New Orleans, Louisiana

1. New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans is one of the world's most fascinating cities. Steeped in a history of influences from Europe, the Caribbean, Africa and beyond, it's home to a truly unique melting pot of culture, food and music.

2. gumbo Gumbo is a dish that originated in southern Louisiana. It consists of strong flavored foods and a variety of vegetables.

4. It made people feel free. It made people feel alive! It made people get up and dance. They danced to the birth of American music. The Birth of Jazz New Orleans was the only place in the New World where slaves were allowed to own drums. VooDoo rituals were openly tolerated, and well attended by the rich as well as the poor, by blacks and whites, by the influential and the anonymous. It was in New Orleans that the bright flash of European horns ran into the dark rumble of African drums; it was like lightning meeting thunder.

5. Some will say that Jazz was born in 1895, when Buddy Bolden started his first band. Jazz wasn't born on a particular day, it was created over a period of time. It wasn't just one person or one race that was responsible for creating it. It was a meeting, and mixing, of the emotions of many people and many cultures. When many flavors combine to make a new taste that is greater than the sum of its spices, we have a name for it down here: we call it gumbo. And just like Jazz, nobody makes gumbo like we make it in New Orleans.

7. Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday • A carnival held in some countries on Shrove Tuesday, most famously in New Orleans. • It’s a day of eating and celebrating!