vibrant city

The last time I was in New Orleans (New Year's Eve 1986) people weren't carrying cell phones as they stumbled down Bourbon Street. But based on what Ryan and I witnessed in the French Quarter last night, it seems little else has changed since then.

Bars like the Cat's Meow, the Funky Pirate and Pat O'Brien's were jammed with LSU and Notre Dame fans in town for tonight's Sugar Bowl. Live blues and jazz wafted through the streets, drunks were everywhere and women (and sometimes men) were baring themselves for beads (at least that's what Ryan told me; I never looked).

We were amazed to find this beautiful, historic city so alive and seemingly undamaged this soon after Hurricane Katrina. Except for the occasional boarded up business, you couldn't tell the storm had roared through in 2005. (Ryan's favorite local restaurant, Rita's, was shuttered. He was bummed. Only a famous New Orleans hurricane could console him.)

Which is typical, said Seth Bloom, a Jacksonville native and New Orleans attorney who heads up the city's Gator Club. "People are surprised how New Orleans is coming back," he told me by phone recently. "People are scared of the city right now but it's upbeat and vibrant."

It sure was Tuesday night when chants of "LSU, LSU" and "Go Irish, Go Irish" got louder and louder as it got later and later.

It's not like that everywhere, though. Bloom said the city's Ninth Ward remains a ghost town. "You can still see the mass devestation."

We'll see it for ourselves today. We're going to tour the area this morning before heading out for San Antonio. We'll keep you posted.

Here's a slideshow from Bourbon Street

Jeff