NOLArt

The moment the train pulled into the city of New Orleans I could see the art of the city. The look of the buildings is symbolic to the city. When someone looks at a picture with a row of homes, each a different color, thin shutters that run along the large windows, and the cast iron railings on their balconies, that person could easily pinpoint that it is a home signature to the unique city. Art can be spoken in many ways in every direction that you looked. It is difficult to focus on just one form of art, so I will discuss a few that really spoke to me.

Architecture

            Looking at the way the city is built and everything around it that make it so distinct is what makes New Orleans so beautiful. One particular beauty to the architecture is the way the buildings and homes are built in the French Quarter. Many of the buildings have businesses downstairs for locals and tourists alike to indulge in the things they are fond of. Restaurants draw in those with empty stomachs and a craving of a spicy dish. Galleries catch the eye of anyone looking for something new to hang above their mantle. Souvenir shops gather groups of tourists looking for the perfect “I ♥ NOLA” t-shirt or voodoo keychain, which is hardly voodoo at all. However, these shops still gain the revenue from those tourists who do not see the MADE IN CHINA sticker on the bottom of their $3.99 voodoo doll.

            Above these businesses are typically two stories of windows with balconies. These are not just for show, but are actually apartments. People actually habituate themselves above these businesses in the French Quarter. I am sure these are sought after homes in such an influential area. I would not mind living in such a place myself, but I would probably want to have a second home in a much quieter location that I can run off to when Mardi Gras makes its way into town. I am sure that the people who live in these apartments had that on their list of must-haves though: Must be on a street that routes Mardi Gras parades. That is how you know that I am a true Midwesterner. But for what the city is known for I respect everyone who has a home with a great view of a spectacular event.

            I have stated that these homes have balconies, but they also have what are called galleries. They may look the same, but they have distinct differences to tell them apart as they have different uses. A balcony is what many people call their small area just off of their home that they can sit for a cup of chicory with a pal. This is what a lot of people can agree on, but in New Orleans you can’t just call every sitting area off of a home a balcony. These homes could have something else called a gallery. How to tell the difference is that a gallery has beams connecting to the ground to support them, whereas balconies do not. These beams can have another name as well: Romeo poles. If you look on these beams you may be able to see a group of spikes near the top of them. Back in the day these spikes were used to keep rambunctious boys away from their rebellious daughters by making it difficult for them to climb up to the gallery and steal them away, an homage to Romeo & Juliet. A tour guide of mine said that boys have died from attempting to make the climb and failing. There are different kinds of these spikes all around the Quarter and they are an interesting piece to architecture to the city.

Street Performers

            Walking up and down the gravel alleys of the Quarter, there was always some form of entertainment from the light of day to the dark of night. Music was always a grand show for anyone that happened to be walking by when the trumpet began to blare. There were one man shows or jazzy groups keeping everyone swaying from side to side. There were other forms of entertainment other than music that some people may not actually think about.

            I happened to see palm readers all over the Square. Each day that I arrived I saw a new palm or tarot card reader setting up in each spot. I met with a palm reader, starting off a little skeptic. How could this person know who I am and what my plans are in life without knowing anything about me besides the color of my hands? On that day they were blue because it was freezing out, so I am surprised she did not tell me that my life would be short lived if I didn’t get warmed up shortly. She predicted I wanted to run my own business; I want to be a midwife. She predicted I would have three children, which my boyfriend and I have discussed before. She had talked about many other things regarding my life from now until death (which she predicted to be in my 90’s, so I have a long life ahead of me). Even if you are a skeptic I would suggest having your palms read for the sake of what the city has to offer as far as its special forms of entertainment.

