New Orleans Is A City for Sensing Personality Types

Nina Zapala knows you cannot understand traveling without understanding who you really are and what type of personality you have. Her pioneering approach to personality typing showcases the important aspect of the metaphysical side of life. Enjoy Nina’s adventure in New Orleans!

New Orleans, a city for sensing personality types, is a great vacation option, especially if you’re an extroverted sensor.

New Orleans, otherwise known as Bourbon Street, The Big Easy, The Crescent City, or Nola, whatever nickname you give it, is a sensory-driven town. It’s a landmark city in the USA on the shores of the Mississippi River in Louisiana; it’s travel-worthy. These common nicknames lay claim to a city that is a fusion of food, outlandish fashion, sensual energy, blues music, Mardis Gras, and so much more. Did you know that Mobile, Alabama, says they were the first to introduce Mardis Gras to the US, not New Orleans?

Anywhoo, what was so intriguing was the facade of a slumbering city. Yet behind the closed doors, the city of New Orleans has a wild energy that won’t be contained by a door, gate, or boarded-up windows.

New Orleans a City for Sensing Personality Types in Pandemic Times

This was my first visit to the area, and I felt the energy of a slumbering city with a giant personality. My friend and I showed up around 7 AM to drive around Bourbon, Decatur, Canal, and Royal streets, to name a few. It gave us time to cruise the area to see what we wanted to further explore. I was traveling with the Harmonious traveler, while I’m a Curious traveler. We got along splendidly. The idea of exploring first and returning later suited both of us just fine. We aren’t planners, preferring to travel spontaneously.

We arrived in time to capture a city ritual. In the wee hours of the morning, the city awakes to a morning bath. An army of street cleaners were tidying up the streets and sidewalks in anticipation of the many tourists who’d arrive for a day of “Fishbowl” cocktails, sultry blues, and sumptuous eats.

Sensing Personality Types will Find New Orleans Tantalizing

 While my friend and I enjoyed the city, I couldn’t help but think travel types with extroverted sensing traits would love this town. Travelers with extroverted sensing traits have a keen eye for detail, often related to architecture, fashion, and art. They love to interact with the world and adore sampling new cocktails and cuisine, and for them, a happy vacation is taking in a wide variety of sensory and physical pleasures that life brings their way. New Orleans is that place.

Those with extroverted sensor traits relish novel experiences. Their eye for details will have them tuning into the style and aesthetics of a place, plus they crave hands-on experiences. Two prominent extroverted sensing types are the Spirited and Playful travelers. In contrast, two introvert types with extroverted sensing traits are also seekers of innovative experiences, the Abstract and Active travelers making the Big Easy an attractive getaway.

Many of these types would find New Orleans an exciting place to visit. When traveling with them, you’ll find them investigating a variety of physical activities; shopping, eating, biking – taking a painting, pottery, or cooking class. These activities in the physical world are how they gather information using their five senses. Strolling the French Quarter will have those with an extroverted sensing trait anticipating the variety of possibilities that lay before them. From local artists shops to Mom and Pop bakeries and charming general stores. Like us, they too may want to visit the Central Grocery Store on Decatur Street, which opened in 1906, to chow down on their infamous muffuletta sandwich. It’s gained nationwide fame, and it sure got my vote!

Voodoo, T-shirt and Sex Shops

You’ll find kitschy t-shirt shops tucked in between a variety of sex shops, Voodoo and occult shops. As you enter these stores, you’re greeted by an aroma of incense as it perfumes the air, while shelves overflow with crystals and Pagan statues. I even spotted a four-inch metal spike in one of the occult shops. YIKES! Add in 13 adult sex shops, with unending novelty items; leather, lace, whips, and chains the variety is endless, as is the imagination. I believe even an extroverted sensor may be on the verge of overload. 

Please know I’d be arrogant to think all travelers with sensing traits would find New Orleans their cup of tea. A number of these specific travelers may have been raised in traditional or strict religious families. Ahh, your social persona having its say, so The Big Easy would never make it as a bucket list contender. Your social persona often, while often unconsciously, overrides your personality type. A social persona is the conditioned aspect of your personality type based on unconscious beliefs developed in childhood, a country’s culture, life experiences, and relationships.

