The Gumbo that is New Orleans

During our three hour tour, I again realized how many cultures and people contributed to what New Orleans is today. Milton described New Orleans as a gumbo, and I am fairly certain I heard another tour guide say the same thing. I believe what they mean by this is, like an gumbo, New Orleans is a mixture of different things and the end product just somehow works, and it works perfectly. I believe that it is absolutely true. We were even told that in the city of New Orleans, a German bakery makes a lot of the French bread. At first, I thought it was mainly Spanish, French, and African people, but there are many different Europeans in New Orleans that came over when the city was first being populated. This includes German, Italian, and Irish, which was surprising to me because when you think of New Orleans you mainly think of the French.
Something that I was unaware of before arriving in New Orleans is the crazy amount of firsts. New Orleans had the first opera, the first cocktail, first pharmacist, first movie theater, and many others. It seemed as if during every tour, especially this three hour tour, there was a multitude of firsts mentioned.
Another interesting fact I learned while in the St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, was Protestants had their own section of mausoleums towards the back corner of the cemetery. This is because the cemetery is a Catholic cemetery, and they felt the need to separate the Protestants from the Catholics, even in death. It was amazing to me that in a city that had the most free people of color, and women had more rights than anywhere else during that time period, they still separated people according to their religion. Even when Protestants and Catholics both believe in the same God, and mostly the same principles because they are both Christian faiths.

It felt like we were only in Congo Square for a short time, but it was definitely one of my favorite parts of the tour. While standing in the square, I could almost see in my mind's eye the gathering of many enslaved Africans singing, drumming, and dancing. It was amazing to me that they could raise money to escape slavery by selling and trading goods. This was also the birthplace of music as we know it today, at least that is what was said to us by Milton. Creole folk music was developed in Congo Square, and the rhythm of this music is what inspired Jazz music. Jazz inspires the blues, the blues inspired rock and roll and hip hop, and so on and so forth. So, in a way, Congo Square is one of the places, if not the place, where music as we know it in America today started. This is extremely interesting to me because I have always been a lover of music, and to see the place that inspired Jazz, and subsequently other genres of music, is incredible.

Picture displayed in Congo Square

Three Hour Tour

We began our three hour walking tour of the city on top of the stairs overlooking Jackson Square at around eight in the morning. We were all bundled up, and most of us had hot chocolate or coffee from Cafe Du Monde. It was a bitterly cold day, but standing in the sun helped. Milton, our tour guide, had a loud, deep voice, and he did not stumble once over dates or events in New Orleans. He spoke with confidence, and he had a good sense of humor as well.
My favorite part of the tour had to be the St. Louis Cemetery No. 1. The cemetery was surrounded by a concrete wall, and I discovered that bodies were in the wall. This was once a way of temporarily storing the bodies, but it became a permanent resting place for many. The cemetery was a mix of mausoleums that were in perfect condition, and some that were falling apart such as the one pictured below.

 

Graves in the wall of the cemetery

 In New Orleans, these cemeteries are called cities of the dead. This is because the graves are decorated in a way that resembles buildings in New Orleans. Many graves have iron fences on the front of them that resemble the galleries and balconies on the buildings in the French Quarter. Many of the graves also have roofs that are resemble these buildings as well. Another reason why these cemeteries are called cities of the dead is because the above ground graves are pretty densely packed together, like it is in the city. Lastly, there are multiple bodies in a single grave, and they have different heights.

One of the most interesting above ground graves in the cemetery is the grave of Marie Laveau, also known as the voodoo queen. There are three different places where she may be buried, but most believe that she is in the mausoleum that the rest of her family's bodies are. Milton explained to us that some people believe that if you draw three X's on Marie Laveau's grave and wish for something, you invoke the spirit of Marie Laveau to make it come true. If the wish did come true, people would come back and circle the three X's that they drew. Unfortunately, this had led to extreme vandalism to Marie Laveau's grave. They have since attempted to cover these marks, but as shown below, people still get into the cemetery to make a wish at her grave.

Marie Laveau's Grave

Circled X's drawn on after it was repainted.

We ended our tour at the historic Congo Square within Louis Armstrong Park. This spot was considered sacred ground by the Indians before the arrival of the French. When the French arrived with slaves, the slaves would gather here and sell and trade goods in order to buy their freedom. This spot is most famous for the gatherings of enslaved Africans who would sing, dance, drum, and sell and trade on Sunday afternoons. These gatherings would involve as many as 600 people. This square is surrounded by unique tress that are hundreds of years old.

On My Own in New Orleans

Exploring the city on my own was an entirely different experience from the tours and traveling together as a class. I enjoyed the freedom of being able to take as long as I liked, and I was able to see the city in a new light. Don't get me wrong I love the walking tours and the museums, but since there is so much to see and do, I have felt a little rushed the first few days. Also I am pretty introverted, so it was nice to be able to recharge by myself for a while.
Being out on my own, I found that I was less shy and more adventurous. When touring the Museum of Death I asked the curator many questions, and I actually had a fairly long conversation with him about the collection at the museum. This is something that I would not have done with my whole class nearby, and I am not sure why. I am just more comfortable by myself or with someone I have known for awhile, like Karissa. Also, I have found that most people in New Orleans are very kind and willing to answer questions or just talk to me because I am a tourist.
I really enjoyed just wandering the French Quarter with nowhere to be and no limiting factors, especially Royal Street. I have never been a very artsy person myself, but I appreciate art and the skill it takes to make art. I will admit that I often do not understand art, but that makes it all the more interesting to research what inspired the artist. An excellent example of this is an artist by the name of George Rodrigue. I did not understand what the big deal was about the blue dog. It is a fairly simple painting, but it became immensely popular and well known. Again, I was talking the ear off of someone who was working in the gallery and had a few of my questions answered. I admitted to her that I found the image of the blue dog to be slightly unsettling due to the red or yellow eyes, but at the same time I began to understand the significance of the paintings.

