Arrival Part 1

After what felt like an eternity, I have finally made it to New Orleans. The train station in New Orleans was slightly hectic at first. We all got off the train and immediately had to move out of the way of two luggage carriers honking at us. Our luggage was pulled off the train quickly though, and Edi called an Uber to come pick us up from the station. Honestly the whole process felt very fast, and I barely had time to truly take in my surroundings in the train station. I did notice that there were more people than there were at the train station in New Orleans. Our Uber driver arrived within a few minutes in a black cube-shaped car. On the drive to the hotel New Orleans looked like any other major city. Tall, gray buildings surrounded us, there were many cars and taxis, the sidewalks were crowded with people, and the people driving wanted to quickly get where they were going. On the way to the hotel, the driver missed the entrance at first. We had to loop around the building twice before finally finding the entrance to our hotel. At this point in my journey, New Orleans seemed to be like every other city I have been to. It was crowded, noisy, slightly dirty, and smelled like gas from the cars. The hotel we are staying at is called the Springhill Suites New Orleans Downtown. The room is very spacious, and it has a fridge, microwave, and desk. There is plenty of room for three girls to get ready in the morning.

Onto the more exciting event of the trip: the French Quarter. To start off, the streetcar to the French Quarter was not as I expected. I had imagined it running down the middle of the street, kind of like the cable cars in San Francisco. Instead, the streetcar has its own part in the city, and it feels like it is more to the outside of the city. It has been a great way to get around so far, especially with the Jazzy passes.  

The memory card in my camera wasn't inserted correctly, so the picture I took did not save.

The French Quarter is exactly what I pictured New Orleans to be. As soon as I got off the streetcar I saw the different colored buildings. They were also different sizes and not the usual size of major city buildings.

While walking down Decatur street I looked to my left and saw the St. Louis Cathedral for the first time. The sun had mostly set, but there was still a little light left that lit the sky behind the clouds. The cathedral was also lit up from the front, making the building really stand out.

After being briefly introduced to the French Quarter, we made our way to a restaurant named Pierre Maspero's. I was feeling very hungry,  and everything on the menu sounded delicious. I ended up ordering blackened chicken alfredo and caramel bread pudding for dessert. The blackened chicken alfredo was creamy and full of flavor. The bread pudding was some of the best bread pudding I have ever had. The bread was dense and warm, and the caramel sauce was perfect with the ice cream and whipped cream.