Good Bye NOLA

Outer Journey

One of my favorite places that I visited several times on our trip was the French market. It was a place where many cultures came together, and it showed through the food, art, jewelry, music, and goods being sold there. The French Market was an open-air market that had many booths like a flea market would have. I love to shop for unique gifts and treasures that are one of a kind and I was able to find a lot of things here. There was always a fully packed market when we went, you would have to squeeze in between the crowds to get by to the next shop or booth. They had many vendors and sold everything from plants to sunglasses. There was also a lot of knock offs of expensive brand name things there as well. They had an entire shopping section and a large food vendor section as well. In the food section you could get anything from French dessert crepes to fresh seafood. There were pigeons walking around and birds looking for crumbs and dropped food. You could feel the breeze on you since it was outside, and you could stop and sit at a café if you wanted. It was just a great atmosphere to be in and you could even stop to listen to music coming from the street artists. I found one shop in particular that we must have gone to three times. It was a rock and gemstone store called Lalosh silver where you could buy jewelry that was premade, or you could pick a stone out and they would make a unique piece for you. When you walked into the shop, they had rocks, gems, and beads all over the shelfs and displays in little bowls and dishes. I think that I would 100% return to this shop and buy their products again. I highly recommend that anyone traveling to New Orleans go to the French market and shop for their unique gifts. I will miss this part of NOLA when I leave.

Inner Journey

Where do I start? I was having such bad anxiety about coming on this trip and preparing for it. I felt that I was cramming to much in before school starts this coming week. But boy was I wrong, I had such a fabulous time and learned so much about an amazing city. I had a chance to experience a different type of culture and way of life for many. My favorite part of the class was going outside of my normal traveling style. I have never been on so many tours in my life. I think it was so beneficial to really understand the city by learning its history and experiencing this through tours. Some of the highlights of the trip for me took place on the tours and I really found myself enjoying the history. I think my favorite part of the trip all together was getting to New Orleans and just seeing the city and meeting the kind people that live there. I really enjoyed learning the city’s history but many of the locals history and stories as well. I loved seeing all of the street art and performers as well as enjoying a day to explore on our own. I learned that most of the locals had suffered great losses in their lives and somehow picked themselves back up and put their pieces back together. I realized that there were many, many good people as well as some ones that you should not have interactions with. I think this was my favorite part because it was unique to the city and we have nothing like this in Peoria. I am taking away a lot from this trip and I have learned that I need to let loose and relax more like the free spirited people of New Orleans. I am learning that when I travel, I need to branch out and go on more tours and do more sight seeing in ways I normally wouldn’t because that was the best part of the trip for me. I also learned that New Orleans is a place I love now, and I definitely want to return as there is so much left that I would like to see.

St. Louis Cathedral, Old Ursuline Convent, Pharmacy tour

Inner journey

The city spoke to me today in so many ways. I was so excited for today's tours and adventures. We were going to be touring the St. Louis Cathedral, the Old Ursuline Convent, and the pharmacy museum. First we toured the St. Louis Cathedral which is extremely beautiful and one of a kind. It is the oldest Catholic church in the United States and has been refurbished after it was almost completely burnt down in a massive fire. When you walk in to the church you first come across several offertory candles which you can light to remember someone or to honor them for a two dollar donation. My grandmother was a devout Catholic and well as my Mom. I lost both of them over the last few years and my grandma anniversary of when she passed away is tomorrow 1/9/2019 so what better thing to do than offer her a pray and light a candle in her memory. She would have loved this priceless and beautiful church it is all I kept thinking about on our tour. After I lite a candle for them I entered the church and was in shock of its beauty. The high ceilings were covered in large canvas oil paintings, the windows were made of beautiful stained glass, and the altar were all a sight to see. Our tour guide told us several stories about how different artifacts made there way to the church and how many of them were saved or replaced after the fire burnt down most of the church. Next we went to the Ursuline Convent where we saw another beautiful church that was not longer being used for masses but more for weddings. We got to learn about the Ursuline Sisters who traveled her to help people and who also prayed hard bothe times the city was burning and saved the Cvent from being destroyed. The convent is also home to a beautiful winding staircase that id free floating and not held up with any support beams and was moved from its original home in the convent that was closer to the riverfront. After finishing these tours we took a break for a quick lunch where we ate at the french market. I had a crab cake sandwich and then we headed out to take the pharmacy tour. On the pharmacy tour I learned so much about the different medicine that was made and used to treat things in the 1800 to 1900s. We heard stories of how different things were used and what adverse effects they would have on a person. We learned about the history of New Orleans and what type of things the people died or became ill from. Today was by far one of my favorite days and I learned so much.














