Secret New Orleans: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure

Where in New Orleans can you bathe in Napoleon's bathtub, step through a time machine, or eat dinner with a ghost? Why should you take your laundry to the birthplace of rock 'n' roll? And what is the one (delicious!) drink that makes every bartender cringe? Secret New Orleans peels back the layers of the Crescent City to reveal her most enigmatic characteristics. Experience firsthand the way struggle in this city gives way to decadence and revelry, moss-draped southern oaks whisper tales of dueling and murder, and long-held traditions baffle-and even appall-outsiders. Seek out calas at Elizabeth's Restaurant, and learn how this simple sweet enabled enslaved women to buy their freedom. See how Hurricane Katrina ravaged a typical home at the Flooded House Museum, or bask in the beauty of some of the ornate tombs in Metairie Cemetery. Three local historians, Mark Aspiazu, James Corbyn, and Angela Papke Aspiazu, expertly weave together their experiences in this intriguing collection of obscure people, artifacts, places, and menu items. In this fascinating guide, they lift the hazy veil of the Big Easy, unmasking some of its most amazingly true stones for visitors and locals alike. Book jacket.