River outlook

It was a rainy, gloomy day.

Still, the view from the Westin Hotel lobby was powerful. The window wall looks out over the Mississippi River where it makes a sharp turn after flowing past downtown New Orleans. The river is flowing from South to North at this point. It slides around Algiers Point on the opposite bank and starts its push to the Southeast and Gulf of Mexico.

The Westin's lobby is on the 11th floor of Canal Place at the foot of Canal Street and the edge of the French Quarter. That high vantage makes the panoramic view all that more spectacular.

--steve buser