New Orleans Last Weekend

Headed to New Orleans! Took the back roads and saw some stuff worth seeing, including waiting for this revolving bridge to line back up so we could continue across.


Trying to find a place to park in the French Quarter. I finally spotted a spot outside the French Quarter and was just about to zip down the road to get it when I realized it was a one way street! Glad I realized it in time. Unlike Los Angeles, I never did find a parking lot where you can pay to park, but I did find a spot on a random street without any no parking signs. The walk back to the French Quarter was not overly long, but I was a tad concerned I would have trouble finding the street I parked on. I put the nearest intersection into my phone so if I got really desperate I could ask for directions.


Mardis Gras decorations were everywhere. I learned the reasons for the official colors: Purple: justice, Green: faith and Gold: power.





Real gas lamp.


Walking into the French Quarter was interesting. At first I could tell I was there, but there was no one around. I passed a few people sitting on their front stoop talking on the phone, or getting into their cars and driving off. So it was just their normal neighborhood. Then I walked closer and found a few shops, bars and the like with more tourists walking around. Then I came to the section that is blocked off to vehicular traffic. This was one of the preforming groups. A nice jazz band.


A juggler.




Eventually I decided I wanted more info so I decided to take a mule carriage. But it took me quite a long time to find where you get on. I kept walking and walking and not finding it. Eventually I found a "tourist info" shop and asked the lady, who pointed them out about 1/2 a block away. I was almost there but hadn't realized it.

The next pictures and explanations are from our guided mule carriage ride.


This is the house that was build or bought for Napoleon to live in during his exile, but he died while the person going to pick him up was en route.


The house where Tennessee Williams wrote A Streetcar Named Desire. The actual streetcar tracks used to go between the reddish building and the lighter colored one so he could hear them from his house.


The inside of Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop. The guide said this is the oldest drinking establishment in America, but I am skeptical. The Lafitte refereed to is the pirate, and co-hero of the Battle of New Orleans- Andrew Jackson being the other. Lafitte was not actually a blacksmith, the shop was just a front for his gun running and other illegal activities.

The building is also interesting because it is one of the only two original French buildings to survive the fires 1788 and 1794. After those fires, the city was rebuild but the Spanish were in charge so the rest of the architecture in the French Quarter is actually Spanish.

It was really dark in there- I wandered further in and in the rear it was light only by candles on the tables and I had to stand still to let my eyes adjust. Easy to imagine all kins of pirate like things going on in the back tables back in the day (and maybe now- who knows?) It was much too dark to determine what anyone was up too.



All the streets had these signs affixed to buildings. Borbon street was not named after the drink but after the King. I believe it is now spelled Burbon, like the drink. But I could be wrong.



Outside of the shop/ bar.


After the tour. I picked this carriage because the mule was 1/2 Belgian draft horse. His breed reminded me of the Mals. The guide said in the 80's there was a bad heat wave and some horses died so the city mandated mules were the only animals allowed. His ears area also big like the Mals.


Jackson Square, with the St. Louis Cathedral in the back ground. Andrew Jackson was the hero of the Battle of New Orleans, but I learned the battle actually took place 7 miles down the road, not in NO at all. However, like most misnamed battles, no one cares about the town the battle did happen in, so it is called the Battle of New Orleans. The guide claimed the statue is the second most photographed place in America. The first being the Cinderella Castle in Walt Disney World. Then, he went on to say the St. Luis Cathedral was the inspiration for the Cinderella Castle. However, I've always heard differently. (Thanks Mom.) Mom says the inspiration is a castle in Germany, but I can't remember the name. Wikipeidia says, "Cinderella's Castle was inspired by a variety of real and fictional castles. These included Fontainebleau, Versailles and the chateaus of Chenonceau, Chambord and Chaumont, as well as Castle Neuschwanstein, Bavaria, and Alcázar of Segovia, Castile and León (Spain), the oldest of all, which is 9 centuries old. The chief designer of the Castle, Herbert Ryman, also referenced the original design for the castle in the film Cinderella and his own well-known creation — the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland in California. " So, not sure which one my Mom is talking about but I saw pictures of it and it does look a lot like the Cinderella Castle.

Anyway, I didn't argue with the guide.



Close up.


Next I headed over to the Cathedral. It was very pretty.


St. Joan of Ark Statue. The Maid of Orleans.


Second story seating. One thing I cannot figure out is where the people who come to mass here park.


The alter.


I loved all the paintings.


Organ at the back of the cathedral.





More paintings on the ceiling. Close up.


Next door to the cathedral is this plaque on the wall of the building were the Louisiana Purchase was signed.


Same building.




Right down the alley of the Cathedral I found the Faulkner house.



This is where he wrote his first novel.


And it is located in Pirate Alley.

Another interesting thing the tour guide said is the reason there house are built right up to the street is for defense. Each house had a front section with a courtyard in the back. If the city was being invaded the women and children would go to the back courtyard and the men would go on the roofs and shoot anyone that came in. The streets we passed with less balconies really illustrated that there would be no where to hide.


Upon exiting the Cathedral and Pirate Alley I found it was getting more crowed in the streets. I caught some beads people were throwing off a balcony. Someone else was dropping little vials of various drinks, but I reflected upon the wisdom of drinking an unknown drink from a complete stranger and kept walking.




Once I saw the police pod being raised I began to think it was getting close to time to go. Also, I had no desire to walk back to my car in the dark.

I didn't stay very long- maybe 4 hours. It was quite the experience. I thought the whole thing was very authentic. A few places I've been have been rebuilt or recreations of what they used to be like, but the French Quarter is what it is- rotting wood, crumbly bricks and all. The party atmosphere for Mardis Gras was real too. So was the trash smell I encountered on a few streets- yuck!

I was pretty excited to be there and was satisfied that I had gone. I didn't see any other parts of the city since I did not know my way around and did not think it was safe to go to a strange downtown, high crime city, and not know even what you were there too see.




A random interesting building.




Full building view.


Some pretty flowers I spotted on my way back to the car. I found my way back with hardly any trouble. I just stopped once on a corner I recognized (sadly because of some dog droppings) to decide if I wanted to turn the corner or go straight. I turned the corner and that was correct.




If I had the dogs I would have used this perfect field for some tracking.

The French Quarter of New Orleans at Mardis Gras was interesting. I'm sure there was lots more stuff to see all over the city, but my lack of an escort or companion, map, plan etc, held be back from seeing it all.