April 23, 2012 - New Orleans, Louisiana

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was in New Orleans in April 2012 for the American Academy of Neurology Meeting.  Lisa was to join me midweek and my friend Dan from residency had just moved there about a year previously.  The sight-seeing in this journal entry is minimal, but I felt it captured the feel of New Orleans well.

This morning I am at Mother's (featured on the Food Network's Diners, Drive In and Dives) for breakfast on my second full day in New Orleans (NOLA) during my first visit in 8 years and my first since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the city 7 years ago.

I arrived two nights ago and and after checking into my hotel, I went right to Bourbon Street.  I was looking for Sea Port Cafe and Bar as on my three previous trips to NOLA (college spring break in 1993, interview for residency at Tulane in 1996, and vacation with Lisa in 2004) my first dinner has been jambalaya there.  Alas, it has closed.  Later when I realized where it was, I tried the, "new" place at that location and had a sampling of red beans and rice (yummy) and a Tin Roof Amber Ale - brewed in Baton Rouge and absolutely wonderful.  But, I ended up having dinner (Red dish and a disappointingly small side of jambalaya) at The Old Coffee Pot restaurant in the Quarter on St. Peters' near Pat O'Brien's.  Nothing special, but the mint julep was good.

Bourbon Street was as crazy as ever.  Music was blaring from many of the clubs and, of course, there was a preponderance of Gentlemen's clubs.  Hustler now has a big presence of Bourbon street...  Lots of the old haunts are still there - Maison Bourbon, Pat O'Brien's, Court of the Two Sisters, and, of course, Preservation Hall.  All sorts of craziness - a man half passed out on the street, surrounded by police, a group of about 8 women doing the Electric Slide in the middle of the street (the song was blaring from the bar they were in front of).  I was older than most of the revelers and felt slightly out of place, but I couldn't not have gone, if only to remember previous trips, and there were people of all ages there, including couples old enough to be grandparents, just taking in all the sights.

I passed a bar on St. Peters, just off Bourbon and next to Pat O'Brien's, called The Dungeon.  It brought back a hazy memory going there with my college roommates on our Spring Break trip senior year (I later found out my friend Justin from residency was also in New Orleans for Spring Break in the spring of 1993 - maybe I spilled beer on him and don't even know...).

I had wanted to go to Preservation Hall that night (Lisa will not want to go after she comes down in a couple of days) but it didn't open until 9.30 PM (which was 10.30 to me, having just arrived from the East Coast), when it usually opens at 8 PM, because of a private event.  So, I decided to call it an early night.

Yesterday I had a morning class on neuro-ophthalmology, where I ran into Justin and made plans to join him and initially Dan, but Dan had to bail, for dinner.  After class, I went to the French Quarter and had lunch at the Acme Oyster Company.  Seafood gumbo was a little disappointing (tiny shrimp) but the grilled oysters were fanstastic: char-grilled with some cheese on top.  Add a little Tobasco and it is a beautiful thing.  Washed it down with an Abita amber ale - another quality local beer, this one brewed just outside of NOLA.

Acme was an interesting place.  There was quite a line to get in, but because I was alone, I was taken early.  I sat at the bar next to a woman from Ohio and her friend.  I was waited on by a wonderfully amiable gentleman who made good conversation but almost never looked up from the oysters he was continously shucking.  He never budged from standing in front of me and the Ohioan woman.  I swear, I never saw him write anything down when I ordered (he just kept shucking), there didn't seem to be any electronic ordering system, he never moved, and I didn't catch him relaying my order to anyone verbally and yet, somehow, my correct order promptly arrived!

After lunch, I walked down to Jackson Square.  Popped in to St. Louis Cathedral, lit a candle, and said a prayer.  I remember when I first visited St. Louis 19 years ago, I thought it was the most beautiful church I had ever seen.  While, having been to cathedrals in Europe (including St. Peter's in the Vatican), I can no longer say that, it is still pretty impressive.  It was glorious sunny afternoon and my plan was to plant myself on a bench under one of the big trees in the square and finish reading the cases for my Grievance Committee meeting tomorrow, but even under the tree the glare was too much for the back-lit screen of my Kindle Fire....  So, I had to cut the glorious afternoon short and go back to the hotel.

Cathedral of St. Louis, Jackson Square

 After finishing the cases, I went to the 5.30 PM mass at St. Patrick's Church, which was just a couple of blocks from the my hotel.  Built in the 1850's, it is NOLA's second oldest Catholic Church and another beautiful building.  Really old school - the altar is still built into the apse and the priest said the liturgy of the Eucharist with his back to the congregation!  They also have an old school pulpit and apparently the 9.30 AM mass on Sunday is a Latin mass!