Street Art

            I had the honor of meeting and talking with a talented artist. Jason Cummings came about his technique from working at his previous job that he did not particularly like. He was able to learn the tricks for his artwork through that job. His boss told him that if he didn’t work on Fat Tuesday that he would be fired. Jason was looking for this kind of opportunity to leave his job. To do so, he took off Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Since then he has been living paycheck to paycheck while making his unique work. This consists of thick, bold acrylic paint slathered on a canvas. Then, Cummings sprinkles small glass beads through the still wet paint. Lastly, he covers the work in resin to set the beads in the paint and to protect the piece. He was such a happy-go-lucky individual with a large lease for life. Hopefully I can get a larger piece from him in the future. For now, my piece I was able to get from him will hang proudly in my beachy bathroom!

I'll Never Let Go, NOLA

I cannot believe that I am sitting in the observatory car of the train that is taking me back to good ol’ Peoria. This trip went by quicker than the snap of a finger. There was a whirlwind of things that I saw and did and experienced. I met many great people as well. I wish that this trip was not over because there is a laundry list of things that I could write that had yet to be able to experience. This post, however, is for me to write about the opposite. I will talk about all of my favorite places about the great city of New Orleans.

My first shout-out is going to CVS Pharmacy on Decatur. Without this little place, I don’t know where I would have gone to get some dirty dollars to be able to spend. I could have gone to any ATM that was all around the area, but there was a charge of 5 dollars to use any of them. Going to CVS, I could get my 40 dollars and get a pack of gum to keep in my purse. Instead of throwing away a five-dollar bill, I got to get some fruity fresh breath.

My next favorite place is Jackson Square off of Decatur. Here there is a quaint little area with a semicircle of steps leading to a high point, but when performers are in the center of the area those steps double as seats for an audience. Here is where I have seen multiple acts perform their skills. One being a break dancing group that also use comedy in their routine. So many pedestrians walk by this area, so it is silly to see the performers interact with these everyday people that are just going about their lives. It was even more entertaining when these people would actually go along with the act and have fun. It also had a great view of the horse drawn carriages and the St. Louis Cathedral.

Next is a place that I visited three times during the four days we were in New Orleans. Café du Monde was a staple. Every time I saw the green awning with the multi-colored lights lining the roof my mouth would water. I could taste the (scalding) hot chocolate and could feel the powdered sugar sticking to the roof of my mouth without even being in there and eating a beignet. I would say my favorite thing about this cute little café would be when I get back to my hotel room and take my clothes off and find powdered sugar in the most peculiar places. One time I found some on my wallet in my purse. How this happened I have no idea, but it was a gentle reminder that I really need to go for a jog to work off those beignets.

The Presbytere is high on my list of favorite places. The extensive information and the depth that the accounts of Hurricane Katrina that are put in the exhibit is phenomenal. The flow from room to room works great moving through the timeline of the tragedy. It opened my eyes to a whole other world that I never knew how serious of a situation it was. I did not think something so tragic could happen to an area like that. I would feel my heart break at each part that accounted Katrina. By the end, I poured my soul to all of those who were affected by this great storm. I would suggest that anyone from ages 0 to 99 to take the time to visit the Presbytere and take in all that it has to offer the same way that I did.

This next place I have just recently added to the list of favorite places. Spitfire Coffee was a quaint hole-in-the-wall café that I happened to stumble upon when my group decided that we wanted to try someplace new for coffee. This place had such small doors that I had to turn sideways to fit through the entrance. The inside of the café was rather small as well. To the left was a 2x4 slab of wood with just four bar stools placed underneath. There was only room for five steps forward to the counter to order. There was also only one little coffee creation station that one woman handled all on her own. Although my mocha latte was not very great, I appreciated the cute little coffee shop for what it was.

Lastly, I have to give a little bit ‘o’ love to La Divina. I first visited this small Italian gelato place during a cuisine tour on the first day in New Orleans. I was actually not a fan of the strawberry or the buttermilk gelato that we got to try. I was cheering it on for the muffuletta that we got to have though. I ended up having two portions of it! I never got another muffuletta there since the cuisine tour, but I did go back and get a different flavor of gelato that I knew I would be a sucker for: cioccolotta (aka chocolate in Italian). It was just as cleansing to the palette as a fruit gelato would have been but with a taste that I was actually fond of. I favored every mini pink spoonful that I had. I will need to come back to this city in the summer so that on a hot day I will enjoy a cool dessert to chill me out on a hot day.