Outer Journey

I was most excited for the pharmacy tour today as it is something I have always liked and its medical related. It was so much better than I ever expected and a really enjoyable time. We had a tour scheduled for 1pm and were told to get there by 12:45 because many other people would be there as well. It was open to the public and a very popular tour to be a part of. I was expecting the pharmacy to be larger than it was but when I walked back in from running to the bathroom the main floor was one large ground and we barely had much room to move. It was a beautiful building with stone floors that were refurbished and reused from the large barges and boats that would come to the port city and be broken down to scrap. The walls were covered in hundreds of glass medicine bottles, potion bottles and poison bottles. Most of the jars were clear or brown in color but some were very colorful and they all ranged in different sizes and textures. For example, the tour guide explained how poison or known toxic substances had to be placed in blue bottles that has rivets in them so they felt textured when picked up. This allowed them to feel the bottle in the dark so they would not drink it by mistake. The tour guide went through many different artifacts and explained their history to us stopping to answer questions along the way. The guide was extremely lively and had been doing his job for eight years. He made the entire room laugh several times with his hourmous jokes. I was having such a fun time that I could have stayed there all day and learned more about everything. After our hour long guided tour of the main floor we were set free to explore the main floor and second floor more. The upstairs was home to many artifacts such as medical equipment and devices like injections, birthing equipment, different birthing chairs, a replica midwifery room complete with a bed and all the tools that might be used. I saw bedpans, scales for weighing drugs, old vials of vaccines, more bottles and test tubes of different medicines used and herbs. They had things like opium, sulfur, mercury and ointments lining the walls and shelves. There was also old large display cases and armories that were beautifully crafted. Lastly, there was a large soda fountain in the museum and the tour guide told us all about the drugs they would mix in with bubbling water and flavors to mask the task of the medication. This museum tour was not only fun but very informative on what people in the 1800 to early 1900s used to treat ailments, illnesses and diseases. These methods sometimes worked but usually had not rhyme or reason to them and really no certain educated person making them. It was also explained that anyone who made it to old age was thought to have more knowledge and could make medicine. The entire pharmacy tour was not only a good time but I learned so much about how medicine started and what went terribly wrong.

Free day

Inner Journey

I loved traveling today and I feel like the city spoke to me in many ways. When I first went out this afternoon my roommate asked me where I would like to go first, and we decided to head to the French Market area and get something to eat before shopping. We found a cute little seafood shack to eat at and I ordered a crab cake sandwich. We sat and ate our food and people watched for a while. This was a lot of fun and we saw tons of people pass by to go shopping. In the French Market me and my friends went to several different store that sold jewelry and handmade gifts all the way to tee shirt shops. I think the biggest thing that I learned from this experience of going out on our own in a city that is unfamiliar was that I need to remember it is ok to ask for help, directions, suggestions on food or ideas of things to do. I also learned that you have to be flexible and be able to collaborate with your friends to make plans before you head out in a city that you have not spent a lot of time. Today, also taught me to be thankful for what I have as I saw a lot of people less fortunate them me. It taught me to be more flexible and to try things I never would have thought of. I think it is so important to travel and it really helps you grow as a person. The most enlightening thing I participated in was the parade of Joan of Arc it was the first parade in carnival season. It was meant to celebrate not only Joan’s birthday, life, and death but also to explain how the world worked in her time. Lastly we finished our night off at Acme oyster bar and had the most delicious charbroiled oysters with parmesan cheese and french bread.

