St. Louis Cemetery No. 1

NEW ORLEANS -- One of the must-visit places in this city for ghosthunters or anyone interested in architecture in general or burial grounds in particular is certainly St. Louis Cemetery #1. This crumbling, above-ground graveyard has been in continuous use since the 18th century. It bears mentioning that the cemetery is only open until 3 p.m. on most days, and just noon on Sundays and holidays, so plan accordingly!

This is the main entrance to the cemetery. There are a number of other gates but this is the only one that appears to be open to the public.

"When New Orleans was founded in 1718 burials were made on the river bank. The first cemetery, in 1721, was on St. Peter Street. Burials were also made in the church. The first cemetery was demolished when this cemetery, St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, was established by Spanish royal decree of August 14, 1789. As the city grew St. Louis No. 2 was established on Claiborne Avenue in 1823 and St. Louis No. 3 on Esplanade Avenue in 1854. New Orleans Archdiocesan Cemeteries 1983

Wow, check out that orb! Hah, I wish. This is what happens when you have sunshowers during an investigation ...

Fans of horror author H.P. Lovecraft will likely know exactly what I mean when I say this picture makes me think of the short story "Pickman's Model" ...

Wandering around in the maze of tombs that is St. Louis #1 can give the visitor an otherwordly feeling, and it is very easy to forget that the whole place is just the size of one city block.

This ornate group tomb holds the remains of members of an artillery company, which would likely have more-or-less served as a club for affluent gentleman (i.e., those able to afford cannons). The finials on the posts surrounding the tomb depict flaming bombs.

The tomb of "Voodoo Queen" Marie Laveau, to this day an object of veneration that is surrounded with votive offerings of all sorts. While we were there I say some visitors examining these but would not presume to do so myself ...

Haunted History Tours' Ghost Tour

NEW ORLEANS -- As a paranormal investigator, one of the first things I like to do when checking out the supernatural activity in any particular city is take the local ghost tour. Some are good, some are bad -- and some are the real deal. And that is most assuredly the case with Haunted History Tours, a company that takes its participants to real sites throughout New Orleans associated not just with ghosts, but also voodoo and even vampirism (no, the Big Easy's role as a reputed haunt for bloodsuckers did not start with Anne Rice).

On the day we took our ghost tour of the French Quarter, my wife Diane and I met with Haunted History Tours founder Sidney Smith outside of Rev. Zombie's Voodoo Shop (shown at left, during a daytime lull in the action), just a few blocks from the chaos of Bourbon Street. It would literally be fair to say that he helped "write the book" on paranormal activity in New Orleans, as he collaborated on author Kalila Smith's New Orleans Ghosts, Voodoo, and Vampires, a must-read primer for anyone interested in any of the title subjects. Using everything from crime reports, to historic records, to first-hand accounts, he and his staff have meticulously researched the haunted histories of the sites to which they take tour-goers.

All of Haunted History Tours' guides look pretty good but I would still say that we were lucky to get Jesse St. Croix, a native of witch-haunted Salem, Mass., who visited New Orleans in 1975 and decided he never wanted to leave. He brings a winning combination of knowledge, passion, and showmanship to the tours he leads, making them as informative as they are enjoyable. Over a two-hour period, St. Croix led us through the humid, darkened streets of the French Quarter to a number of the most significant haunted places located there.

Foremost among the places we visited was certainly the LaLaurie Mansion, a hulking edifice whose whose socialite lady had tortured to death dozens, perhaps even hundreds of slaves in the mid-19th century. It has been considered to be haunted from the day the crimes committed in it were discovered and has had such a disturbing effect on people since then that most recent owners -- including actor Nicholas Cage -- refuse to spend the night in it. (For those interested in ostensible paranormal phenomena, note the two small orbs in the right half of the picture, both of which appear to have faces on them.)

Other haunted locales we visited on the tour included Muriel's, a haunted restaurant; the home of Civil War General P.G.T. Beauregard; the Andrew Jackson Hotel (shown here); a haunted bar; and the home where a mulatto mistress froze to death on the roof while trying to entice her master to marry her. The evils of slavery, intemperance, and greed have imposed their legacy not just upon the visible history of New Orleans, but upon its haunted one as well, and the time we spent with St. Croix gave us some fascinating and disturbing insights into that.

