I love the French names of the streets.
This was our list of things to do for the day.
Cabildo—$6
New Orleans Pharmacy Museum—$5
1850-$3
Madame Johns—Free
Old Ursuline Convent
Cathedral-Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France
Beauregard-Keyes House
Phantom Tour—$16 online purchase
Jean LaFitte Blacksmith Shop
Cabildo
This place was a museum that had notable things such as Napoleon's death mask.
He is definitely French looking.
But I always heard he was a short, fat man.
But he doesn't look fat from this death mask at all.
Anyway, lots of interesting Louisiana history was learned.
The Cabildo one of nine museums that are part of the
I love Admiral Ferragut, so I was fascinated to read about him.
Fashion changed after the Civil War so the skirts were more fitted.
I wonder if there was a shortage of cotton and supplies for the huge dresses.
I think I walked away from this museum mostly realizing:
(a) just how much race relations played in the U.S. Growing up on the North it was more of an abstract issue for us something that really touched our lives and
(b) Just how poor the education was here - women weren't educated. Blacks struggled to get an education. The schools weren't that great. I come from a world where women were educated for generations equally to the men.
I never feel more northern than when I'm in the south.
The 1850 House
I love bassinettes.
Walker from the 1850's?
I have trouble believing those wheels are original.
But if this is original - pretty cool.
Almost as cool as the little head protectors for toddlers I found in the Mayflower.
This picture doesn't show it so well
But there is a little pot under the chair.
We thought maybe this was how they did potty training in the 1850's.
The Pharmacy Museum
Interestingly, Louisiana was the first state to license their pharmacists.
And you only needed a doctor's prescription for substances that were known to be deadly.
And people went to the pharmacist more than their physicians.
I think Louisiana was the first state to license their physicians as well.
But back then they weren't generally that great.
My great grandmother's sister was a pharmacist.
Tragically she died at the age of 26.
It is interesting because in the Cabildo we learned that women weren't allowed in most schools.
If women became educated it was usually through private tutors hired by the family.
I never feel more northern than when I'm in the south.
What a contrast in education for women.
Madame Johns
This is what New Orleans used to look like
before the great fire
The first great fire.
Madame John's is significant because I think it is the oldest house
And it shows you what New Orleans looked like originally.
The arc
Voodoo
Our cemetery tour guide told us that much of the voodoo as we know it is terribly wrong - thank you, Hollywood.
Hoodoo is actually the bad stuff.
Voodoo was a type of religion that was somewhat adapted to try to make it seem more Catholic in the U.S.
It was largely practiced by the slaves.
Old Ursuline Convent
This was closed due to the holiday, but it looked good from the outside.
Frances Keyes House
Also closed for the holidays.
Pretty French Quarter Houses
The Pirate John Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop
Which is really just a bar now.
But the cool thing about John Lafitte, is he wasn't just your ordinary pirate.
Thanks to him Andrew Jackson was able to protect New Orleans.
And he was a black smith.
Not so many things could be said about the average pirate.
New Orleans Parade
That's pretty much the entire parade.
Umbrella lady.
Small band.
Random people - some with, and some without masks.
Who also were filming the people looking at them...
Isn't the whole point of being in a parade to be looked at?
Random Nantucket art found in store.
Amazing street performer.
I truly have no idea what this is exactly
But it seems to be something from Africa
Or maybe it was something he invented and said came from Africa.
Either way, it was cool.
St. Louis Cathedral
The basilica in St. Louis is much better.
If you don't believe me, come visit and I'll prove it :)
Random St. Louis Parade
Okay, we ran into the parade - again.
And this time people were joining it.
So we did, too.
Which was funny because that day it went on my list of things to do in life
And then got crossed off.
Louis Armstrong Park
Ginette did a great job kicking her feet together for the photo.
Louis Armstrong hated playing in New Orleans.
Even though he was from there.
There had been a slave uprising in Haiti
That rather scared New Orleans
So they instituted something called the Code Noir
Which was a code for the governing and treatment of the slaves
They allowed them time off
And on Sundays they would go to Congo Square and dance.
We had read about it,
But then we found it as we wandered this park!
I found this quote in the Cabildo and as a New Englander who was brought up
with very definite ideas about how the Sabbath is observed
this quote resonated with me.
There are no Sunday dance parties where I come from.
This tree was just so massive and gnarly
I had to get a photo.
Café Du Monde
Curtis had never tried beignets (French doughnuts) before.
This place has created them to fried perfection.
And they put powdered sugar at almost equal the weight of the beignets.
We sat and sipped hot chocolate,
dipped beignets into them
and talked.
Preservation Hall
We waited in line for at least a half hour.
And we managed to get a bench seat.
Everyone after us got standing room only.
It was the perfect ending to a lovely New Orleans experience.
We couldn't record or even take pictures.
It was original New Orleans jazz
In what resembled a tiny room much more than a hall.
And for 45 minutes, we listened to them play.
And they were amazing.
I recommend it.
And that rooster.
If I lived here
that rooster would most likely be dead.
