“First of all, PartnerCon is a requirement for me every year – I need it! It’s a chance to re-connect – or connect for the first time – with friends met on the forums.”
Shari Zellers
“I love PartnerCon for it’s intimate and personal feel. My favorite part is meeting other photographers and small business owners.”
Shawn Reeder
I think I’ll let everyone in on the secret rules of visiting New Orleans.
1. You are NOT in N-E-W O-R-L-EEEEE-NS, it’s NAW-LINS or NEW OR-LUNS, or even NEW OR-LEE-UNS
2. If you have to ask what you’re eating, it’s best not to know.
3. We eat alligator down here, but it does not taste like chicken no matter what anyone tells you.
4. We also eat Nutria, which is a large rat and also does not taste like chicken.
5. When we say “suck the heads” it’s referring to eating crawfish, not a late night zombie attack on Bourbon St
6. Snowballs are the #3 dessert down here. Yes that’s ice and flavored syrup. And we stand in line in the heat for it.
7. Beignets are our #2 dessert down here, just don’t breathe or sneeze while attempting to eat them. Also you can get them 24 hrs a day.
8. Bananas Foster is our #1 dessert down here, well at least in my book it is. I’d recommend Brennan’s brunch for the true Foster tasting.
9. We don’t really now how to pronounce street names. We say “Charters”for the French street name “Chartres”. It’s best not to ask. But every one of us down here can say Tchoupitoulas!
10. The French and the Spanish had the French Quarter, the too uptight goody English types took everything else but considered the Quarter an unruly place.
11. Where Y’at? Just means “how’s it going?”. Also if everyone keeps calling you “babe or baby”, it’s just our way.
12. When some guy following you tells you he knows where you got your shoes at, tell him “oh these are not my shoes”. Otherwise you are 100% sure to lose at least $20 on a bet.
13. A “Hurricane” is a red fruity potent drink, tastes like Fruit Punch Kool-Aid but after a few you WILL be one of those joining the large group of “photographed passed out people” on Bourbon St. A “Hand Grenade” is the same style, but tasting like Lime Kool-Aid.
14. For real southern drinks, try a Sazerac, Pimms Cup or sip a Mint Julep. Do this of course at a restaurant with open shutters to the street for true effect. I’d suggest Napoleon’s, which was built for you know who, though he never got to see it.
15. No locals do not hang out on Bourbon St so we don’t really notice the smell.
16. It is still illegal to tie up your pet alligator to a fire hydrant.
17. Yes I know some people down here talk like they are from Brooklyn, I still can’t figure it out either. However NO ONE down here talks like in the move “The Big Easy”.
18. We have held more Super Bowls than any other city. The Saints have yet to even go to a Super Bowl in 40 years.
19. A “2nd Line” parade is held after a funeral or a wedding, or any other excuse to parade down the street. Feel free to jump right in.
20. How many other US cities can hold a party for 2 weeks with over a million people an not have more than 500 arrests? Just remember if you get arrested the weekend before Mardi Gras, you stay in jail until Wednesday. No King Cake or Zulu coconut for you. Mardi Gras really started in Mobile,Alabama but let’s not tell anyone.
21. Some people live and work on the Westbank which is actually South of downtown New Orleans. Just easy not to ask.
22. Get in line early at Central Grocery for a muffeletta sandwich. Eat the whole thing and well, you’re crazy.
23. There are 2 directions. You are either headed towards the river or the lake.
24. Our cemeteries sit above ground due to our low lying ground. Buried below ground and the water will cause you to knock against your tomb and keep the neighbors up.
25. Andrew Jackson is our rockstar, he beat the British just down the river after the war was over.
26. We are known as the birthplace of Jazz.
27. Lestat still hangs out in the Garden District.
28. We live in a Parish, we do not know what a county is.
29. We have the oldest operating street car line in the USA, and it can get you just about anywhere from the Fr Qtr to the end of St Charles Ave.
30. And finally, yes the water did go down. The only place in New Orleans still underwater after Katrina is the aquarium.
Le Bon Temps Roule!
J Sandifer 