Homeless peoples stuff lined up and stor

Outer Journey

Today, I spent my time shopping, eating, and sightseeing, all over the city. However, my favorite experience by far was the Joan of Arc parade put on by the Joan of Arc krewe. It was a walking parade that tells a story and honors the unofficial patron saint Joan of Arc “The Maid of Orleans". There was so many sights to take in during the parade route when me and my friends got to Jackson Square, we saw all of the road barricades in place and picked a spot to stand. We were right in front of the Cabilido and had plenty of room since we arrived about 45 minutes early which started at 7 pm. The parade krewe started to hand out small candles that lite up and flickered like a real fire to the crowd to hold along the parade route. Next thing I knew the parade was starting and people were getting very excited around me. This was not the type of parade that you typically think of for Mardi Gras, but it was the kickoff parade and it told the very important story of Joan of Arc and how she was killed. The parade was loud, intense, and colorful and we were cold standing outside. There was so much to read, look at, and see. Most of the story being told by the parade was either being spoken by the krewe on megaphones or written on their banners they were carrying. The colorful costumes and details that went into them really stuck out to me a lot. Some of them were really funny and most of them were handmade. Many were also church related and there were the bad guys who killed joan as well as the good ones. there was a lot of screaming, hollering, and cheering going on in the crowed as well as music being played such as the drums and bagpipers. there were parts of the parade where they would hand out different things such as coins, angel pins, swords, religious memorabilia, matches and postcards with the St. Louis Cathedral on them. This was such a great experience and told a story that had a lot of meaning behind it. I think it was great to be able to experience things and explore the city without a time frame.

Museum Day

Outer Journey

I have to say that my favorite experiences today were at the Presbytere and learning about the tragedies of Hurricane Katrina and seeing the Mardis Gras museum. I enjoyed the colorful and bright costumes used by the different float and parade krewes. I could not believe the number of preserved gowns, artifacts, pictures, and even a full sided float that I got to see. I had never seen anything like it. The costumes are so vibrant and bigger than I could have imagined. They are shinny and themed to go with the float they will be riding on. I think that my favorite costume was a huge wheel of fortune gown and I also loved this seahorse costume. They both were extravagant, shiny, full of beads, and feathers. The costumes are very flashy and usually have large head pieces and masks too top it off. The float that I got to see was also so colorful full of giant flowers and butterflies and it had large trees on it. Everything I saw in the Mardi Gras part of the museum was so beautiful to me.

Besides the beautiful gowns, floats, and history of Mardi Gras museum I was also moved by the stories and history of the Hurricane Katrina exhibit. There was a part of the museum that you walked through with footage of the Hurricane playing on large screens and a large fan blowing as you heard the noise of the wind whipping through the air. It was a surreal and made very emotional to see all the different exhibits. There were many pictures of the flooding and the aftermath. Some that stuck out to me the most were the ones of people staying at the superdome when they had no where else to go. They had three stadium chairs from the superdome that people had to sit and sleep in. Premade MRE meals and cans of water were pasted out to eat and help people survive. They had all of these items on display as well as many of the doors and walls that people had written on showing how many people were in the home or had been rescued. There was part of the exhibit that had walls where a man named Tommie Elton Mabry had kept a journal and documentary of the events taking place. It had the dates and what was happening that day listed out. He would move from different apartments after the storm to seek shelter and left his documents on their walls.












Inner Journey

The city spoke to me most today though the many museums that we went to. I have learned that the people in New Orleans are not only resilient, but they have such a strong sense of community. At the Presbytere as I watched all of the videos on Hurricane Katrina and witnessed the people that survived work together to get things done. They chose to save one another, and many times did this before getting help for themselves. It just made me realize how strong this community is and the love they share. For example, there was a video playing and it showed how a women stayed in her flooded home even when she had a chance to leave because she had water and would cook for her neighbors that were stranded with her. There was another video clip that I watched where a young boy was going around with others in a few boats to save people stranded in the ninth ward. He found a young girl about to give birth and put her in his canoe. She ended up having the baby with this young boys help. He said that he had never even been around anyone one who was pregnant before let alone deliver a baby. That to me take so much courage. There was another story of a women who stayed behind and gave her spot up on a rescue mission by the coast guard because her neighbors needed help more. That is the most selfless act someone could do. There were many stories like this, and it made me see that everyone was watching out for each other. They had too because of all the lack of help in the system and from the lack of resources.it is so disheartening and makes me angry that the lack of help was so prevalent. I learned so much about the cities history today and the many hardships they have been through. I think that people here are extremely nice and everyone I have met even down to the street performers all look out for one another. I think that this is due to what their pasts are and the traumatic events they have suffered and survived. New Orleans culture is one of a kind and you really do see how they treat one another as family.

Tours and Tastings

Outer Journey 

It was a bit chilly and windy this morning here in New Orleans and we had a day full of tours planned from 9am till 5 pm. Me and four other girls decided that we were going to take an uber to the cemetery tour where we were meeting everyone. Our feet and bodies were aching from all of the walking we did the day before. It was nice to take in the sights as we had someone driving us to our destination. On the cemetery tour I was surprised to see how many of the tombs were decaying and crumbling with age. We did see some new tombs being rebuilt and brought back to their original colors. The cemetery had a very unique look and was nothing like I had ever seen before. The tombs were all above ground and many were decaying and weathered. The tombs were mostly white and gray, and some had been weathered down to their bricks. We also saw a lot of newer tombs that belonged to people who were not dead yet but who were preparing to die. Overall, the feeling the cemetery gave off was very interesting and not as creepy as I imagined.










