We spent four nights at Mia’s home away from home in the Irish Channel -- an old New Orleans neighborhood that’s seen hard times but is perking up with rebuilds and new homes. Mia’s place was once a small-town corner store that she turned into two very nice and very different Airbnbs. The upstairs features huge rooms, a deck, beautiful fixtures. There are tall, glass transoms above the doors and breezy winds “to keep it cool, not warm.” That was an important point, because our visit coincided with New Orleans’ coldest winter in quite a few years. We had to keep the water trickling, and block up some drafts from the windows. Mia had thoughtfully stowed thick comforters in the huge closets. We turned up the heat, piled on the comforters, and slept through the nights quite nicely.
By day we walked to Magazine Street for espressos and food and shopping, all within a 15 to 20 minute stroll, or walked a few blocks further to catch the St. Charles streetcar for rides uptown to River Bend or downtown to the Central Business District and the French Quarter. Other sites we took in included the Contemporary Arts Center and the National World War II Museum. If you go, plan to spend at least six hours at the war museum. You won’t regret a minute of it.
Nor will you regret spending a few nights at Mia’s. She is a gracious host. She met us after a late plane arrival and drove us around the neighborhood to get oriented and find a dinner spot. She kept us advised of the weather and her house was lovely, comfy, quiet, and an all-around excellent place to spend a winter break in New Orleans.