IN BRIEF

Fun facts, tidbits and news you can use

ALL ABOARD!

Last June, the final section of the St. Charles Streetcar reopened after being closed due to Hurricane Katrina damage. A New Orleans tradition since the 19th century, it had been the oldest continuously operating streetcar in the US, and each car is now a historic landmark. It was this transportation system that was featured in Tennessee Williams'

A Streetcar Named Desire.

How do I get to…?

Don't be alarmed if you're walking in the French Quarter, and all of a sudden the street you're on changes names-and you haven't made a single turn. Every street crossing Canal Street between the Mississippi River and N.

Rampart Street, which is the northern edge of the French Quarter, has a different name for the "uptown" (meaning upriver from Canal) and "downtown" (downriver) portions.

A HOTEL FOR THE BOOKS

Established in 1886, Hotel Monteleone (www.hotelmonteleone.com; 800-535-9595) is one of only four hotels in the US that is a designated literary landmark by the Friends of Libraries USA. (The others are The Plaza Hotel and The Algonquin in New York, and Hotel Menger in San Antonio, TX.) Many famous writers frequented the hotel, including Ernest Hemingway (who mentioned the property in his short story "Night Before Battle"), Eudora Welty and William Faulkner.

DID YOU KNOW?

Truman Capote told interviewers that he was born at Hotel Monteleone. In fact, his mother was a guest at the hotel before his birth, and the hotel staff transported her to the Touro Infirmary, where Capote was actually born.

What's the Buzz?

Coffee first arrived in America by way of New Orleans in the mid-1700s, and the aroma of beans roasting still permeates the streets. But it's not just any coffee-since the Civil War, the local brew has had an extra ingredient: chicory. During the war, natives made their coffee last by mixing in ground, roasted chicory root-and the rest is history. Taste it at Café du Monde (www.cafedumonde.com; 800-772-2927), where you can savor a café au lait (half coffee, half hot milk) and beignets (fried dough covered with powdered sugar).

BY THE NUMBERS 1.5 million to 1 ratio of insects to humans 100,000 visitors in the opening two months 300,000 beetle species that exist 900,000+ species of insects and their relatives in the insectarium 10 quintillion living insects in the air and soil

Open since June, the Audobon Insectarium (www.auduboninstitute.org) is the largest freestanding museum in the US dedicated to insects. Sample insect cuisine, learn about termites (did you know they never sleep?), examine bugs from local Louisiana swamps, and discover which insects are the biggest and fastest.

TRICKS OF THE TRADE

The Port of New Orleans is the fifth largest port in the US based on volume of cargo handled, second largest in the state after the Port of South Louisiana, and 12th largest in the US based on value of cargo.

ROMAN HOLIDAY As you walk around the French Quarter, keep an eye out for the Roman Candy Man, who sells chewy taffy out of his mule-drawn cart.