A Village Called Versailles

Working in the East, I watched the daily recovery from Katrina. It took 3 months for me to return to work after the storm.

This heartwarming story made me cry, for these people found their voice and demanded their new home to be free from toxic waste.

Please watch when you have time. It is uplifting. Thank you.

Windows Wednesday

I had a hard time accessing Blogger on my laptop yesterday. So today I got on my desktop and no problems!

I wanted to post a 9/11 picture, but decided not to today. Today I've traveled back over 7 years to New Orleans East.
Heavily decimated by Katrina, the East was slow to come back- and still looks sad in some areas. Here's an apartment complex being built. Today all of those windows hopefully have tentants that use these windows to bring sunshine into their homes. God Bless the East.

Windows Wednesday

Taken in 2008 along Highway 90 in "the East", this abandoned boat survived Katrina but lost most of her windows. If she could talk, I'm sure she would keep us enthralled for hours with her tales of the past.

Tet Fest 2012

Tucked away in New Orleans East is Mary Queen of Vietnam Church, just a stones throw from the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility.


Every year this close knit community of Vietnamese people celebrate their New Year by holding Tet Festival on the Church grounds. Tet is an abbreviation for Tet Nguyen Dan, meaning "first day." This is the most important festival of the year, signifying both the beginning of the year and of spring. And the weather cooperated nicely, making it feel like spring with temperatures in the low 70's and clear blue skies.

We visited the festival for the first time and enjoyed both the food and the people watching.



The Vietnamese community in "The East" brought themselves back after Katrina. In the 6+ years since the storm, they have welcomed the Hispanics who helped rebuild the city into their area. It's really very interesting to visit the businesses along Alcee Fortier Boulevard.
There are grocery stores (both Vietnamese and Hispanic), cafes, restaurants, bakeries, pharmacies, etc. One of my favorite bakeries is Dong Phuong where they make THE BEST assortment of breads and desserts. And their prices can't be beat.

So if you're looking for a culinary adventure, take a ride out the The East and explore what it has to offer.

On a side note, Andrew Zimmermann from Bizarre Foods visited the east. check this out.