I spent the afternoon at the Vespa store in New Orleans today. It’s set in a cool building in the warehouse district and I whiled away the hours signing copies of Vroom, chatting with the staff and alerting potential customers to the useful seat hook that every Vespa has.
About 2 p.m. a few members of the New Orleans Vespa club turned up and we went for a ride around the city. The guys from the Vespa shop gave me a GTS to ride and we set off through the garden district and then north to some of the areas worst affected by Katrina.
I was shocked by the vast scale of the disaster. Over 80% of the city has been affected by flooding. Most of the places have been so badly damaged that they’ll have to be demolished.
Gayle, the marketing manager from New Orleans Vespa, took us to her parent’s house. It was the house she grew up in and from the outside it doesn’t look too bad. But inside it was completely trashed. Gayle was close to tears as she showed us around. Her parents are in their 80’s and don’t want to come back. Her dad has given up on life altogether.
Somehow I don’t think he’s the only one.
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Hey Peter,
I remember exchanging e-mails with you earlier this year re potential US writing and you commented at the time that you perceived New Orleans had a 3rd Worldness about it, following Katrina.
Have to say that your Blog re the US trip is fascinating [I am a "New York-ophile" and love your stuff about NYC/Brooklyn], but the New Orleans stuff is incredibly moving, especially the photo you posted with the graffiti re the missing cat. Heartbreaking. Brings home an issue which a lot of us have probably forgotten and one which continues to destroy and taint lives and will do for a long time.
Not just great travel writing mate….great journalism too.
Best wishes,
Alex