I mentioned that I returned from New Orleans with sore calves, but I forgot to tell you about my neck.

I woke up on Sunday morning thinking I had simply slept on it wrong, however as the day went on it became clear: The muscles that support my head were sore… from dancing.

Soak up that image for a second: I sure as hell dug in, burying the head and looking at the floor, swinging the arms and losing sight of my surroundings. No idea why I was staring at my feet so much – my moves aren’t that complicated.

If you’ve traveled with me or followed this blog over the past year, you know I have no clue what I’m doing on the dance floor, so I’m as surprised as the next that I enjoyed it for as long as I did. Who knows, maybe I’m coming around.

Or maybe it was because before we danced, we drank.

Come on – it’s New Orleans!

Abita Brewing Company (Abita Springs, Louisiana)

I was familiar with Abita’s flagship brew Purple Haze before my trip to the Big Easy – it’s available on beer menus and at distributors throughout the country – but I had no idea the brewery had such a grasp on the city, nor that it produced such a solid line of beers. It began in 1986 about 30 miles north of New Orleans, and today it is rare that a local restaurant does not carry at least one of their products on tap.

Andygator Dopplebock

I found the Amber to pair nicely with gumbo/sausage dishes and po boy sandwiches, and its makeup and structure reminded me of Yuengling Lager. Easy drinking, smooth, and a good cooking compliment, it’s what I would refer to as a pitcher beer – most people in your group will find it agreeable (as compard to Purple Haze and its specific raspberry flavors).

I discovered the Andygator Dobblebock at the Bulldog on Magazine Street (they had five or six Abita beers on tap), and I thought it was a good showcase of the brewery’s range. It’s a high-gravity brew, meaning it’s blended, in this case with pale malt, German lager yeast, and German Perle hops. At 8.0% alcohol, it drinks heavy and goes well with gorganzola/blue cheeses and crawfish dishes.

Lazy Magnolia Brewery (Kiln, Mississippi)

A little over a year ago I received a few bottles of Lazy Mag Southern Pecan in my beer of the month club (which is a fantastic gift idea, by the way), and I have since been awaiting the day when I could get it on tap, or at least find it in the store (the one frustrating thing about the beer club is that they overcharge to reorder specific beers).

I had not been in town for five minutes when I saw a six-pack of it on the grocer’s shelf (love it when that happens – I’m the guy who typically stands there for ten minutes trying to make a decision). According to Lazy Mag, it’s the first beer in the world to be made with whole roasted pecans, which I think adds a slight sweetness that you don’t always get in brown ales.

I was surprised to read that it’s the first in the world brewed with whole pecans – the traditional malty and caramel flavors of the brown ale seem to go well when paired with nuts in other forms (desserts, for example), so why not beer?

Sweetwater Brewing Company (Atlanta, Georgia)

When I was in St. Simons, Georgia, I wrote about how well the Sweetwater 420 (extra pale ale) went with the infamous Southern Soul Barbecue. From that same brewery comes the Georgia Brown, and I suppose my fondness for it officially puts me on a brown-beer kick.

I got involved with this brew at the Atlanta airport of all places – they have a draft house in concourse B.  It’s not overly heavy (both in terms of drinkability and alcohol content, 5%), and that makes it a good beer to have on the run in my opinion.

Even though the South is traditionally known for its booze (whiskey, bourbon), don’t overlook the microbrews that hail from the area. Most of these breweries are relatively young – Sweetwater began in 1997 when the owners moved to Georgia from Boulder, Colorado.

Hopefully I’ll do a beer story on Colorado my next trip out – the Rocky Mountain water seems to churn out good brews. Cheers for now!

                          

After a bruising fight during the past year against Amazon, officials from Macy’s realized they needed more warehouses to ship their on-line purchases from. Then it hit them. They’ve got 800 buildings, far more than Amazon will ever have, so why not use them?

