Cafe New Hampshire

Archive for September, 2011

When Hurricane Katrina struck the shores of New Orleans in 2005, many of us will remember the terrible images of a destroyed city on many evening news reports.

Three years later, and with the rebuilding process still ongoing, the tourists have steadily begun to return to the Crescent City to sample the authentic Cajun and Creole cuisine and take in the sights and sounds of the city’s famous Mardi Gras celebration, amongst other attractions.

The city has a rich cultural history, with a medley of different influences which can be experienced all round the city. There are now a range of companies offering ideas for holidays in the Big Easy, and the cities’ tourist board continue to promote the colourful and energetic festivals that the city is famous for.

One of the cities’ main attractions is the wide range of Creole and Cajun cuisine, and there are opportunities to take cookery classes in open-plan restaurants as part of your holidays in the Big Easy.

There is a rich tradition of music in New Orleans – known as the birthplace of jazz – and with a wide selection of jazz bars dotted throughout the city and an annual Jazz Fest, giving tourists the chance to take in the sounds of the city.

There are tours available for all parts of the city – from the famous French Quarter to the swamps and plantations dotted around the city limits. Alternatively you can take to the water aboard a paddlewheel steamboat and take in the sights and history from the Mississippi river.

Many businesses and hotels are getting back to normal after the disaster of Katrina, but there are still areas of the city undergoing regeneration. For those wanting to do a little more to help, there are opportunities to participate in volunteer holidays, usually organised through charities.

Rebuilding New Orleans will cost us Billions after Hurricane Katrina. How will we go about such a massive effort to prevent the future destruction in a repeat Category Hurricane V event? I would like to hereby float the concept of building a floating city in part of New Orleans, surely this is not a new idea and there are others I assume who have also been thinking here. We can re-enforce the 350-mile Levee system, use it as the breakwater point and float the below water level areas of New Orleans on a floating city platform. With our new innovations in Flexible Concrete Mixes, which are 500 times stronger than typical materials, it is now possible. A Category V Hurricane; no problem even 35-foot storm surges would not sink the New City of New Orleans, a risky venture? Not nearly as risky as rolling the dice again and rebuilding a city, which is built under the current water level. Who is to say that level may not rise or the Mississippi over flow? It is not like either has never happened or will not happen again.

Floating Airport concepts are already being used along with runway extension, where the runway and taxiways go for miles out into the ocean. Floating Airport Concepts and Ports will be a future eventuality simply due to the cost of land in many places by the ocean.

http://www.floatinc.com/Floatport.html

http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/01/07/wo_schrope072501.asp

We already have floating hospitals, aircraft carriers and giant cruise ships. The larger of them can handle a killer Rogue Wave, a Hurricane or even a Super-Typhoon and in fact they have. A floating city with less profile has a much better chance of handling such a super storm.

Is a floating city a viable option for the below sea level areas of New Orleans? Indeed it is and it makes a lot of sense. It saves money on upgrading a Levee System which need a complete overhaul, it protects the city from flooding, it allows for a better and larger port with greater services and it assists in the upgrading of the distribution system of our civilization. It is an option, a good one, a viable one and one we must not over look as we look out for what is best for our populations who count on us to protect them. We should be thinking here as we float all our options.

Most of us are coffee lovers even if you are not I am sure you can still all appreciate that amazing aromatic strong smell of coffee brewing or from your local coffee shop as they use the espresso maker. You all have to agree that it does get one or more of your senses activated, whether smell or your taste buds. You must have all have heard someone you know say “I got to have a cup of coffee to get me going in the morning”. I know for me I need two cups of coffee before I’m fully awake, when I don’t have my caffeine intake I am really not quite there, pretty grumpy. It is probably a thought pattern that I can break if I wanted to really.

If you have traveled around Europe or the rest of the world, some of those amazing coffee shops like the one in Lisbon in the old town of Chiado called “Brasileira” it has a bronze statue of a poet called Fernando Pessao. All the café’s or pastry shops serve croissants and pasties de natathe most popular Portuguese pastry. An espresso is called a bica and a latte a galao.

Yes I am sure you all know New Orleans with its most famous open-air coffee house Café du Monde with the equally famous beignets. The smell of that gorgeous vanilla flavor coffee is something I have never forgotten, when I got back after a few years yes I could smell when I was near Jackson Square.

Ever bought or drank some of the amazing Blue Mountain Coffee from Jamaica?

It is grown on the east side of Jamaica in yes the hills are called the Blue Mountains, good rainfall, rich earth and misty conditions creates the perfect growing coffee that is full-bodied and as smooth as silk. It comes in decaf as well as Peaberry mix, which turn the fruit into a cocaish chocolate.

Starbucks has to be the most famous coffee shop around the world, imagine what life would be without a Starbucks around the corner. The choice of flavors or a Soya latte the variety of coffees on offer to drink and buy.

Seattle coffee shop is equally famous, even some in Cape Town, South Africa.

Or the Canadian coffee shop Baskin Robbins, all equally gorgeous coffee and scrumptious eats.

Of course the cruise ships also jumped on the bandwagon, you have Seattle Coffee on the Royal Caribbean Ships and on Celebrity the famous Italian coffee shop with those to die for delicious chocolates on the side.

How to make Greek Coffee, there is an art, you have this small pot type called a briki, then you measure the coffee with a spoon for how many cups you are making and add the sugar and the cold water. This gives you a medium sweet cup of coffee; you need to add 2 spoons per cup if you want it really sweet. Stir on the heat, then let it foam remove from stove pour the foam equally in each cup then add the coffee. Of course the Greeks are equally famous for their iced coffee, the frapee.

The Brazilian coffee or cafezinho, you boil the sugar and water first then adds the coffee to the boiling water. The Brazilians tend to love their sugar so it can be very sweet. It always looks like they are adding guarana to it in the mornings.

I am sure you all can also think of coffee experiences on your travels whether in India or somewhere equally exotic in the world, maybe even sitting in a Parisian coffee shop looking at the world going pass.

Coffee is at the end of the day and important part of our day, whether it is those coffee breaks, or coffee shops, it is equally the same thing all over the world. Though in some parts of the world it is more of a ritual, Greece or Portugal. I am sure everyone loves the smell of coffee, it is pretty distinctive that aromatic smell of coffee beans.