COZY BEDROOM IN OLD MIDCITY HOUSE -- PART 6

NEW ORLEANS AIR BNB

Final, final thought.

If you are allergic to cats -- do not book this place. 

Hat's off to JonGunnar's advertisement that makes it clear he has a cat and that his cat is clingy. 

If this bugs you, look elsewhere.

If you are a cat person like me, this will be the best thing -- other than location and price point -- about the house. 

Mooch is a beautiful black cat who lives indoors and out.

He does not meow.

Mooch has a kind of cackling growl for a voice. 

At first, I thought it meant he was going to claw me. 

But he's really just crying for attention in his unique way. 

Mooch also will cry to let you know he needs to go out to go to the bathroom. 

I adored Mooch.

He napped with me and I woke up with him sleeping on my back! 

He cuddled and slept next me. 

I fell in love with Mooch.

He's so affectionate and full of personality, I wanted to take him home.

So if you like quirky and cat-filled Airbnb experiences, you have found a home in New Orleans.

I'd go back in a heartbeat.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5173411

COZY BEDROOM IN OLD MIDCITY HOUSE -- PART 5

NEW ORLEANS AIR BNB

If you like funky, if you can look past clutter, this is a dream spot. 

Two final thoughts. (one will be about the beautiful male cat pictured above)

The biggest negative is the lack of lock on the door. 

There is a lock to the main door, but once you get in, there is no outside lock on your room door. 

That means when you leave, anybody can get in. 

Maybe JonGunnar only gets great guests and this is no issue. 

But even though I don't need chain hotel orderliness, I do want to be able to lock my room from the outside, when I'm gone for the day. 

Even from the inside, the "lock" is a little lever on the ground and I could never get it to line up with the metal piece.

I tossed and turned that first night, feeling like anyone could check in and open my door and walk in on me. 

Turned out I had to place to myself, so the main door lock kept all out -- but still, JonGunnar -- go to a hardware store and invest 50 bucks in a nice door handle lock.

That way, your guest can secure from the inside when sleeping and on the outside when leaving the room for the day and having the peace of mind that all is locked up safe.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5173411

COZY BEDROOM IN OLD MIDCITY HOUSE -- PART 4

NEW ORLEANS AIR BNB

As all other reviewers have noted, this is a house with a lot of character. 

The downstairs is as cluttered as I've ever seen.

Not dirty, but cluttered. 

It's like an artist's warehouse imposed on an old family house's common area. 

JonGunnar is a photographer-artist and must travel a lot. 

I'm also guessing the artist's life does not provide a ton of extra money -- thus some tape fixing cracked windows and a lot of peeling paint and other flaws.

If you demand Marriott cookie cutter, this is not the place for you. 

If you want to live among art and feel like an edgy artist -- this is heaven. 

And the entire bill, booking fee, cleaning fee and nightly rent -- came to just over $200 for 5 days and 4 nights. 

Think about that. 

A noisy, cramped, 150 SF room in the quarter would cost way more than that for one night...with parking and taxes added on. 

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5173411

COZY BEDROOM IN OLD MIDCITY HOUSE -- PART 3

NEW ORLEANS AIR BNB

The kitchen has a washer dryer and tons of washing machine soap -- so you can pack super light and wash clothes while using the tub-shower. 

The house is no wheelchair-accessible, but with the homes raised above the flood plain, very few NOLA houses are. 

It's a typical double shotgun with anti-room, living room and kitchen on the ground floor and bathroom and 3 bed rooms on the top floor. 

JonGunnar was traveling when I arrived and his other room was not booked, so I had the entire place to myself. 

Knowing how haunted New Orleans is, that made things a little creepy the first night, but it also meant now hearing others walking up the creaky old wooden stairs plus zero waits for the one bathroom. 

The bed was surprisingly comfortable for a house with mismatched, old furnishings. 

Sam, the person who helps out JonGunnar with making beds etc. when he's on the road -- followed my neurotic requests for extra sheet and towel, layered a certain way.

Both Sam and JonGunnar were available by text to answer all questions -- practical and fun -- before and during my stay.

The response was light speed.

Very impressive. 

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5173411

COZY BEDROOM IN OLD MIDCITY HOUSE -- PART 2

NEW ORLEANS AIR BNB

The Banks Street Bar, which sometimes has food and often has music, also is super close. 

But somehow, amazingly, you don't hear the noise of the popular bar, even though it's open well past midnight. 

I'm a noise phobic person. I slept well at JonGunnar's place. 

The fact that each guest room has a wall-mounted air conditioner right over the bed probably helps, as it provides instant white noise to muffle the random dog bark or siren that one would hear in any urban location. 

There is a small off street parking space and always a free on street spot for your rental car within a block of the house at the corner of South Alexander and Palmyra.

Check in is easy.

He texts you the code to the lock box out front. 

There also are bikes that you can use, but I walked to close stuff and used the rental for other distances. 

Note: you do not need an expensive rental car. 

Transit and Uber will serve you well. I only had a car because I was photographing far flung places that were not served by Uber. 

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5173411

SANDPIPER LOUNGE

ONE OF THE LAST ORIGINAL BAR ROOMS LEFT IN NEW ORLEANS.

Uptown, but not in the chic parts.

A bar for the people.

Ladies set up big trays of food for sale on the neutral ground.

2119 Louisiana Avenue    504 895-2204

LAFAYETTE CEMETERY NO. 2

CAREWORN, BUT A MUST VISIT FOR CITIES OF THE DEAD BUFFS

Located just North of the original Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, Lafayette Cemetery No. 2 is also on Washington Avenue (bound by Sixth, Saratoga, and Loyola Streets).

It was believed to have started informally in 1850 as a burial ground.

In 1858, the City of Lafayette (before being annexed by New Orleans) constructed 120 tombs within.

In 1865, a survey and plan were drawn up of the cemetery and the avenues and pathways designated.

A portion of the cemetery along Sixth Street was designated “for the occupancy of the colored population.” Some society tombs were built in this section.

Other society tombs found in the cemetery include the Butcher’s Association (1868) and the French Society of Jefferson (1872).

The neighborhood that Lafayette No. 2 is home to has gone through many changes over the years, once an affluent section of town has found itself in hard times.

The area now has a reputation for being unsafe and as a result the cemetery receives few visits from families.

Unfortunately, the tombs have suffered from disregard, despite there being many noteworthy works of architecture.

-- Text courtesy of Save Our Cemeteries