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Friday, April 15, 2011

Living in the South ~ New Orleans

I can't write about Louisiana and the South and not mention New Orleans.  We visited there on several occasions. Never at Mardi Gras but we did go one Halloween. Now that was F*U*N!! We haunted the French Quarter on that occasion. There was a Halloween parade complete with Vampires throwing beads through the streets of the French Quarter. And the people who were "Haunting" the Quarter that Halloween night were dressed in costumes of every size, shape and species. We had a good time just sitting on a bench and watching the Ghoulies go by.


New Orleans was everything I had imagined and then some. We did some exploring in the Garden District - an area of New Orleans with some of the best preserved historic Southern mansion in the US. But the French Quarter was where we felt at home. The air was thick with history. The streets echoed with the thousands of feet that had once trod on their stones. The buildings teased and taunted with the stories that were held within their walls. 


We rode streetcars and riverboats. We had beignets and cafe au lait. We saw the Superdome. We visited the site of the Battle of New Orleans. We had a drink in the bar that was once the Pirate Jean Lafitte's blacksmith shop. But one of the most memorable things we did was visit the cemeteries. (Go figure....The crowding of souls contained in the walls of those cemeteries could be felt even in the heat of the day. But the cemeteries were neither sorrowful nor gloomy but almost had an air of gaiety about them. Perhaps a perpetual party was taking place - it was once a Southern tradition to enjoy a picnic lunch at the cemetery. Relaxing and passing the time on the ancestors' graves. Perhaps those picnics were still taking place.... 


*** I'll continue my Southern ramblings next Tuesday. So don't touch that dial! ***

8 comments:

  1. Oh the magic of New Orleans. I can't wait to go back and take Punky with me.

    I'm loving the series of southern tales, even if it makes me want to scrap my summer plans and roadtrip south.

    -Angelwick

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  2. It must have been tough for you to have seen on TV the devastation Katrina brought to New Orleans.

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  3. Debra, we moved up here to Arkansas shortly before Katrina hit. It was heart rending for us to see the devastation.

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  4. I am loving all that you share about the south. Our adventures to Naw'lins have been just like yours....wonderful. I too sat and watched all the interesting sights of the Quarter and was amazed at cemeteries. Such a wonderful vibe and so very different than the desert southwest where we live. The Olde Bagg

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  5. Did you visit Marie Laveau's tomb?That's one stop I would venture to and pay her tribute.

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  6. Oh yes!! we most definitely visited Marie Laveau's tomb.

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  7. beignets ..... heaven

    My brother graduated in '69, oldest sister in '71. Don't know what class your sister was in. What I sometimes feel bad about is when someone on Facebook wants to friend me, someone from high school.... and I have no clue who they are. Poor memory or they were more than two years removed from me...

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  8. ptrmom ~ I can sympathize with you about the poor memory. lol My sister's graduated in '65 and '68.

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