Palm Springs Tennis Tournament

It has only been a week and off I go to Palm Springs for a tennis tournament. The tournament takes place between 11/22 to 11/18. Since I signed up late, I got pushed to a higher division. Needless to say, I lost in the first round...but I made my opponent work for it!!

New Orleans...it's Disneyland with Booze and Jazz

Betwen 11/8/07 and 11/14/07, I visited New Orleans, staying at the French Quarter. It is a very fascinating area....but "DO NOT WANDER OUT AT NIGHT" exclaimed locals!!! People get mugged and sometimes killed simply crossing a street that divides French Quarter and some other neighborhood.


French Quarter with the Metro Backdrop

I did the cemetary tours and (I know this is a horrible thing to consider as attraction) the flood area tour. The damaged area looked pretty sad. There were tons of houses empty. From the locals, they say that many families chose to leave the area for good when they evacuated. The Katrina storm damage onto the City is still visible, namely street signs are either whacked or missing....making finding my way around New Orleans fairly difficult.


Typical Katrina Devastation

I spent a good afternoon walking within French Quarter with my Lonely Planet book and iPod Nano, going from attraction points to attraction points. It is a very beautiful area and the shops are very unique. But again, I cannot imagine living here. However, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie can!!

One day, I was walking back to my hotel, and saw this 'thick-lipped' woman driving a Mercedes...lo and behold, it was Angelina. Locals say Brad is very cool and not pretentious at all, but Angelina is a bitch....she tried to make parents of kids who were in the same school as her adopted kids, to sign a document stating that they will not reveal her kid is in the same school. But who can blame her....she obviously does not want Paparazzis showing up at school.

Life of the French Quater belong to the night. Jazz has become just a stereotypical thing here that every pub has something. If there is a good band, it is usually crowded. Alcohol is everywhere....but people seems to behave. The night life lasts until midnight or so. I still like Hong Kong better, mainly because of the shops and food. Since there was a AAO ophthalmology convention and a big New Orleans Saints game, many of the restaurants were booked well in advance.


Jazz and Blues...they are all really good here


The bustling nightlife of New Orleans French Quarter...no Lestat roaming around...

BTW, I hardly saw any Asians here....