I love NOLA. That's what the T-shirts say - I love New Orleans, Louisiana. And I do, I really do. It was a full day of travelling from Selma, Alabama to New Orleans. The funniest thing happened on the journey - there was a rest stop at Mobile, Alabama and as I queued to reboard the bus I recognised two guys at the front of the 'originating' queue for the bus. As I got closer I remembered it was two English guys I'd talked to in Savannah, Georgia a couple of weeks earlier. We talked briefly as I passed them in my queue and they were going my way too. Small world!

When I got to the hostel I found that it was the start of the low season so all the cool traveller types that usually frequent these places were a bit scarce. So for the first evening I spent the whole time drinking beer with a group of middle aged men. From what I learned they were all labourers looking for work on a daily basis and staying at the hostel to keep costs down. This isn't the usual crowd that I run with but they were very interesting and nice people.

The next day I was slightly hungover so it wasn't until the afternoon that I caught the nice old trolley into town. As I walked down Bourbon St in the French Quarter I was just awestruck with how beautiful it was. It also had a funky vibe - the whole street is pretty much just bars and restaurants (and a few strip clubs) and although it was Sunday afternoon there were still plenty of bars and restaurants with live music.

I stopped at one of the first places for lunch. One of the guys the previous evening had recommended I try a po-boy and I had seen a number of them on the menu. I decided to try a local delicacy and so ordered the fried alligator po-boy. The po-boy aspect of the meal didn't impress me, since it's basically just a French bread sandwich but the alligator was quite nice. Unsurprisingly, it's a lot like chicken but with a slightly rubbery texture. It helped that it was fried in cajun-spiced breadcrumbs. I liked it and would have it again.

I spent the afternoon walking around the French Quarter, loving it more and more. At the bottom of town I got my first look at the mighty Mississippi river. It didn't look especially mighty to me although it was wide. I was wondering what to do next as I walked back up to town when I spotted some familiar faces - it was the guys from the bus again. This time we did introductions and spent more than five minutes talking this time. Then myself, Jack and Sam hung out together on Bourbon St. Somehow they got hold of some beer which, being under age, was impressive, and certainly didn't have anything to do with me helping them. The great thing about New Orleans is that it's legal to drink alcohol outside so people are walking up and down the streets with a beer or cocktail or, in my case, a Hand Grenade - the most vicious drink on Bourbon St.

The atmosphere was really great. There were half a dozen police walking and standing around and that ensured there were no problems. Everyone was getting along together and just having a really nice time. There was one particular two-level balcony packed with people throwing beads down to the people below. It was a small taste of Mardi Gras. All the bars and restaurants had their doors and windows open and music poured out onto the street. This is exactly the kind of place that would be ruined in England by the people who don't know how to have a good time without spoiling it for everyone else.

The next day I did a full day's tourist stuff. I did a swamp tour in the morning and city tour in the afternoon. The swamp tour was awesome. My boat guide, Captain Nolan, was a Cajun and very knowledgable about the swamp and river. We saw some alligators but the best part for me was seeing the swamp parts.

Between the two tours I was dropped into town for an hour and a half break. I walked around trying to choose a place for lunch and bumped into Jack and Sam again. The place isn't that small so I don't know how we kept doing that. Again I tried some local cuisine with some Creole Gumbo which was delicious. I love the food around here!

On the city tour I got to see other parts of the town that I hadn't seen as well as learning the history of all the different peoples to settle here and how the ownership of it changed hands - French to Spanish, back to French and then sold to America. We stopped off at an above-ground cemetery too. Because of the high water level they can't bury people so they use a clever three-level tomb to be able to 'bury' dozens of family members in one grave over time. The guide allowed us a rest stop next to a daiquiri shop that did a Monday special of a large daiquiri of about a pint and a half for $5.50.

A part of the tour was dedicated to the impact of hurricane Katrina which continues to have a large impact on the city although the recovery is coming along very well. I was worried that that part of the tour would be just morbid fascination but it had a strong educational slant. It made me wonder why in England we don't build houses in flood plains up a few feet from the ground like they originally did in New Orleans and are starting to do again. It was truly horrific hearing about and seeing the impact of the flooding after Katrina, especially when the guide says things like "at this point we would have been ten feet under water for three weeks".

In conclusion, I loved New Orleans. I would definitely come back here, probably earlier in the year when it's a little cooler, and I would spend the whole week on Bourton St. enjoying the live music and cheap beers.

My highlight of my time in Nawlins: walking past Larry Flynt's strip club and seeing a group of middle aged men going in and hearing one ask his wife outside "Honey, are you sure it's okay?".