It’s our final day and the ice-cold air of in-car “temperature control” and hotel-based air con, coupled with the hundred-degree Deep South heat and pollution of American cities, has now reduced my voice to a laryngitis-squeak. Oh the joys of travel… but nevertheless, we’re determined to see the sights and head to New Orleans City Park.

Fortunately today is a public holiday and whereas American museums are normally shut on Mondays, the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) in the centre of City Park is unusually open today; an unexpected boon that proves a highlight of our trip, made even more enjoyable by the fact that hardly anyone else has realised this fact (including our concierge) and so we have the entire place almost to ourselves.

 It’s a huge and brilliant collection, housing displays ranging from European Renaissance art through 19th Century Louisiana art and French Impressionism, with Native American artefacts, photographic displays, furniture and decorative art exhibits and indigenous art from India, China, Africa, Oceania and the Americas. It’s a fantastic place to spend a (cool) few hours in the sweltering city, with a fascinating sculpture garden to boot, boasting works by Roy Lichtenstein, Henry Moore, Magritte and many more; a photographer’s dream!

Just a short walk deeper into City Park is a beautiful Botanical Garden, with sculptures by Mexican artist Enrique Alférez, and tranquil displays that reward a casual stroll through butterfly houses and Japanese meditation gardens. Considering it’s a public holiday there’s not many other visitors to crowd our views, and even by the ancient oak trees, whose branches creep along the ground in a voodoo embrace, the sense of space is a welcome respite from the bustle of the French Quarter.

But with just a couple of hours left before our airport departure, we jump in a cab back to the tourist-mecca and wander through Louis Armstrong Park, before taking a final dip in our hotel pool. What an adventure we’ve had, a real musical journey through the beating heart of the Deep South, experiencing the history of rock’n’roll, country, blues and jazz and witnessing the legacy of racial segregation and its continuing divides in modern-day America.

Time to say goodbye to this corner of the world and return home. Take it easy, y’all!