All of these places have made my time in New Orleans a great one. Though there were other museums that fancied my mind and buildings that caught my eye, these places stood out to me most and kept me pepped up during the trip. These are also places that whenever I visit the city again that I will drag my friends and family by the collar to go to so they can see what I fell in love with when I was here this time around. I am more than eager to be able to visit the great city of New Orleans again, and I will surely plan out another vacation here as soon as my student debt riddled life is able to afford it. Until then…

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Perpetual Care, Presbytere, & Paintings

            This morning was actually not as hard to wake up for as I figured it would be. Following a free day that was full of activity, laughter, and fun followed by a late night up finishing a blog, I was pooped out and could have slept for 24 plus hours. I was a sloth with every movement. My fingers moved in slow motion to each key I needed to tap. Typing the word “and” would take me about five seconds. I am not kidding. Do it yourself and you’ll sense what I am talking about. My blinks were fluid and slow. I could feel my eyelids coat each little portion of my eyeball as they came together. I am not even sure if they actually touched each other because my body was so exhausted to even have them come together. Once I clicked “Publish” on Blogger, I closed my laptop, tossed to the other side of the pull out couch, bundled myself in the thin white sheet and my small Dallas Cowboys throw blanket like a cocoon and passed out.

            I woke up from my alarm at the first note and turned it off. I have only ever heard the ringtone as my alarm for waking up, so I have grown a strong negative connotation to the sound. This could be why I shoot up and turn it off so quickly because I can’t stand to hear it any longer than I have to. If I chose a jolly ring then I would not mind hearing it, therefore leaving me to lie with my eyes closed and possibly slipping into slumber again. Anyway, I woke up and sprayed some dry shampoo in my hair, leaving a thin gray coat. After running my fingers through and tousling it the dusty tint disappeared. I threw on plenty of clothes to get bundled up in because today was going to be a freezing one! There was a freeze warning sent out for the city which was interesting to me. The temperature high for that day was 39 degrees and the low was 25. In Illinois we don’t have a freeze warning unless the weather is under 10 degrees and with sleet and snow. I just thought it was fascinating that these two areas have different concepts for what “freezing temps” means.

            The moment I stepped out into the frigid air I knew that this tour we were about to take was going to test my body in its ability to maintain its core temperature. I have an intolerance to cold of which I was diagnosed with by my doctor. We are not certain as to the exact reason why, but my doctor attributed it to my slight iron anemia. Throughout the tour, I was shivering from head to toe and finding ways to warm up. I warned a friend of my cold intolerance so that just in case something were to happen (which I did not think anything would anyway) that they would be able to help. 40 degrees was just about what I could handle. If it was any less there may have been an issue in which I would have notified an instructor, but as I said I was just fine.

            We started our morning bright and early at 8 a.m. to start a quite informative tour. We started with learning about the significance of Jackson Square. Firstly, the Pontalba buildings standing on either side of the Square were built by Micaela Almonester Pontalba, daughter of Andres Almonester y Rojas, were the first apartments created in the area and some of the first in the entire country. The cast iron railings are bent to have Micaela’s first letter of her first last name (A) and her second (P) intertwined at each section. While interesting, there was much more significant history to the city to learn about to me today.

            Next, we went to visit St. Louis Cemetery #1. This cemetery contained so many beautiful above ground tombs. The thought of that is pretty spooky to me. They also said that for each tomb they can fit 18-20 bodies, meaning they allow the deceased to decompose for one year then place their skeleton in a bag and place it behind the marble gravestone. It gave me goosebumps to think about, but those thoughts whisked away rather quickly as this cemetery was beautiful in its own way. There were people buried here that date back to the days that malaria and yellow fever were in outbreaks and those people passed from it.