On the cuisine tour It was such a fun experience to try different foods and dishes I normally would not try. The first place we stopped was called Tujagues restaurant I had the most delicious fried green tomato. It was crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside and came with and cocktail sauce for dipping. It was a small corner bar that holds a lot of history and even several ghost stories. This was something I have never had before, and it was so yummy. Another dish that really stuck out to me was the seafood gumbo this is something I have never had before, but it was a very hearty and flavorful dish that had many different types of seafood in it. On the cuisine tours we had the opportunity to see and experience so much history, flavors, and different types of cooking styles here in NOLA.


Below is the link to one of the most famous restaurants we have gotten to visit now. Once for out cuisine tour and once for the ghost tour.


https://tujaguesrestaurant.com/

Inner Journey


Today was a day of tours, tastings, and learning about the city. I took so much away from each and everything we did today. I had several things that I could spend hours writing about, but I think the things I enjoyed the most were the cemetery tour, the cuisine tour, and seeing the architecture in the French quarter, so pretty much the whole day. Before coming to New Orleans, I did not know that their cemeteries placed the deceased body in vaults/tombs that are above the ground. They do this because of the water levels and the flooding would wash the bodies away. Another reason was to help the decomposition of the bodies. The tombs heat up in the sun which cremate the bodies on the inside. I learned that many people were buried in one grave and families will places all of their loved ones together. The cemetery had a very old and run-down look to many of its parts which made the tombs look kind of spooky but also so beautiful. I think that this cemetery tour really got me thinking of how the city views death as more of a celebration of life than a mourning. Our tour guide explained that families that have loved ones in the cemeteries will visit their graves once a year to celebrate and share memories as well as fix up the tombs. We also went to the French Quarter and learned a lot about the architecture and why the houses were built the way they were. Overall, I took so much away from all the tours, but I learned a lot about why certain cultures embrace certain ways of life as well as why things were built or done certain ways.





One of the houses in the French Quarter

Arrival and first experiences in NOLA

Outer Journey

Arriving in New Orleans has been eventful so far and I have had so much to look and take in. For me I feel that I started to get excited when I noticed the scenery around me on the train as we approached NOLA. We were surrounded by water and swamp land that was flooded. This is a sight I have never seen before. The trees were covered in moss and the plants and vegetation were much different than we have back home. I started to see some palm tree looking plants and a lot of beautiful trees. Once we arrived at the train station, I immediately noticed the colorful paintings the walls. There was excitement in people waiting to claim their bags and get to their destinations. Once we walked out of the train station I was greeted by some beautiful palm trees and some more rain. Me and my friends took an Uber to our hotel. The driver was a woman who has lived in New Orleans for her who life. She was so nice and offered us help to load and unload the car as well as give us travel tips. Once we arrived at the hotel and checked in, we were ready to shower and change so we could get to dinner and out ghost tour on time. We had gotten pretty soaked as well as our bags from standing in the rain so it was nice to get into dry cloths. At 5 pm we met up with the rest of our class and began our walk to the French Quarter. The sights were beautiful, and I was excited to see all of the shops and architecture that was around me. I was expecting it to be louder than it was however, it was raining so I do not think as many people were out. We did get to experience one parade that came through while we were on our ghost tour, but we did not see to many street performers yet. I did however see a lot of homeless people and their pets which breaks my heart. We also had several people try and come up to our group asking for money or selling stuff.


Taking the first views of New Orleans in was exciting and overwhelming a bit. I have been very excited to see the French Quarter and it was just how I pictured it. Really it was even more beautiful in person. We got a chance to see so much including Jackson square, the St. Louis cathedral, the Cabildo, many shops and restaurants. There were many people in the square and I saw many tours taking place throughout the night. We ended our night eating a wonderful dinner at Original Pierre Maspero’s and I had Blackened red fish with pasta which was very good. It was a smaller restaurant and had a very cozy feeling to it. The food was extremely good, and I figured it would be as you could smell it down the block. Lastly, we ended our night with a really fun walking ghost tour and history tour. Our tour guide was so fun and lively, and she explained to us how haunted New Orleans really is and why. I think this was a really interesting way to not only take in some fascinating history but also to view the city differently than I normally would have if I came alone.