Now a new move to build shipping centers has turned the back rooms of 292 Macy’s 800 stores around the country into de facto distribution centers. When someone orders a black pair of women’s shoes size 5, a worker will stroll out into the Macy’s sales floor, find the item, and bring it into the back and ship it. Since the buyer lives close to the store, the shipping is peanuts. And in some cases, the shoppers come to the store and pick up their order in a yellow plastic Macy’s bag.

While Amazon uses robots to fetch items and bring them to people in their cavernous distribution centers, and the machines never fail to read exactly what book, or what size and color, the item should be, the story in the WSJ by Dana Mattioli hinted that Macy’s is taking on a Herculean amount of labor and a lot of frustration. People aren’t as good at finding thousands of items a day as the mobile robots are.

A Macy’s executive explained why this move makes sense when he cited a special Chanel perfume that went on sale on their website only, and sold out in just one day. Yet stores across the country had to discount the fragrance to get it off their shelves. The policy of taking hot-sellers off the website once they were gone left lots of unsold inventory, and now, they can find anything people want to buy from their own store shelves.

                          

As I was boarding the flight in New Orleans that would eventually take me back to Philadelphia, I kept my head on a swivel, scoping out the faces of those around me. I found my seat and focused on the doorway as the people entered, hypothesizing the scenarios of their visits based on expressions and appearances.

There are places around the world where people have a tendency to depart worn out as opposed to rested, and the United States certainly has its share: Any plane out of Las Vegas, for sure, but also Sunday afternoon flights from fiesta-oriented towns such as New Orleans and Miami. Most likely, a handful of passengers on the plane have had a wild weekend, which is good for both people-watching as well as in-flight conversation.

I would have been happy with eavesdropping across the aisle, yet as luck would have it the man who sat down next to me had been in town for a bachelor party. Lucky me, although he also may of felt fortunate – I hadn’t been getting much sleep, either.

Beginning of Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

Bourbon Street:

The man next to me on the plane said it better than I ever could: Bourbon Street does an incredible job of quarantining all the assholes.

I laughed when he said it. Neither of us were trying to be a prick – we admittedly had both spent some time exploring the scene (and I certainly didn’t complain about the strong drinks), but let’s be honest: It’s no place any local hangs out. It’s the same bar over and over, each block relatively the same, and the crowd is a bunch of drunk out-of-towners who are feeling good about themselves and looking to let loose.

No judgement, I played along: I drank a few Jesters and walked the street, saw some women lift up their shirts and danced to a live band. But it wasn’t somewhere I wanted to spend all night – I knew there was a time limit to my tolerance.

The good thing is that although it gets the most attention, Bourbon Street is merely the gateway to nightlife in the New Orleans.

Magazine Street:

Magazine Street eventually dead ends into Canal Street as you drive east on it, running parallel to the Mississippi River and cutting right through the heart of the Garden District (Uptown). Bye-bye Bourbon – this is much more the scene for meeting locals.

Restaurants, bars, and shops line the neighborhood street, and there are significantly less bells and whistles (no party push, no loud clubs that I saw). The majority are locally owned and run with outside seating under the live oak trees, great for walking and menu/window shopping.

With the help of a friend I found a great beer bar called The Bulldog (located between Toledano and Pleasant). If you’re ever in town on a Wednesday, they run an interesting special that allows you to keep the pint glass of every beer you drink (you can cash in ten of them for a free T-shirt, but I’d keep the glasses). Happy hour at the Bulldog is legit: 2 p.m. – 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, and they have 50 beers on tap and 100 more in bottles.

Frenchmen Street and Marigny:

On the eastern end of the French Quarter is the appropriately named Frenchmen Street, known for its live music scene and lack of neon lights (aka its local feel). This is a great spot to wander after you’ve had your fill of Bourbon Street.

We walked further east into the neighborhood of Marigny (see map below) and ended the night at Mimi’s in the Marigny, recommended to my group by a local and recognized as Best Neighborhood Bar by Where Y’at and Best Bar in New Orleans by readers of The Gambit.

