That's street car to you!

Recognize that car up there? Yes, that's right, that's the oldest continuously operating street car in the WORLD! And I rode it! For $1.25 you can hop on the street car and take it one of three directions. Straight up Canal and back, all around St. Charles or down by the riverside. You can also purchase a 1 day Jazzy Pass for 5 dollars. They are available on the streetcar or you can purchase them in advance at the New Orleans Convention Center or the Visitor's Bureau. Should you make an extended trip of it a 5 day and a 31 day pass are also available.

This particular adventure takes place on St. Charles.

This is the street car. These are the people. Open the door and...ok, not working. Just a reminder...This is the New Orleans Street Car. This is not a trolley. So that's STREET CAR not trolley. And now we've got that all cleared up...

This is the St. Charles section of the street car. Had I been taking photos like a good blogger instead of oogling over the beautiful houses I might have photos to post but I got lost in the view and forgot! I'm terrible I know. When you're on the street car headed down St. Charles you take a ride through the Garden District. It is here that the wealthy came to live when the town was still being settled. On each block there would only be 4 large homes instead of lots of smaller ones. It earned its name Garden District due to the fact that with all that extra land they had room for pretty gardens. These days the houses stayed but they are a mix of single family homes and some have been turned into smaller apartments, much like the apartment I'm in now. Also located on St. Charles are both Tulane and Loyola University.

Fun facts (or rumors, whatever) In 1929 there was a transit strike due to shabby pay. The townspeople being good supportive citizens dropped off sandwiches on baguettes and delivered them to the "poor boys" of the transit strike. It is here that the name "po'boy" was given to the very popular New Orleans sandwich.

This post can't be done without mentioning the very famous play "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams. The streetcar line, Desire, was part of the French Quarter line than ran down Bourbon and into the Marigny. Obviously this is not one of the three lines still running so if you wanted to check it out your best bet is to get a copy of the 1951 film staring Marlon Brando.

Though I do love a good spot of public transportation but next time I think we should eat something! What should it be?