The 100 Best Affordable Vacations (77 page)

GREAT CHEAP EATS IN NEW ORLEANS

 
Beignets.
These fried dough balls are made fresh, 24/7, but may be best at the end of a long night of music and cocktails, and paired with café au lait.
Café du Monde
(800 Decatur St., 504-587-0833) makes beignets that are worth the trip.

 
Debris biscuits.
These homemade biscuits sopped in the gravy and bits of roast beef are a specialty at
Mother’s
(401 Poydras St., 504-523-2956). Hint: Go for breakfast to be sure they’ve still got ‘em.

 
Muffuletta sandwiches.
The originals come from
Central Grocery Co.
(923 Decatur St., 504-523-1620). A loaf of focaccia-like bread is stuffed with capicola, salami, and mortadella meats, Emmentaler and provolone cheeses, and marinated olive salad. Plan to share; these things are huge.

These organized workweeks—currently scheduled through the end of 2011—end Saturday mornings, so volunteers may still have time to go out on the town.

“People come to New Orleans because they know they’re going to have a good time. But they also want to be involved with something worthwhile and long lasting, and feel like they’ve made a difference,” says Alyssa Provencio, volunteer coordinator.

Got a group of your own? Or heading to New Orleans when a workweek isn’t scheduled? If you want to help out, Rebuilding Together’s New Orleans office can put you to use for a few days, a week, or months on end—even if you don’t have handyman experience, says Provencio.

“It’s a different experience for everyone,” she says. “The most popular comment I get is that people thought they were just rebuilding a house, and they end up creating this connection to the homeowner. It becomes more of an all-encompassing experience. Most of them want to come back and do it again.”

HOW TO GET IN TOUCH

Rebuilding Together New Orleans,
923 Tchoupitoulas St., New Orleans, LA 70130, 504-581-7032,
www.rtno.org
.

find inspiration at an art colony

MARFA, TEXAS

As the sun colors flowers, so does art color life.

—
JOHN LUBBOCK, ENGLISH BIOLOGIST AND ARCHAEOLOGIST,
THE PLEASURES OF LIFE
(1889)

96 |
One normally associates the West Texas plains with cowboys, oil wells, and wide-open spaces. How about artists, performance venues, and independent film? The town of Marfa, population 2,400, some 185 miles southwest of Odessa, is full of surprises. Some have called it the new Taos, citing the tiny New Mexico city that has long attracted creative types.

Since the early 1990s, the area has attracted international acclaim as an unlikely art colony. And as inevitably happens, where artists go, culture follows. This flyspeck of a town on the northern edge of the Chihuahuan Desert now has an innovative dining and shopping scene.

But don’t worry—Marfa hasn’t given up its Texas roots and gone all Manhattan on us. Consider the newest lodging choices.
Elcosmico
(802 S. Highland Ave., 432-729-1950,
www.elcosmico.com
) rents out parked vintage trailers, yurts, and tepees from $65 per night, and when gallery hopping begins to wear you out, you can always come back to your trailer and sack out in the hammock grove, a stand of elms offering shade and a perfect place to nap. Or stay downtown at the historic
Hotel Paisano
(207 N. Highland Ave., 866-729-3669 or 432-729-3669,
www.hotelpaisano.com
). Tiny historic rooms start at $99—ask for the one where James Dean stayed while filming
Giant.

Modern Marfa owes its existence to one man. Minimalist artist Donald Judd first came to the area in 1971 and eventually bought a 340-acre abandoned military base, which is now home to the
Chinati Foundation
(1 Cavalry Row, 432-729-4362,
www.chinati.org
). Judd, who died in 1994, founded the organization to present permanent large-scale installations by a limited number of artists. It’s open by guided tours only, offered Wednesday through Sunday. The collection is so spread out that the tour’s split into two parts: the first half at 10 a.m. and the second at 2 p.m. Admission $10; reservations suggested. A shorter tour is also offered Thursday through Sunday at 3:45 p.m. for $5.

The separate
Judd Foundation
(104 S. Highland Ave., 432-729-4406,
www.juddfoundation.org
) offers tours of Donald Judd’s home and his main studios Wednesday through Sunday at 4:30 p.m. Visitors see his early works and his 12,000-volume personal library. Tours of his other studios are offered Friday and Saturday at 2 p.m., and are limited to six people at a time. Tours of the house, informally called “The Block,” run $20; studio tours cost $30.

But while both foundations charge a fee, it’s always free to tour Marfa’s art galleries. (Just don’t come on Monday or Tuesday, when most everything in town is closed.)

To meet a Judd contemporary, stop by
Arber & Son Editions
(128 E. El Paso St., 432-729-3981,
www.30x30cmproject.com
). Robert Arber once made prints for Judd and now runs a gallery featuring printed woodcuts and lithographs in an old movie theater—he and his wife live in the former projection booth. “Judd came here for the landscape,” Arber says, and eventually other artists followed. “Marfa’s definitely changed, but it has changed for the better.”

And the shopping’s as varied as the art. Browse through
JM Drygoods
(107 S. Dean St., 917-548-7606,
www.jmdrygoodsmarfa.com
), which is full of vintage and ranch eclectic clothes and housewares.
Fancy Pony Land
(203 E. San Antonio St., 206-890-7658 or 432-729-1850,
www.fancyponyland.com
) has handmade Western wear and train-squashed penny jewelry, while
Wool and Hoop
(203 E. San Antonio St., 432-729-1850,
www.woolandhoop.com
) specializes in wool embroidery on linen, called crewel. The
Marfa Book Co.
(105 S. Highland Ave., 432-729-3906,
www.marfabookco.com
) sponsors free events and readings. For more events on offer, check the schedule at
Ballroom Marfa
(108 E. San Antonio St., 432-729-3600,
www.ballroommarfa.org
), a foundation that sponsors musical and theatrical performances around town, sometimes at no cost.

MORE ARTY SPOTS

 
Grand Marais Art Colony, Grand Marais, Minnesota.
A nonprofit group based in a renovated church has been hosting and training artists for more than 60 years in areas as varied as painting, ceramics, printmaking, and mixed media.
800-385-9585,
www.grandmaraisartcolony.org
.

 
Monhegan Island, Maine.
For more than a century, this car-free island has attracted artists drawn by its nautical beauty. Accessible by ferry from Port Clyde, Boothbay Harbor, and New Harbor.
www.monheganwelcome.com.

 
Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada.
The island’s 30-plus galleries and studios welcome visitors throughout the summer (and some by appointment year-round). Pick up a studio guide on the ferry ride over.
www.saltspringstudiotour.com.