Return to Camino Royale - November 2023

Following the North American tour, Jo and I spent a few days seeing pals in LA and Palm Springs, before heading off to New Orleans... I was excited to return to this place which inspired my track Camino Royale and it felt particularly good to share the experience of this amazing place with Jo. We also joined a group of friends there which was great fun...

Bourbon street is noisy and neon these days, but the region which much more closely resembled the vibe I remembered was in the French Quarter around the Vampire Cafe, a place which we all enjoyed. The sounds of drumming, exotic instruments from around the world and amazing voices echoed through those atmospheric streets, while fortune tellers tried to lure us into ghostly voodoo stores...

Many streets still held all the old charm, with those fabulous balconies, colourful slatted shutters and flickering gas lamps. Our old reputedly haunted Dauphine hotel had balconies overlooking an atmospheric courtyard.

We also visited the oldest cemetery where we could sense the ghosts as the guide led us through a labyrinth of tombs. We could equally feel them in the dark corners of the streets and squares which held those memories of the suffering of many thousands of slaves...

The cobwebs of past phantoms were blown away by a bracing ride on the Mississippi in a traditional paddle steamer, which was great fun, accompanied for part of the time by a band playing music from years gone by... As we looked out, we could see that there is still some damage from Hurricane Katrina, but thankfully, much has been rebuilt since that terrible disaster.

Colourful New Orleans has a strong spirit which clearly overcomes any challenges, and Jo and I felt welcomed by everyone we came across. Camino Royale continues to live on...