Thank you to Maria and her wonderful husband Charles for hosting myself and the rest of my San Francisco State Master of Public Health family! We were in New Orleans for the American Public Health Conference and the location was perfect for what we needed.

As there were six of us arriving on different dates and times, Maria was amazingly accommodating to us. From driving the first arrivals to Rouse’s to get provisions for the upcoming days to Office Depot to pick up business cards. She and her husband even drove on of our friends to a film screening when there were no cabs coming by on Saturday night! Maria was around if we needed absolutely anything. Did I mention that her son works on a farm and we had a steady supply of potatoes, avocados and lemons? And if you have questions about what’s going down around town, just check with Maria! She is an absolute wealth of local knowledge. We hit up the Satsuma Festival based on her suggestion and would have hit up many more things if it weren’t for the conference!

The apartment was great, too! The photos on AirBNB are exactly what you get. The heat worked great, especially since we experienced all four seasons during our recent trip, with temperatures dipping all the way down to 32° some evenings and soaring up to 82° on afternoon. The cold mornings and nights were easily taken care of by taking a hot shower or luxurious bath in the spacious bathroom. We had amazing home cooked food the whole trip, thanks to the industriousness of my cohort-mates and the well appointed kitchen. Want to whip up a kale smoothie? Maria will bring you her blender!

Other logistical information: The Wifi worked well for six MPH students who had to check and respond to email, as well as work on their Epidemiology midterm while on a trip to one of the best cities in the world. The home is centrally located on Canal in Mid City, and we were one trolley ride (and a short walk) away from the Convention Center and French Quarter.

I would have to say that all of us in our group would definitely consider staying at Maria’s place again—and we would make sure to stay longer and not have a convention get in our way of having an even better time! Thanks again Maria and Charles!