            We were able to see Nicholas Cage’s tomb that he had built for himself, even though he has not passed yet. He fell in love with the city and has chosen to leave his mark here.

Nicholas Cage's pyramid tomb. The slab reads "All for One"

            Another thing I noticed was that some of the tombs had small plaques placed in front of them, including Cage’s. The plaque would read “Perpetual Care.” I learned that this meant that these people or their family members have paid an extra fee for the workers to keep up with the maintenance of that tomb. You can see how well the Perpetual Care tombs were kept versus those that have no one to care for them, whether that’s because it could not be afforded or if all of the members of the family line have passed away.

An extremely old tomb that was not under Perpetual Care

            The last part of the tour was visiting Congo Square. This is where slaves would meet on Sundays and maybe even their holidays off to play their music of their heritage. This was a great way for them to remain positive in their lives as this was an outlet for them from their slave lives. There were times that meeting in this park was banned and then reestablished; and I am glad that it did get reestablished as it had led to great advancements in jazz music.

            Later, we were able to go to the Presbytere Museum. This building had the upstairs dedicated to Mardi Gras, but that area was a complete blur to me. I was most amazed by the downstairs of the museum, completely dedicated to Hurricane Katrina. This is a topic that I have heard about, but never truly understood the amount of disaster that it caused. Walking through the museum gave me more and more goosebumps the farther I went through it. I could not get myself to walk with others or to smile and joke around while in the exhibit. I chose to walk by myself at my own pace to take in the entire thing. The first-hand accounts of the people that made it out of the city, of those who could not leave, of those taking shelter at the Superdome, and of the first responders made it feel so surreal. Hearing words from those who were there and experienced such a tragedy and lived through it was quite tragic. There is no way that I could ever come back from something like that. 

           Though I was emotional through the whole tour, I was holding back tears at one point. There was a real garage door from an actual home that was marked with the X. There were no bodies found in the home, but two cats were found alive and one dog was found dead. I have an overwhelming love for animals and I could not imagine the heartbreaking loss that this family was going through. My eyes were filled with tears. If someone saw me and asked, “What’s wrong?” I know that I would have cried the Nile River. I am so grateful to have been able to tour the Presbytere and learn about Katrina in a way that I have never learned about it before.

            Lastly today I picked up a piece of street art from an artist in Jackson Square. Pictures are located below. I will write about the piece as well as the artist in another post.

