Contributed by Brian Nicol, former editor-in-chief of AAA's Home & Away magazine.

New Orleans is the smallest big town in the country. That’s how actor Bryan Batt (TV’s Mad Men and Ugly Betty) puts it, and he should know. He was born and raised there, and even though his career has taken him to Broadway and Hollywood, he still considers New Orleans home. The personal, small-town quality of the city is one of the many things he loves as he shared with me recently.... Read More

On Sunday, it will be five years since Hurricane Katrina and in that time a determined group of New Orleans residents and admirers have worked tirelessly to see that the city would recover and thrive again.  New Orleans simply could not go quietly into the night!  Recent non-stop headlines of the BP oil spill have again given an impression of disaster in the area.  However, as the AAA inspector with the pleasure of covering the Big Easy, I can testify that the ... Read More

Mardi Gras in New Orleans, where should I start?  As a New Orleans native, I know Mardi Gras has many traditions associated with it and what it means varies from person to person. The celebration has religious roots, with religious elements that are observed to this day, but when the words “Mardi Gras” and “New Orleans” are mentioned in the same sentence, what most people think about is about as far away from religion as you can get.  But many people think of the parades, so here’s my insider perspective on them. ... Read More