Mimi’s serves Spanish tapas until 4 a.m. on Friday and Saturday and has music and dancing on the second floor (either a band or DJ). Expect a younger crowd and a hipster vibe.

My advice: Window shop when you’re in New Orleans. Most places do not charge a cover, so be sure to take advantage and pop in to preview the band/atmosphere of a few different spots. Don’t decide on specific bars, decide on the neighborhood and let the night take you where it will. With so many bands playing at so many different venues almost every night, visitors could drive themselves crazy trying to pinpoint the perfect place.

Here’s a map to help you get your bearings:

From west to east: Magazine Street (The Bulldog), Bourbon Street, Frenchmen Street, Marigny (Mimi's).

Beginning of Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

The infamous Bourbon Street drink.

                          

La Sagrada in Barcelona

As the Greeks protest austerity and elect representatives who will push back against Germany and put their heads in the sand, once again, things look pretty grim for the European economy.

Yet Americans still want to take vacations in Europe, how could they not? It’s still full of reasons to visit, whether to see the ancient buildings and monuments or to just live that relaxed European lifestyle, even for a week.

I got an email from my cousin Rob who asked me advice about where to go. He has a week in August and last summer he spent a month in Costa Rica learning Spanish while living with a family. My reply?  Barcelona!

Spain is a wonderful destination….and Barcelona has got to be one of the world’s most fun cities. I suggested to him that he go down to his local bank and buy euros. The rate now is about $1.30 which is an all-time low. And unless Greece is your vacation destination, you will always be able to use the money later. Buying euros before you leave avoids the uncertainty that I often get when I go abroad. When am I gonna change money? How much will the commission be? What if I have to buy them for $1.60 each, that sucks!

The other advice I gave Rob is to check out Airbnb.com. Pulling up Barcelona, I found dozens of apartments and rooms that people rent out there…all vetted with comments and lots of photos. It’s sure a lot cheaper than a hotel. And you can get an apartment and cook meals while you visit.

Another tip–Don’t buy your airline ticket through Expedia or Travelocity. I have found again and again that going direct to the airline is a much better idea. These middle men create a lot of barriers and make changing the ticket a big pain. Delta, American, Iberia, they all fly direct and it’s a better deal to just call them than try to do it all on line alone.

                          

Sailing out of English Harbour in a procession of some of the world’s best sailboats is a thrill but the nine foot swells out farther was the real thrill! Thanks to On Deck we had a chance to see the races up close and personal. I’ve hada a small sailboat for a few years and always found it difficult to rig the Bonita to head out on the Hudson. When I saw the amount of work it takes to get one of these racing boats rigged I flipped, dedication needed in huge supply. To just dingy out and take off shear lux. Thanks to On Deck for making the Antigua Sailing Week that much better…

                          

My new cover of Preview Mass. magazine.

                          

Yesterday I returned to Philly from New Orleans, arriving long after the sun had set and far after I would have preferred to be in bed. My head was bobbing for most of the second flight out of Atlanta – I don’t really even remember the drink cart coming through.

Rhapsody of the Seas, Royal Caribbean

The stories will begin to filter out this week, however I must admit that getting back into gear after a memorable weekend is never easy – I think that concept is universal, even for travel writers. I’m good about having fun anywhere and everywhere I go, but there’s a big difference between covering a destination and eating one up, letting it under your skin.

The people you travel with certainly play a large part in determining which way the trip goes, and this morning when I woke up with a stomach that was still full and calves sore to the touch, I knew we had taken the Big Easy head on (cheers guys).

As much rest as I would like to pencil in this week, I truly can’t afford to spend too much time horizontal: I confirmed last week that I will fly from Philadelphia to Seattle on Thursday and depart on an Alaskan cruise this Friday. We will be shoving off via the Rhapsody of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) and head for the Inside Passage, making three stops in Alaska (Juneau, Skagway, and Tracy Arm Fjord) and one in Victoria, BC.