Brunch, Break Dancing, & [an endless supply of] Bread

         After a few days of getting up early, walking all day, and staying up late, it was finally the day I had been waiting for: free day! It could be cliché to say that I was so excited that I couldn’t sleep, but that was not the case. I got a blog post completed then passed out. I had an alarm set for 8:45 in the morning to get up for breakfast. I figured that I would be up before then anyway, but I set an alarm just in case. I was having a dream where the sound of my alarm was in it. I finally did realize that I was supposed to be waking up and it turns out that my alarm was going off for 2 whole minutes. I almost always wake up at the drop of a dime when my alarm goes off, but the exhaustion from hustling around the city all morning and afternoon for a few days really wore me out. Luckily, I was able to pop right out of bed like a rabbit out of their hole when they smell a carrot. However, my mouth was watering for something else: a breakfast that I didn’t have to rush to eat to be able to get out of the door on time. I made a plate of scrambled eggs that you could see the steam rising from, since they were just placed in the dish straight from the kitchen. I added a piece of whole wheat bread, which is normally a brown color, but I toasted it to the point that you could tell it was a much darker brown. I made a small bowl of Frosted Flakes, filled a small cup that was the size of my hand nearly to the rim with ice cold water, and sat down to enjoy my continental feast.
        The group and I jumped onto the streetcar and headed into the Quarter. We exited the streetcar and walked maybe 15 steps and entered The Gumbo Pot for brunch. The inside had many Louisiana staples hanging on the wall, such as lobster figures and instruments. The table was covered in paper. I wondered if we had a child in the group if the hostess would just hand over a few crayons and allow to draw on the tabletop. I guess it is because it is easy clean up on the restaurant’s side, but I just noticed and had a giggle about it in my head. The menu was loaded with so many options. It was so hard to pick just one, so instead I chose two! I picked the jambalaya and the chicken and andouille gumbo. Though rather simple, as I have said before I enjoy having different areas’ takes on these one-pot dishes. The jambalaya was rather simple but delicious. I was stopped in my tracks when I had a piece of sausage that was inside the pile of rice. It was actually rather spicy! Though I was surprised, I was also quite satisfied. I actually enjoy a little spice with my Cajun and creole meals. At that point I ate my sausage sparingly to last through the whole dish because I had to savor it as much as I could. Up next was the gumbo. This meal also had a kick to it, and I loved it even more. I had woken up with a runny nose as the previous day was cold and rainy so it took its toll on me today. Having the gumbo helped clear my sinuses and I could truly smell all of the herbs and spices within the dish. It was pleasing to be able to have that happen because I could actually enjoy the rest of the day with all of my senses, though my hearing is not at its best. Any of my friends can attest to that. My eyesight could also be better, but enough about tearing apart my senses; let’s get to what else went on today.

           

After brunch, we went in front of the St. Louis Cathedral on Decatur where we saw street performers getting ready to show off some skill. They had a large platform set out, designed like 80’s style black and white checkerboard floors. The members of the crew were all matching in their jogging sets that were navy blue with two white stripes going down the sleeves and the sides of the pants. They started by poking fun at pedestrians that were strolling by, which really pleased all of us in the crowd. Laughter roared all through the Quarter. It was attracting attention from those walking across the street and drew them over, almost as though they were hypnotized. Once they gained a large enough crowd, they showed their crazy breakdancing skills for their age. They mentioned that they had been doing this show for 30 plus years and that the oldest member was 58. I hope at that age I can still have the agility that this group has. I was entertained from start to finish.

         

      To end the day, we attended our reservation at Emeril’s five-star restaurant located on Tchoupitoulas, just a few blocks from the hotel. I will admit that I severely underdressed for what I was about to experience. The dark and calming ambiance was opposite of my personality, but once in the zone I knew to respect the restaurant (well, until later that is). There were three servers waiting on our table of six. My seat was pulled out for me. I took my seat and the waiter pushed my seat in. He also laid a white cloth napkin in my lap. The cocktail menu was passed around, the water was passed, and the hors d’oeuvres of three kinds of specialty bread with pads of butter were going around the table. I should mention that this bread was mouth watering. They all had their own unique tastes, yet it was so easy to go from one to the next because there was a craving for the next one. My salad entrée was so sweet and refreshing the way all of the leafy veggies complimented the vinaigrette. For dessert was a sorbet trio. This was also light and refreshing. The bright red was what I assumed to be raspberry, and the orange tasted like orange or peach. When it was mixed with the white sorbet it created another worldly dreamsicle flavor. This five star dining experience was one for the books, but I have to stay my favorite part was the water guy. His sole job was to make sure our water glasses never went empty. I was purposely chugging my water just to see how quickly he would get back to the table to refill my drink. I told him at the end of my day he was my dude because I was never left thirsty. Certainly this will never happen when I go to a Chili’s, so I will definitely make more times to go to famous restaurants like Emeril’s again. I certainly hope my water glass always stays full!

Cabildo, Cafe du Monde, & Cesarean Sections

            Waking up this morning was very difficult.  Often times I find that if my alarm goes off and I am feeling groggy, it is not necessarily because I am genuinely tired. I will know that it is ugly outside, whether it is freezing cold, cloudy, gloomy, and/or rainy. Well, according to my speculations, I was correct about all of these. It is unfortunate that I had to bring the cold weather with me from Illinois to Louisiana, but I guess rain and 40 degrees is better than snow and below zero temperature.