There is more to come! Keep your eye on this space for more details about the places we visited on the French Quarter ghost tour -- and for an account of Haunted History Tours' Vampire Tour!

Montrel's Bistro (AVOID!)

NEW ORLEANS -- Save yourself some time, money, and aggravation and skip Montrel's Bistro, a promising looking but ultimately disappointing eatery in the market district of the French Quarter (1000 N Peters St, 70116-3317).

"This is some prime real estate wasted," my wife Diane observed. "They are obviously geared toward tourists, 'cause they can't be getting any repeat business."

We had entered the French Quarter via its southeastern corner and passed by all sorts of wonderful looking food stands in the open-air market, where I should have given into the temptation to grab something. We wanted our first meal in New Orleans to be something a little bit special, however, and so held out for a sit-down place.

We were, in fact, seated immediately at Montrel's, and even noticed how many more greeters were lurking about than were servers. After that, it took at least 20 minutes to even put in a drink order, and probably about that long again before we could order our food. We both asked for the breakfast special, the simplest thing on the menu and an item recommended on the board in front of the establishment.

I am sure there are those would defend the way Montrel's is run on the basis of the laid-back New Orleans attitude, that visitors just need to relax, etc., and that is fine as far as it goes. Where it breaks down, however, is when the quality of the food starts to suffer as a result. My grits and eggs were warm but not hot -- and the latter had a chunk of shell in them -- and the sausage was almost cold, which means my breakfast sat for awhile before anyone bothered to bring it out.

Ironically, I would not have cared about how slow the service was if I had been able to make good use of my time by getting online and checking my email, and there were signs nearby indicating we were in a wi-fi hotspot. None of the waitstaff, however, knew the name of the local network or the security key to access it, so this supposed benefit was of no use to us at all (and contributed to the aggravation of our visit).

Pros were that the Bloody Mary's were good -- although we had to struggle to get them -- and that the wait staff was friendly. Our waiter even promised to find out how people could access the Internet so that he would be able to help the next customer that needed this information. As touching as this was, I also suspect that it was not true -- and is certainly not enough to offset a disappointing culinary first experience in New Orleans.

Prague and the Czech Republic

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC -- Am currently on the ground here with my associate Josh Mayo as part of a short-notice trip for TechForce Protective Services to assess how we can help with development of the REGI Base wounded warrior project and avail ourselves of some import/export opportunities!

This is the broad Moldau River, which flows through Prague and thenceforth into Germany.

Am at the tail end of day five of our mission and have pretty much been moving, eating, drinking, or sleeping the entire time and it literally feels as if we have already been here at least twice as long. So far, however, this has been an incredible trip in a fascinating place and I will endeavor to convey some of that here. So, keep an eye on this space for more to come!

This is my first time in the Czech Republic and I am trying to get a handle on what the place is like; is very reminiscent of Germany in many ways, but somehow not quite the same, with perhaps every fifth detail changed somehow. It is a pleasure, in any event, to be in a country inhabited by people to whom I am ethnically related and who recognize my name as an indigenous one. Above left: This is the clock tower in the Old Town square. Thanks to tour guide Misha Švarcová for helping us to pick out all sorts of details on this and other things that we might have otherwise missed!

Prague is notable for its architecture and has a disproportionate number of beautiful, historically significant, and UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Even the buildings in Paris never seemed to me to be embellished with as many statues, flourishes, and other features! Above right:This seemingly disused building across from the prime ministers's office displays many of the features that make Prague architecture appealing.

Josh and have been staying pretty busy here but have had a few hours during a couple of days to get out and explore the city on foot, have dinner on the town, and enjoy a few drinks -- to include the famous local Pilsner beer. We have managed to visit the castle overlooking the town that is used as the president's palace, explore the Old Town and its great square, spend some time in the ancient Jewish Quarter, and cross the famous Charles Bridge any number of times. Above left: This is Konopiště, built at the end of 13th century as a medieval castle in French Gothic style and later rebuilt into a Baroque chateau. Thanks to REGI Base for the opportunity to get some aerial shots of its and other features of note around Prague!

