Watching The World Go By - Guided Version

I have to admit that part of what makes me want to travel is simply the journey. The getting to and from. I used to love it when I was a kid. Sitting in the back of my parents car or on a long haul coach, watching everything fly by. Moist of this would have been in France. I just wanted to see it all. I would stay awake as long as I could just to see what was passing me by. Everything always seemed so distant. I remember wanting to jump out of the car or bus and just be in the middle of nowhere for a bit. It was different to me and there was a certain romanticism about it.

I think that all still stays with me now. I still want to do that to this day and the idea of just cruising round France, just winding up in all sorts of little towns and villages still excites the hell lout of me!

I was hoping it would also be part of the fun as I travelled around on this trip. I knew, of course, that not all journeys would be fun and indeed some would be downright nasty but I always prefer to travel by day if I can so I get to see more.

As I left Memphis I knew I had about an 8 and half hour Amtrak journey ahead of me. The trains in the US are renowned for being slow and this, I knew, would be no exception. Still I looked forward to seeing the country that lay before me. That said, being up at 5am to catch a train at 6.50am does very little to put you in a good mood and eager to see things.

As a result my head lay rather still as I slept for the first 4 hours of the journey. Not exactly that ideal, romantic train journey I had in mind. The 2nd half of the trip though sprang into life rather unexpectedly.

As we trundled along we were greeted by a voice over the intercom system. Apparently there were some volunteer guides on this train who would talk us through the lats half of the trip. feeling more alive and refreshed thanks to my earlier sleep I was all ears and in complete appreciation of the little project they had going. It was such a nice touch to have this. It wasn't over the top and anyone was free to ask questions. We may have trudged along but watching the scenery change through my window and hearing some of the stories attached to things we passed couldn't help but bring a big smile to my face.

As New Orleans approached the damage of Katrina was there for all to see. Patches here and there. It looked like someone had gone on a rampage and just tossed things around the night before. It was 10 months on from the devastating hurricane and I wondered what else might await me in the City itself.


As I planned my trip I had gone through many doubts over coming to New Orleans. It was without doubt one of THE places I'd wanted to experience and heard so many great things from so many people. I;d read about the place, books like Catcher in The Rye had given me all the inspiration I had needed to come but the arrival of Katrina had blown my plans right up in the air. Initially I scrapped my plans to visit altogether. It was simple, New Orleans no longer really existed.

The stories of looting, killings and general terror in the City was probably enough to put off most people. 5 people a day on average were murdered in the City. Why would anyone want to go there? I'm unconvinced anyone thought it a good idea for me to continue to include it but as I heard more reports and more news from people more in the know it seemed apparent that more than anything i SHOULD go there. New Orleans thrived on people, a buzz and atmosphere and it needed people back to get that going again. I'd heard the French Quarter, the most touristy area in the City, was largely untouched by the storm. In the end it was almost a no brainer. I was going and now as the train rolled in, here I was.