AGo and visit the French Tourism Board of Orléans in France at http://www.tourisme-orleans.com/The site is in French and English.

ATraditionally, Orleans is famous for the production of wine vinegar.Peter

AI cannot think of any special things you should take to Orleans. I assume that you will be living near the University? The University of Orleans is located in a district called La Source, which is actually quite far from the city center. You will need to take public transportation in order to get there. The Campus is in a rather large wooded area with an artificial lake. Foreign students in Orleans tended to stay among themselves in a group so you should be able to get information easily from them. If you want to mingle with the French, try to contact the students associations (associations d'étudiants). You can find a list here:http://www.univ-orleans.fr/vie/svc/assos/

Aby car an hour and a half to an hour 45 mn for 130 kilometres without traffic jam.By train around an hour and ten minutes.

ANot much history of Orleans comes up immediately but if you use the link below you should get a google translated page of the french Wikpedia's article on the history of Orleans, it is a bit more detailed than the English one. Sorry if it's a bit complicated.http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orl%25C3%25A9ans&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhttp://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orl%2525C3%2525A9ans%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG

AHey Mike,I would be checking roots.com and Genforum to see if there are others interested in this name. That long ago, if there are records, someone already knows (most likely).

AThe city was named after the Regent of France, the Duke of Orleans, at the time of its founding--not due to similarities between the cities.Both share a French heritage and culture. Many Louisianans spoke French (the Creole tradition) until the 20th Century when American cultural values were impressed upon children through the public school system. Louisiana is the only US State whose legal system is based on the Napoleanic Code (French) rather than English Civil Law.

ADespite the name, the French Quarter (the official name is Vieux Carre') has mainly Spanish-influenced architecture. It is because the original city burned almost completely in 1788 - when New Orleans was under Spanish administration. The French Quarter looks a lot like the old part of Seville, Spain, but the FQ has straight streets.www.frenchquarter.com

AIt wasn't because of the French Revolution,if that's what you are thinking because that didn't start until1789.I have done the geaneology on the paternal side of my family back to the 1600's.So here's a tip.I hope it helps.If you really want to figure out what might have caused him to leave france,you need to try to find out when he left.Fifty years is too long,you need to narrow it down to atleast to the decade,if you are unsure of the exact year.Then research the decade.As for why he chose New Orleans,that's obvious[you probably have already figured this out].New Orleans was like a little piece of France at that time,a home away from home for a frenchmen.

AYes, there is an equivalent to Facebook. It is called Netlog.comBy the way, Orléans is a nice city. You should like it.