A New Orleans State of Mind
When a person describes New Orleans, they mention three things: the streets, the food, the music. Whatever your picture of New Orleans is in your mind—it is all of it, true. The beignets do taste like powder clouds in your mouth. For us, we went between Cafe Beignet and Cafe du Monde twice a day; to begin the day, and end the day. Beignet all day, bae-bae.
We took a Voodoo tour on our first day to acquaint ourselves with the culture and the streets, and it was the perfect introduction to New Orleans. For one, it tore away misconceptions of the Voodoo religion (Vodou, or Vodun) and the commercialization of it. Secondly, in doing so, it helped us understand the roots of this city. Voodoo is a syncretic religion, meaning it combined West Africa Vodun and Catholicism. Within Slavery, this religion moved from Haiti to New Orleans, which were central in the Slave Trade. Its central belief centers around God, but that there are hundreds of spirits that are called upon in Voodoo practices for blessings and protection. We learned of Marie Laveau, born in the early 1800’s as a free woman of color, who became a Voodoo priestess and served people of every color and rank, being thus feared and revered. Voodoo dolls originated in Europe within Wiccan practices, and had nothing to do with Voodoo until fictional literature dubbed it to be.
We visited Marie Vaveau’s grave in St. Louis Cemetary No. 1, where Nicholas Cage’s future resting place is, and the New Orleans Musicians Tomb. We learned that the Catholic church would not allow cremations, as they viewed it as the fires of Hell, and so the above ground tombs worked beautifully as natural crematoriums. Within an above ground tomb, it only took a body 1yr and 15 days to be fully cremated due to the heat it trapped inside of it. The saying, “I wouldn’t touch you with a ten foot pole” came from when they would take out the ashes, put them in a bag, and use a pole to push the bag of ashes to the back of the tomb and make room for the next family member to be cremated in the tomb. If the unfortunate occurance happened when two people in a family would die the same year, the wall surrounding the cemeteries were holding places for the second body. “Saved by the bell” also refers to bells inside the tombs, in case you were buried alive, you can ring it for someone to come save you.
We walked from the French Quarter to Frenchman Street, and took a streetcar to the Garden District. We walked past Sandra Bullock’s home as John Goodman turned down the adjoining corner with his dog, and stood for a while at the home where they filmed The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Here we ate at Commander’s Palace and shopped at bookstores and local artisan collections.
The architecture is truly beautiful throughout New Orleans, and the wrought iron balconies with hanging plants are at every corner. The colors were vibrant and subtle, making each street like a painter’s palette. Next to shops, in street corners, and under hanging vines, jazz music would issue from clarinets, bases, and trumpets from local musicians. At Preservation Hall we got to witness a piece of history as we listened the Will Smith Band (not the actor). The man who played the clarinet was related to a man who played alongside Louis Armstrong—jazz, along with Voodoo, are such beautiful traditions passed down familial lines.
Beignets, Muffuletta, and Jamie’s favorite food experience: crawfish. For under $50, Jamie and Saba ordered 3lbs of crawfish and 1lb of king crab legs, and within an hour, they sat surrounded by the shells of their loot. Thanks to a local recommendation, we got to experience the fun of a bag of seafood ready to shell and devour. The food scene is huge in New Orleans, so naturally we ate our way through on full stomachs. Other wonderful places we hit include, Commanders Place (a traditional must), Arnauds (jazz brunch), Luke (BBQ oysters!), The Elysian Bar, Peychaud’s, Jewel of South, and Vampire Bar (why not drink from blood bags while in New Orleans??) There are so many other places that remain on our list… until next time!
Into the Bayou!
We spent a day in swamp land, passing through waterways between trees and low hanging moss. We passed homes of fishermen, and encountered dozens of alligators—some of which were so frighteningly large. They would glide passed our boat and you’d almost see the gleam of your reflection in their eyes. Can one judge New Orleans from the viewpoint of the alligator?
