H-A-P-P-Y B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y EMILY!
Yesterday was my sistah Emily's birthday! So how did we celebrate? Well, we went to brunch at Melange, the restaurant at the Ritz here in New Orleans. While they did not have the amazing stuffed pain perdu that I love them for, they did have a lovely brunch buffet, with a wonderful omelet station and the most amazing desserts!
At brunch I gave Emily her birthday present...tickets to the Saints game, for the night of her birthday!
So last night we ventured downtown to the 'Dome for the game! Getting into the dome was quite the adventure, as I'm pretty sure the entire population of Louisiana was either driving around or walking over about a 3 block circle around the Superdome, trying to find parking, or their way into the game! Once we found a spot and made our way through the sea of people into the Dome, we climbed up, up, up to our seats!
That is the view of the field from our seats-it looks really blurry (probably because it was so loud inside you were permanently vibrating with the echoes!) but we could actually see everything perfectly-and you could totally see everyone on the field. The noise level in the Dome reminded me of another time I was there for a football game: the 2006 season opener against Atlanta. I was on the field as a part of the crowd for the pre-show, where U2 and Green Day performed "The Saints are Coming"-it was the most electric and thrilling experience, as well as the loudest (from all of the screaming) and brightest (from all of the camera flashes) experience ever. It was really Louisiana and New Orleans' way of showing that we were back, stronger and more united than ever, following the horror and devastation of Katrina, both in the Dome and throughout the city and region. Below is a photo of the crowd outside the Dome for that game. The banners were hung all over the Dome, and the city.
I loved New Orleans from my first moment here when I visited Tulane with my mama, but after Katrina there is something even more magnetic about the city. This is a place that pulls on you-it needs you to survive, and will help you grow and develop in ways unlike any other city can.