This is the first sight that greeted me when I got out of the train station loved the street car in the background as well








Blackened redfish that I had for dinner.

Inner

I have had such great opportunities so far and taken in so much. I have learned a lot about New Orleans by just looking around today and also through the ghost tour we went on. I had so many nerves coming into this trip and I feel like I was able to finally relax once we made it to the train station and got to check into our hotel. It was so nice to freshen up and take a shower before heading to get dinner and orient ourselves with the city. I think by the time dinner rolled around everyone was getting hangry and just needed to eat some good food. I learned that I should have brought more food to eat on the train as I did not really eat anything for the entire 16-hour train ride beside some granola bars. Something I have found unique to this city so far is how nice everyone has been. I really have enjoyed all of the helpful advice and tips I have received from kind people along the way. As well as tips from our teachers like not to engage when people when they come to you asking for money. I think that I took away a lot of good restaurant ideas just from talking with the few locals I have met. Our uber driver told us several places to try and why the locals choose them. As our night came to an end and the ghost tour was over me and four other students decided to go to cafe du monde before returning back to the hotel and it was amazing. The beignets were as good as I had hoped for and I was so excited to check it off the list of things I really wanted to do while here. Overall, I think that I had a very successful first day in NOLA.







St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square







Hot Bennetts from cafe du monde, Yumm!

Day 1 and Departure

Inner journey

Wow where do I start? All of the planning, worrying, and preparation was going to be coming together today. With class starting at 8am on the 2nd and heading to the train station that night. I knew I would need to go to bed at a decent time. However, that did not happen, and I was up until almost 6 am and running on about an hour and a half of sleep for class. I had spent so much time packing and repacking my bags that once I finally finished it was pretty much time to head to class. I struggled though the day on hardly any sleep and was not feeling the best, procrastination had gotten the best of me. We got out of class a bit sooner than planned which allowed me to have some extra time to take a fast 30-minute nap, and shower. Before I knew it my two friends Kayleigh and Hope were on their way to pick me up. I was feeling more and more nervous anticipating their arrival. Once they got to my house and we got everything into the car and got on our way I started to feel a lot better. Having my two really good friends on this trip helped me a lot to get more and more excited. On the way to the station we talked and planned some more of our trip out. By the time we got to the train station in Champaign Il, I was super excited, and my nerves began to fade.

Kayleigh, Hope, and I getting ready to check all our bags in.

Outer journey

We arrived at the train station around 8:20 pm and started to unload the car. Once inside I weighed my bags and grabbed a seat while waiting to board the train. We had about two hours to kill and in this time, it was nice to catch up with some of my fellow classmates and just relax. When looking around I saw all the other students and a few families as well as some people traveling alone. It was bright and loud in the station and you could feel the excitement and anticipation in the air. The attendant called overhead and said the train would be to the station in about 10 minutes and called our group to line up. It was finally time as we lined up on the train platform, I was anxiously awaiting to see the train pull in. We were outside so It was chilly and much darker than it was inside. The luggage cart holding all of the classes checked bags was next to our line and I made a comment to the attendant asking him if he thought we packed enough. He laughed and said that he was expecting more like 40 bags from us and we had 22. The next thing I remember was the train pulling in and it being much bigger than I had anticipated. It was a double decker and we will be sitting in the top car. We boarded in a single file line and two at a time. Once on the train we had to head up the smallest stairway I think I have ever seen. It winded around and I was not sure if I was going to fit with my bags. I did and when I got to the top, I saw how much room we actually had. The seats are in rows of two and a lot roomier than I had imagined. I unpacked my pillow and blanket and keep my backpack at my feet and put my carry on in the luggage rack above my head. It was cozy, warm, and clean, and I had not issues falling asleep. I did toss and turn all night as the train bounces around and sways a lot. I noticed that most of my classmates were having the same struggles. I gave up around 6am and woke myself up and enjoyed watching the scenery out the window. It has been raining on and off for the most part since we left Memphis, TN. I have also noticed how the landscape started to change. There are a lot of tall pine trees, some type of tropical looking plants and lots of flooded fields around us as well as houses and businesses every so often. So far I have really enjoyed taking in the experience of riding the Amtrak and besides trying to use the tiny bathrooms I think overall it was a good experience.

All of the bags our group took waiting to get loaded.  

Me and Kayleigh trying to get comfy in our seats
and so were the girls behind us!