Brian was really great. He lent us bicycles, chatted with us for a while (it turns out I know his cousins and we have like eight friends in common), and then gave us directions to get to the French Quarter.

The house, too, was excellent. It's got a tankless water heater, so if you're into sustainability, this place may be a good option. The bed was comfortable, and Brian supplied us with bikes and bike locks to use. One item which may be worth considering: the bikes are all approximately the same height, so if you're short, they may not work for you so well. However, my traveling companion is in the mid-5-feet range, and she was alright.

The neighborhood is the Seventh Ward, which flooded during Katrina. This area has some difficulties, naturally. A lot of the lots are empty; there are abandoned houses; and the house catty-corner to where we were staying is apparently occupied but with broken windows and a lot of kids hanging out around it. Next door to Brian's house is a bar, which appears to be locally owned, and the customers and everyone I talked to outside of it was really nice (I had about a 20-minute conversation with an elderly woman patronizing the bar). Actually, all of the neighbors seemed great; no one was rude; everyone I encountered greeted me warmly.

The French Quarter is a couple of miles away, but it's no challenge to bike (and all pretty flat, except the bridge over the canal).