After mass, I went to dinner with Justin and colleague of his from U. of Wisconsin (were Justin is now faculty) named Marcus.  Nice guy, but very quiet and I felt like Justin and I dominated the conversation, which ranged from medicine to politics, to comparative theology!  I had forgotten what a keen mind Justin has!  We ate at a Cuban restaurant on Esplanade, just outside the French Quarter, called Mojito's.  The mojitos were quite good.  The food was good too, not quite as good as Cuba de Ayer back home (or quite as authentic, a lot of New Orleans influence on the menu), but still very good.  We ate several tapas of different things.  I remember the calamari (not fried!), black paella, pork sliders, and short ribs being particularly good.  But, the atmosphere was awesome.  We sat outside on a patio.  The weather was picture perfect.  Inside, a Latin band played while other patrons salsa danced.  Nice little place (Justin had just found it on Urban Spoon).

After dinner, we met up at Pat O'Brien's with another friend of Justin's named Simon.  Simon was a former resident at University of Wisconsin and was now working in Colorado.  Great guy and a lot of fun to hang out with.  Simon is an electromyographer, like me (Justin is a stroke specialist) and although behind me in training, was nearly my age as he got a business degree initially and then went back to med school later.  As it turns out, he is from Towson (Maryland) originally and graduated from Calvert Hall in 1990!  So, he knew my med school friend Ed and graduated high school with my college friend and med school roommate, Bimal (Ed graduated from the Hall in 1989).  Small world, eh?  Another nice guy I met there was a Brazilian named Daniel - big baseball fan, although unfortunately a Yankees fan...

Although I only had one Hurricane at Pat O's (where we sat in the courtyard in front of the fountain/fire), that someone else paid for, we lingered at dinner and hung out for quite a while at Pat O's , so it was nearly 2 AM by the time I got back to the hotel.  Haven't done that in a while!  Made getting up this morning rough and I am really tired!  When Daniel and I left the group to go home, Justin, Marcus, and Simon were going out somewhere else!

Today after breakfast I have an all-day stroke CME course.  At Mother's I had a crawfish etouffee omelet, which was really good (although I could only eat 2/3 of it).  The grits that came with it, however, were amazing.  If I ever eat breakfast there again, I would probably just have the grits and toast!  I would like to come back later in the week with Lisa for lunch to get po'boys.  They are apparently known for their ham (Lisa's favourite) and turkey.

May 8, 2011 - Rome, Italy

Lisa and I arrived in Rome today for vacation.  Flew from BWI, connecting in Philadelphia, which was actually cheaper than booking the flight out of Philly...

Landed in Rome about 8.30 AM local time.  Got to the hotel around 10.15-10.30.  Had to leave our bags as the room was not ready yet, but when we got back in the afternoon they had already taken our bags up.

Our hotel, Hotel San Carlo, is nice.  The room is not as small as we are used to in Europe.  There is a room with a king size bed and another smaller room with a single bed, as well as the bathroom.  Staff have been very courteous and speak English.

In general, we have not run into a language barrier.  We were in touristy areas all day and everyone seemed to speak English and we were given English menus.  I'll be curious to see if things are are any different when we go to Florence later in the week.

We've only been here about 13 hours, but so far, I love Rome.  It has all the vibe and hum of a big city like London or New York, but there is a certain quaintness too with narrow cobblestone streets at bizarre angles that meander here and there, like in Prague, Venice, or Rhodes.  Unlike Venice, much of which is now abandoned, even the side streets in Rome bustle with activity.  While in Venice the small side street might open into an empty and abandoned piazza with a non-functional fountain, the side street and little piazza will contain shops, cafes, gelatorias, and/or restaurants.  I've truly never seen a higher density of restaurants anywhere in my life.  Only the French Quarter in New Orleans comes close, and not really.  Every few feet, at least in the area around the Spanish Steps and the area around the Pantheon, there is a restaurant (or 2, or 3) and they are all serving food, with gracious service, that looks absolutely wonderful.  I think you could spend all day in Rome eating!

After dropping off our bags, we walked over to the Spanish Steps (so named because they were in proximity to the Spanish embassy to the Vatican).  The steps were pretty, dotted with azaleas that were just starting to bloom and packed with tourists.  We had cappucino and a croissant at a small, busy, cafe near the Spanish steps.  There is also a splash of England by the steps: a tea room called Babington's and a museum to Keats, apparently in a house in which he died.