The Architecture Style of New Orleans

The architecture in New Orleans will also be of interest for those with an extroverted sensing trait, it’s a visual feast for these types. The architecture style of NOLA is often referred to as Creole, with whispers of “French Colonial” characteristics. As the years have passed, the local architecture has taken on a style all its own. It’s a tapestry of French, Spanish, and Caribbean influences that reflect the demands of the hot, humid climate that penetrates the area. It’s cozy, colorful, and welcoming. Hey, you’re in the south so expect a welcoming vibe. In NOLA it’s not a sugar-sweet welcoming; it’s a southern welcoming with an edge.

The French Quarter – Excerpt by Sally Reeves

“Secluded in the muddle of the French Quarter’s raucous street life linger elements that still impart a kind of stately antiquity. They are Spanish and French-era pieces. Some are rightly celebrated for their survival of the epochs; others, dressed in garish costumes at the shop level, maintain a quiet dignity overhead. There are only about a dozen known Colonial-era buildings in the Quarter. Surely more would have survived except for two late eighteenth-century fires. But armed with some simple guidelines, you can recognize the early types.

Check the corner of Chartres and St. Louis Streets. There, on the riverside of Chartres is a house with a well-known restaurant and a balcony. Note that the balcony is higher than usual, almost too high for the building. The arched, barred transoms under it are bringing light to a short middle floor called an entresol. This is where the old Spanish shopkeeper Juan Paillet kept his wares. The entresol house was an early experiment in vertical living, with the shop on the ground floor, the warehouse in the middle, and an elegant residence on the upper level. Note the type at 440 Chartres, at Bourbon corner Bienville, at Royal corner St. Louis, and in mid-block at 500 Decatur. Most date to the 1790s.”

I was also intrigued by the narrow alleyways that give way to lush, green gardens and places where statues stood proud, and fountains flowed. At the same time, other spaces open to intimate restaurant settings. I just stood and imagined days gone by with grand parties and days of summer frolicking.

New Orleans a Slumbering City Awakens

My friend and I came back to Bourbon Street after sightseeing in the Garden District and Magazine Street to find the city slowly awakening. We visited the Cafe Du Monde for beignets and wandered through the square, watching as a few musicians tuned their instruments. A quick turn down Madison Street had us facing a squad of police officers. We learned they had been called to supervise an upcoming Showtime miniseries shoot for Just Another Day In The Big Easy.

Affordable Local Art for Sensing Types

A place I believe these types would love to shop is the Dutch Alley Artists co-op. It’s affordable, and you’ll find many local artists, jewelers, painters, and sculptures displaying their works of art. As my friend and I browsed this shop we found wonderful depictions of the city. My friend purchased a very unique pair of earrings by jewelry artist Stefano Velaska, pictured. He’s was charming, informative, and fun. He was happy to regale tales of how he landed in New Orleans. He even took the time to engrave the earrings. Oh-so-special.

This is what I love about NOLA. it’s so rich in character and the folks who live and work here are super excited to share their heritage. There’s a sense of true local pride.

 New Orleans a City for Sensing Personality Types

I hope you enjoyed New Orleans, a city for sensing personality types especially if you have an extroverted sensing trait. I promise you won’t be disappointed visiting the Big Easy. There is so much to discover and do in the area even beyond the French Quarter and Bourbon Street as Magazine Street also offers a plethora of quaint and unique shops, while The Garden District, which backs us to Audubon Park is another area to see. This district is a gorgeous neighborhood. It’s a feast for the eyes as the homes are architecture wonders, impressive, detailed, and grand.

Get to Know One Other

I look forward to building a community of type seekers—individuals who want to grow and learn more about their personality type and how it influences the everyday, and travel is no exception. The idea is to understand your best self, to share your gifts and genius, becoming a powerful and loving force in the world. And I’m up for whatever it takes to make this happen.  If you want to learn more on how to Unpack Your Personality Travel Secrets for Seekers visit here: www.ninazapala.com

Thanks Nina! Can’t wait to find out where you’re off to next!