Shown here is the view from just in front of the place we are staying, Trinidad Hotel Prague Castle, in the heart of the Old Town. That is, in fact, the title castle -- and note the vineyards to the right of it! Prague is a very green city and little details like this are abundant.

Overall, this is a beautiful, exciting, historic city that is part of a terrific country. We came over to conduct business and have got an added incentive to continue doing so in order to allow us to keep coming back!

Eating and Drinking in Prague

One of the most elegant meals we had in Prague was at Toninni, the Italian restaurant located beneath the hotel where we are staying. Josh and I eat breakfast there every day and, despite our busy schedule, really wanted to try dinner there as well, and were glad when we finally had an opportunity to. Proprietress Veronika Enstrom regularly travels to Italy, especially the Apulia region, to select the wines, cheeses, and pastas that she serves in the restaurant. She also personally obtains many of the fresh ingredients that are used in the restaurant, and when we told her that we wanted to try her linguine cozze she made an effort to seek out mussels that she would be ideal.

Bella Vino (Spring Branch, Texas)

SPRING BRANCH, TEXAS -- It was not purely by coincidence that my wife Diane and I stumbled across Bella Vino Wine Bar & Coffee and, as is the case with half the new places we have tried in the past year, we have Groupon to thank for making us aware of it. It just opened in January and is located inside the affiliated Bella Napoli Italian restaurant, which was happily celebrating its first anniversary the day we visited the bar.

Bella Vino's offerings include a great selection not just of wine and coffee but also of local and microbrew beers. It menu includes a nice selection of light fare, including appetizers/tapas, meat and cheese plates, sandwiches, and deserts. My wife and I opted to share a delicious cold artichoke and spinach dip, followed by a two-person antipasto platter dubbed "The Kitchen Sink" that included about 20 different kinds of meat and cheese (including prosciuto and mortadella), along with spiked olives and a few pepperocini, grapes, and strawberries. We washed it all down with a bottle of Francis Ford Copolla "Votre Sante" pinot noir, a full-flavored, light-bodied wine that was the perfect accompaniment to our meal.

What makes Bella Vino most appealing to me, however, is its "rustic chic" ambience, something that puts it in a league with just a handful of other places around Canyon Lake (e.g., the Silver Sage Grille). Part of its elegance comes from its wine-oriented decor and prints, each of which has its own story, and we enjoyed chatting with proprietress Michelle Wertheim and hearing some of those stories.

Go hear some of them yourself! Bella Vino is located at 13140 US Hwy 281 N., Spring Branch, TX 78070, and can be reached at (830) 228-5330.

A Military-Friendly Experience with AirTran

Just about everyone these days likes to claim that they "support the troops" but once in awhile I actually come across a company that puts their money where their mouth is. And, as two separate experiences on a recent trip indicated, airline AirTran Airways would appear to be one of those companies.

In one, I was in the boarding line behind a uniformed young woman who appeared to be flying home after completing her military basic training. Just before she handed her ticket to the AirTran person clearing people to get on the plane, she noticed another uniformed young woman -- apparently one of her basic training buddies -- sitting nearby and waiting for her boarding zone to be called. The young woman ahead of me called to her friend and the two were able to trade a few quick comments before the one ahead of me got her ticket scanned. When she did, the AirTran employee very nicely offered to change their seats so that they could sit together on the flight home, which the young woman gratefully accepted.

In my other experience, was checking in for my flight and handed my dependent military ID card to the person at the AirTran check-in counter, preferring to use it in lieu of a driver's license when flying. Knowing I was not an active duty military person, the clerk very graciously waived the baggage fee as an act of kindness to someone they recognized as either a former member of the uniformed services or the family member of one (note that I have opted not to identify this person by name, gender, or even airport, as I have actually seen people be punished by their higher-ups as a reward for good deeds; I have no reason to think AirTran would necessarily do this but do not want to jeopardize someone as a reward for being kind).

The fact that I enjoyed these two experiences at different airports and in different parts of the AirTran operation speaks well for the company and suggests it truly does have a benign attitude toward military personnel and their families. That is more than can be said for many companies, airlines included -- and is the kind of thing that will make those of us who have seen it first hand keep coming back to them.