Oddly enough, I had no preconceived notions at all about Germany. It honestly wasn’t a place I’d ever thought about visiting before you and Danielle invited me over. I guess that trip was almost an ideal travel situation in the sense that I was open to everything around me, just seeing what it was instead of what I hoped it might be.
Jen, I find the whole thing absolutely heartbreaking. I just keep thinking I should have moved the Mardi Gras trip a little higher up on my agenda, because I may not have the chance to go for a good long while now. I know New Orleans will rebuild, but it’s going to be years before it is anything like it was.
And of course there’s plenty of other places and people that are hurting, too; New Orleans is just getting all the attention because (arguably) it’s got the most personality. I feel for the folks in Mobile, too, as well as all the other places we in the West aren’t familiar with…