Whenever I tell people that I travel for work, usually they are a little bit jealous. I always try to clarify that the jealousy is only partially justified; traveling for work isn’t all that glamorous. There are lots of hours spent in the airport or eating continental breakfasts in hotel lobbies. On the other hand, business travel can certainly can be a lot of fun, especially when I get sent somewhere cool like New Orleans!
The purpose of the trip was to train a new salesperson for the Louisiana region, so there was plenty of intensive science talk and practice using our instrument, but there was also time to explore the city. My trainee was a great host and we managed to fit in some interesting stuff. The first evening we went to Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop, which is supposedly the oldest bar in the country (though I imagine there are some Boston bars that can rival it in age). There was a piano player, and we drank our purple daiquiris on stools that were pulled right up to his piano. (Incidentally, New Orleans must be a great city to be in a band. I don’t think we passed one bar that didn’t have live music of some kind!)
On the second morning I followed the strict orders of my boss and had beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde. (I’m pretty sure my boss considered beignets the first priority and training second 😉 !) I knew ahead of time that beignets were a type of fried dough with a sprinkling of powdered sugar — though it turned out to be less of a sprinkling and more of a shovel-full! Powdered sugar got all over my black pants and jacket and any mistaken inhalation while chewing resulted in a coughing fit, but I still went back for more the next day!
On the third day we took a drive around the ninth ward to look at some of the post-Katrina construction. It was hard to imagine the area being crowded with houses, because now the new buildings are pretty spread out. They are also quite stylishly designed and many are outfitted with solar panels. The last stop before heading to the airport was a swampy area outside of town, where my host’s family owned some property. We took a tiny dirt road through the swamp and saw a bunch of snakes and birds (even an eagle!). On the way out, he spied an alligator and pulled to the side of the road to let some other trucks pass so we could get a closer look at it. The only problem is that swamp roads are apparently quite muddy and soft on the sides, and the whole truck slid into a muddy ditch and got stuck! Luckily one of the passing trucks had a chain to pull us out, and I didn’t miss my flight!
Overall, it was a fun place to go for a couple days of work. I can’t wait to visit again as a tourist so I can see all the things I missed!
For Science! 