Fingers crossed on seeing something like this in Alaska.

In addition to New Orleans coverage, I will also be finishing up a couple stories from the past few weeks: GoNOMAD and Famtripper features on Detroit, Denver, and Nassau are in my queue.

These short breaks in my schedule are typically the hardest part of my job – the lull between two high points – yet the timing on this one is perfect given the packed schedule of late.

With New Orleans in the rear-view mirror and Alaska in the windshield, consider the curtains closed until Thursday morning.

Rhapsody of the Seas

Fingers crossed on seeing something like this.

                          

While the rest of the GoNOMAD team dream of further adventures I also include checking out hotels down the road. Before I leave on a trip I’ve most likely been to the hotels websites many times checking things out. Till there though you never know what you’ll really find or find out. For example Prince Albert of Monaco was a guest at the Inn at English Harbour just a bit before I arrived recently for the Antigua Sailing Regatta. Duran Duran also recent past guests, see I’m a hotel geek.

Don’t get me wrong I still am NOT a fan of going hotel to hotel for tours; sometimes it is sadly a part of a press trip. I love to stay in them, to feel a part. The Travel & Leisure Hotels Issue is now out and again one of my favorites. Best tip inside, in good hotels leave about 5 to 10 dollars a night with an envelope so all the different housekeepers get their share. Some like my friend Johnny Jet hit them with a great tip on arrival, he gets great service that way and it makes perfect sense to me.

I have some upcoming trips so I’m looking forward to checking out some great lodgings. I’ve also lined up five of my favorite frequent travelers to learn their reasons a hotel stands out and why.

                          

USS Pueblo crewmen showing their N. Korean captors the "Hawaiian Good Luck Sign."

This morning I was happy to wake up in the rain and learn something from my friend Fred Lepide’s wonderful website.  One of his entries was about a long-ago episode in espionage, when the USS Pueblo, a spy ship, was captured by the North Koreans and the crew was held hostage for 11 months in 1968.

During their captivity, the crew was forced to watch many propaganda movies extolling the virtues of the great communist state. In one shot in London, a bus full of DPRK soccer players passes by a man who gives it the finger. Later on the same thing happens, Londoners flipping off the commies.  The censors left these snips in the movies, demonstrating to the Pueblo crewmen that North Koreans had no idea what the erect middle finger meant.

From then on, every time the crew was photographed, one or more of the white uniformed men would give the camera the finger.  Later on they were asked about it by their captors and they lied, telling them that it was the Hawaiian Good luck sign.

But Time magazine decided to run a photo and printed an explanation of the real meaning of the term, “a hand symbol of extreme derisiveness and contempt.”

The next day when the Koreans found out what it meant, the crewmen were tortured. “Thank you Time magazine,” wrote the crew.

                          

What could be more fun to mock than the defeated former president of the Confederacy dressed up in women’s clothes? Back in 1865, this scenario played itself out when Jeffferson Davis, fleeing from arrest by the Union army, grabbed his wife’s petticoat in haste and dashed out the door.

What happened next was the story of the press gone wild, like a transcontinental game of telephone. Cartoons began appearing in northern newspapers showing Davis dressed in flowing gowns with his black men’s boots sticking out.

This week an exhibit collected by photography dealer Charles Schwartz will open, displaying more than 40 different cards depicting the humiliation of the ex-president, embellished in the style of Thomas Nast. “Cartes de visite” were cards people collected with topical themes like this.

“It’s amazing to see what the Northerners did with the little information given to them,” says Erin Barnett, curator of the exhibit that’s called ‘Presidents in Petticoats! Civil War propoganda in Photographs.” Cardmakers created photo montages as well as hand drawn caricatures, with Davis in full hoop skirt and bonnet. Later these images made their way into popular magazines like Harper’s Weekly and Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper. Collector Schwartz was able to amass about 100 images of the subject, scouring flea markets and antique shops.