From the Spanish steps, we walked to the Trevi fountain, a truly stunning fountain fed by the end of an old Roman aqueduct and made famous in film.  We each tossed a coin backwards into the fountain, which is supposed to guarantee a return trip to Rome someday.  The Trevi fountain was completely mobbed with tourists, reminiscent of the Charles Bridge in Prague.  We paid a street vendor 5 euro (about $7.50 USD) to take our picture and it actually turned out well.

Trevi Fountain

The Pantheon

From the Trevi fountain we walked to the Pantheon.  Definitely the most impressive thing we have seen so far.  The original Pantheon was built in the first century as a temple to all gods (hence the name, from the Greek), but the current building was constructed by Hadrian in AD 120.  It became a Christian church in the 7th century and remains so to this day.  This preserved it from being plundered for building material and left to ruin.  It is the only ancient Roman structure in the city that is completely intact.

Oculus in the dome of the Pantheon

The Pantheon is the model for much U.S. Federal era architecture.  Davidge Hall at University of Maryland - Baltimore (where I went to medical school), Mr. Jefferson's rotunda at the University of Viriginia (where I did my neurology residency, and particularly the Basilica of the Assumption in Baltimore are all modeled after the Pantheon (as is the U.S. Capitol to some degree).  The Pantheon is capped by a huge dome that is equal in diameter and height.  At the top of the dome, there is a 27-foot diameter oculus that lets in the only light.  Like the Basilica in Baltimore, the stream of light from above creates a sense of illumination and holiness.  Two Italian kings, Victor Emmanuel II and Umberto I are entombed in the Pantheon, as is the Renaissance master, Raphael.  The soaring height of the dome, the marble floor, and the ethereal lighting create a marvelous effect and the Pantheon is truly one of the most impressive buildings I have ever set foot in, and certainly the oldest that is still completely intact.

Davidge Hall, University of Maryland School of Medicine

Rotunda, University of Virginia

Basilica of the Assumption, Baltimore

We had lunch al fresca on the piazza in front of the Pantheon at a place called Cafe Restaurant Di Rie.  We each had insalata mista (tossed salad, which contained raw fennel - apparently a big thing here - and corn) and shared a quite good pizza Margherita.

Following lunch, we walked over to the Piazza Navona, which isn't a square at all, but a large oval because it was built initially as the Circus of Emperor Domitian.  Standing there, I could just picture Judah Ben Hur driving his team around the track...  At the center of Piazza Navona is Bernini's Fountian of the Four Rivers (which figured prominently in Dan Brown's Angels and Demons).  A statute represents a river on each continent: the Ganges, the Danube, Rio de la Plata, and the Nile.  Smaller Bernini fountains are at each end of the piazza.  We stopped at a gelateria on the piazza for gelato.  I had melon, which was out of this world.  Perhaps the tastiest gelato or ice cream I have every had.  It tasted like a perfectly ripe cantaloupe!

Gelato

We got back to our hotel and checked into our room around 4 PM.  We chilled for a while (actually, I dozed off for a bit) and then around 6-6.30 we went to dinner at a nearby restaurant called Ristorante al 34.  The food was pretty good, although not spectacular.  We shared a half litre of the house white and they brought us a sample of some chick pea soup with some kind of seafood (calamari, we think) to try.  It was quite tasty (a little salty, but tasty).  Then Lisa had the vegetable soup, which she seemed underwhelmed by, and I had insalata mista.  For entrees, I had the spring lamb, grilled, and Lisa veal saltimbocca, both of which were quite good.  We shared a side of grilled artichoke and capped it off with espresso (when in Rome...).  But, what really made the experience was al fresca dining on a gorgeous evening (it was sunny and 70's today, absolutely gorgeous) on a small cobbled side street while street musicians walk up and down the various restaurants serenading for money.  Others approached selling figurines or roses.  Cars could even drive down the narrow street, no more than six inches from our table!

From Piazza Navona, we walked back to our hotel by a different route (and for the first time got a little turned around on the narrow, winding streets) to pass the early first century mausoleum of Augustus, but unfortunately it was closed for renovation. 

After dinner, we went back to the hotel (around 9 PM) to call it an early night.  All-in-all, a wonderfully fun day.  Tomorrow, it's off the the Coliseum, which we got a glimpse of on our bus ride in from the airport.