The moment I woke up and moved around I could feel a tightness on my knee. I had only hoped that this would not be an issue for me this trip, but I knew that at some point it would happen. I have patellar tracking disorder and patellofemoral syndrome. Basically, my kneecap is permanently out of place and my cartilage is either not there or is smashed extremely thin. Imagine that someone has a hand on each side of your head and squeezed; all the pressure that would be felt with that, that’s what my knee feels like constantly. I am so used to it by now that even though it does hurt and could restrict my fast-paced walking and ability to use stairs, I push through and still manage to do everything that I must for the day.

I shuffled my feet across the carpet and could hear the electricity building up at my heels. I knew that if I touched a light switch I would surely be done for the day. Luckily the lights were on so I had no worries on that end – thanks roommates! I had not gotten ready for the day and just went down for breakfast with ten minutes to spare. I had some eggs and whole wheat toast and shuffled back upstairs at a quicker pace since I had less than a minute to take off yesterday’s makeup, put on today’s makeup, brush my extremely tangled hair, and put on civilian clothes. It was time to start the day.

I took the streetcar to the French Quarter and headed down to the Cabildo. This museum was full of history of Louisiana, including slavery. This is one topic that I enjoy learning about as it is so crucial to the history of a vast population, but it is very important to the evolution of New Orleans. I could never imagine having to go through what those slaves went through. It looks like torture, as they were tortured themselves. I learned a lot of new information regarding slavery though. I never knew that slaves could save up the money that they earned to be able to buy themselves out of it. I always thought that once they were bought that that was it; they were just toys that when the owners were bored they could be handed down to the next person. They were allowed to have some freedom because they were all baptized Catholic. This is another thing I did not know. Everyone in New Orleans was Catholic, and any slave that came to the area had to be baptized. Because of this, they had Sundays and religious holidays off. The slaves, however, could choose to work those days for other things and earn money. With this they were able to buy out and become “free people of color.”

Something I found interesting in the museum was a post-mortem dissection trunk. A surgeon enjoyed learning about the human body through post-mortem autopsy. In the museum was the trunk in which he kept all of his supplies.

After the museum, my group and I headed to Café du Monde for hot chocolate and beignets. The beignets were so much bigger than I thought they would be! There was so much powdered sugar you could barely see the fried goodness underneath. It was not to hold, but when I took a bite I could feel the warmth of pastry from the inside. It had a slightly crisp outside, but the inside was soft and fluffy. I felt like I went to a whole other world when I took a bite. I got powdered sugar everywhere! I took a bite and one point and got some on my nose. I was self-conscious for hours that I had some on my nose still. The chocolate was so hot that I couldn’t drink it for a long while. It was freezing and rainy outside, so the hot chocolate was the perfect way to help me keep warm in that weather. It was such a smooth drink and I could feel it move through my system and warm my whole body. I wish I could have those beignets every single day for the rest of my life.

To end the day in the perfect way was what I was most excited for in this trip: the pharmacy museum. I was mesmerized by every little thing in that museum. I took in every single bit of information that I could. Though I was interested in all of the offerings in the museum, one room took my eyes and my entire soul: the midwifery room. I want to be a midwife one day, so being able to see the history of my dream career kept me in awe. It was so hard for me to leave that room. I wanted to read every single word and see every single piece, then go back and see them all again. I was amazed at how midwifery was the preferred way for mothers to have their babies back in the day and to be able to see it make a comeback today. There have been so many significant advancements in medicine, especially childbirth. All of the rusted tools and worn down wood of the old gynecology tables kept my attention for more than 30 minutes. It makes me so grateful for the medicine that we can perform today, and I am so honored to be a part of such a worthy field.