My two cities

Hi again! As you readers know I’m in New Orleans at the moment and I’ve had so much fun! I took the liberty to write some more, before going taking a “rest” from the blogging. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not going to write anymore, I just need to explore some more before writing more. I’ve been here in NOLA for some days, I even went to the French Quarter. My favourite show filmed there. :D But now I’m going to write a little about New Orleans, and a little about the next city I’m going to!

New Orleans (French: La Nouvelle-Orlèans) is the largest city and metropolitan area in the state, and it’s also a major United States port. New Orleans is located in Mississippi River Delta on the west and east banks of Mississippi River and it’s south of Lake Pontchartrain. Hollows and rivers characterize the area along the river. With short, generally mild winter, and hot, humid summers the climate of New Orleans is humid subtropical. And this fits me just perfectly because I love the weather just like this. The summer months are the wettest though, while October is the driest month. The city is particularly at risk because of hurricanes that pose as a severe threat to the area. This is because of its low elevation, and because it’s surrounded by water from the east, north and south.

As of the 2010 U.S. Census the population of the city was 343,829 and in 2013 it was 378,715. But the New Orleans metropolitan area was the 46^th largest in the United States with a population of 1,167,764 in 2014.

Some of the nicknames the city had is “Crescent City”, “The Big Easy”, “The City that Care Forgot”, “America’s Most Interesting City”, and more. The reason for the name “Crescent City” is that it alludes to the course of the Lower Mississippi River through and around the round. And “The Big Easy” was quite possibly a reference by the musicians in the early 20^th century to the relative ease of finding work there. The name also refers to New Orleans’ status as a major city, and at one time “one of the cheapest places in America to live”. “The City that Care Forgot” refers to the outwardly carefree, easy-going nature of many of the resident, and it’s been used since at least 1938. That fits perfectly for me! If I had to describe myself with some words, one of them would be “easy-going”.

New Orleans is known for its distinct Spanish and French Creole architecture, and its also known for its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage. Something that I knew myself was that the city is famous for its cuisine, music (especially jazz, as it was the birthplace) and its annual festivals and celebrations, most notably Mardi Gras. New Orleans is often referred to as the “most unique” city the United States has. The city also has many major attractions (some who I’ve been to!). From the world-renowned French Quarter and the notorious nightlife of Bourbon Street to St. Charles Avenue, all the way to Magazine Street, with its many boutique stores and antique stores. I went to the Magazine Street and I almost used all my money. Not only on stuff and clothes, but also food! :D I have to really work out after the trip or else I’m going to get fat as hell. New Orleans is according to current travel guides one of the top ten most visited cities in the United States. Many TV-shows have been filmed in New Orleans, and one of them is The Originals. It used to be my favourite show, but now it sucks ass because of the director.

The next city I’m going to write about is Dallas. Dallas is a city in the state Texas, and is located near the Trinity River in North Texas. Dallas is also divided into three neighbourhoods – Central, East and South Dallas. Alongside Fort Worth, Dallas are the fourth largest and most populous United States metropolitan area. Though Dallas is located in a region that tends to receive warm, dry wings from north and west in summer, the city has a humid subtropical climate. During the summer months, the north central Texas region where Dallas is located is one of the hottest in the United States, making the temperature ranges similar to those of Seville in Spain. Winters in Dallas are generally mild. There are usually pleasant weather in the area in the spring and autumn, and springtime generally bring mild temperatures. Each spring warm, humid air from the Gulf Coast will collide with cold fronts moving south from the North, leading to thunderstorms with lightning, hail and occasionally tornadoes. Tornadoes have probably been the biggest natural threat to Dallas over the time. 

Dallas is the ninth most populous city in the U.S. and a major city in Texas. It’s also the third most populous city in Texas, after Houston and San Antonio. The city had a population of 1,197,816 according to the 2010 Census, and the population had increased to 1,267,676 as of 2013.

Dallas has many nicknames, some of them being: Big D, City of Hate, D-Town and more. The city has long been called “Big D.” And in the 90’s, “H-Town” became a hip hop nickname for Houston as “D-Town” followed after. “D-Town” was in 1970 used in CB-radio slang for Dallas. (Detroit and Denver also lay claims on D-Town”). The nickname was not widely used in the 80’s. And when the name entered the hip-hop in the 90’s, it was independent of the CB use of the same nickname. It’s quite complicated, right? There’s not much Dallas is known for, just some stereotypes. Like the cowboys, Dallas cheerleaders, JFK assassin, big hair, big houses, big cars, and big charm. And I’m really excited, but I know not to believe just in stereotypes. Dallas is the number one visitor destination in Texas. It’s easy to get to and it has something for everyone. There is several museums, gardens, amusement parks, historic sites and other activities. You can visit the Dallas Art District, the Dallas Museum of Art, African American Museum and much more. I can’t wait to visit these! 

Sources: http://www.tourtexas.com/content.cfm?id=23, http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/city-guides/free-dallas-traveler/ , http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/d_town_dallas_nickname , https://snl.no/Dallas, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas#Climate, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans