I’ve visited NOLA many times, each visit imagining myself as one of its denizens. Factors, including age, COVID 19, and the coming Chicago winter, pushed my decision closer.
Instead of my favorite French Quarter hotel, this time I decided to try for the first time an Airbnb. I found this one in the famous 9th Ward. Between the unbelievably delightful price and it being single rooms, I wondered what I had gotten into, as my arrival date drew near.
Zoe’s Place is a colorful and slightly mysterious set-of-spacious rooms, in the middle of a long snaking hallway that connects, from one end a "bayou-esque" back yard and porch to the other end, the front door stoop — where I enjoyed my morning coffee, compliments of the house along with so much more.
On the front stoop and on long walks, I saw and met a kaleidoscope of neighbors old and young, who are the forces of true magical realism, fueling the French Quarter as the Mississippi River fuels America.
This was the first time that I truly saw the beautiful grit and true organic greatness of NOLA.
I look forward to owning a home with the magic of Zoe's Place in New Orleans by this time next year.