The USS New Orleans was moored just up the road - it's just been commissioned and is an extraordinary sight.Most of the bars and restaurants have new floors and furniture, of course, and there are few signs of the Katrina disaster. Except, of course, the T-shirts bearing inscriptions along the lines of "Official FEMA Evacuation Strategy - Run Bitch Run". There is the occasional derelict building, and there are bits missing from some of the hotels (including mine).

I was introduced to La Petite Jolie, a charming young albino python who took a distinct fancy to me; she resides at the Voodoo Museum which contains a fascinating history of voodoo and has an extremely knowledgeable curator/owner. I have, of course, been dredging up my schoolgirl French as a surprising number of locals only speak the previously-mentioned impenetrable patois or French (or claim to, anyway).

The Quarter is full of art galleries, bars, and restaurants; there's plenty of art relating to Katrina, much of it ironic, some critical of the Government and FEMA (with good reason), and some just celebrating the fact that they're still here despite the catastrophe. The French Colonial architecture, most of it very freshly painted, is lovely, with ornate cast balustrades and fencing, beautifully-carved woodwork and some surviving polished wood floors.

It was after I was caught up in the St.Patrick's Day Practice March (in readiness for next Friday) that I'm afraid things became a little fuzzy.