From Tarot Card Readings to Pizza

Today we were able to explore the city completely on our own. I decided to do a few things that I wanted to do, but then I also wanted to relax for a part of the day. Karissa, Edi, and I departed from the hotel around 11:30 in the morning for the streetcar station. We took the streetcar to Toulouse Street, and we made our way to Jackson Square. We stopped at the first tarot card and palm reader we saw, and yes there were multiple readers there with tables set up despite the cold weather. She was an older woman with several teeth missing from her bottom row. On her table sat a fake skull, a pillar stand for a candle, tarot cards, three rocks with crystals inside them, and a pack of cigarettes. I pulled up a blue lawn chair that was missing an arm on my left side and watched as my two friends got their tarot cards read. I noticed that the woman would not make much eye contact with them, and her nose was running from the cold. When it was my turn to have my tarot cards read I moved to the chair in front of the woman. I was told to shuffle the cards and then hand them back to her. She split the deck into three piles, and she proceeded to read my cards one by one. According to her reading, in the next six months I am going to be betrayed by someone, but it is not going to be a friend or a family member. Although, the betrayer will fail because everything else in my life is seemingly perfect according to the cards.

My Tarot cards

The next destination for our group was a restaurant called Mother's. When we first arrived in New Orleans we asked our Uber driver where the best place to get "homemade southern cookin'" was, and he told us we had to go to Mother's. When we arrived it was packed with people. We stood in line to order our food and pay. We were given our receipts and went to find a table. There were three large rooms, and nearly every table was taken. Once we found a table in the back corner of the restaurant, a very kind man came up to us and took our receipts. It was a very different process of getting food than what I am used to. The food was absolutely amazing. I ordered red beans and rice with ham, green beans with tomatoes, and potato salad. It sounds like it would be a fairly bland meal, but it was full of flavor. It was the ultimate comfort food.

My meal from Mother's.

Next, Karissa and I went to the Museum of Death. Now, I am trying to think of a way to explain this museum without sounding like someone who is completely insane. Basically, the Museum of Death is everything to do with death. It was morbid, but fascinating. The biggest exhibit they had had to do with serial killers, such as Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, etc. They even had an original piece of art by John Wayne Gacy as Pogo the clown. Unfortunately I was unable to take pictures of the inside of the museum.
After the Museum of Death, we made our way to Royal Street. This was my favorite part of the day because of the beautiful artwork we saw in the galleries. It was freezing on the street, but the galleries were nice and warm. I will save my favorite artists and artwork for my future art post. Seeing original paintings up close was interesting because I could really see the brush strokes and style of the artist. Also, I noticed beautiful buildings with galleries on Royal Street that I had to photograph.

Building on Royal Street

One of the more interesting paintings I saw in a gallery on Royal Street

After Royal Street we started to make our way back to the streetcar station to head back to the hotel. On the way I made an impromptu stop in The Fudgery. I could smell the fudge from all the way down the street and it pulled me into the store. I ordered a cookies and cream milkshake, despite the cold temperate outside.
Once we were back at the hotel we decided to stay in for the night. It was so cold out, and we wanted to work on our blog posts, travel guides, and watch Friends. We ordered Pizza from Angeli on Decatur, and it was some of the best pizza I have ever had. The sauce was slightly spicy, the crust was thin but not too thin, soft but not soggy, and the pepperoni added just the right amount of flavor. Overall, it was a really great day.

Cabildo and Pharmacy Museum Part 2

Both the Cabildo and the Pharmacy Museum were very interesting to visit. I feel like I gained a much deeper understanding of the history of New Orleans and even the deep south as a whole from visiting the Cabildo, also known as the Louisiana State Museum. I will be completely honest here and say that I did not know a thing about the Battle of New Orleans. In fact, I did not even realize that there was a Battle of New Orleans. I hope I am not the only one. So, the Cabildo was most definitely a learning experience for me. I also did not realize how much of an impact Andrew Jackson had on this community. One of the largest exhibits at the Cabildo was about Andrew Jackson. Not to mention Jackson Square, where there is a huge statue of Andrew Jackson on a horse tipping his hat.
New Orleans has been through so much through its history, and I believe that it has shaped the people that live here today. From the native Americans who first lived here, wars, French and Spanish takeovers, and multiple tragedies that have happened (two major fires, two major hurricanes, etc.), it has shaped the people who live here and the way they live. I hope the community realizes how interesting, and sometimes complicated, the history of their city is.

Andrew Jackson exhibit at the Cabildo.

As a nursing student, the Pharmacy Museum was probably the most interesting tour I have been on so far. The tour guide was also a factor in why I enjoyed the tour so much. He had a good sense of humor about the whole thing, and he was very informative about the devices and medicines used in the early days of pharmacies. I am interested in psychiatric/mental health nursing, so I found it so interesting and unbelievable that an accepted form of treatment for many mental illnesses was the use of cocaine. I understand why they used it, but it is still so shocking to me. As the tour guide said, in the future I am sure we will look back at the drugs and treatments we use today and wonder how we ever thought some of them were a good idea.
It seemed to me that everything early medical professionals thought would be a good idea turned out to be a terrible idea. Syringes were completely unhygienic due to the reuse of needles, and there was no way to take them apart to clean them. Also, on early forms of syringes the needle was very blunt or very unnecessarily long. To top it all off, some of made with lead. Pills that were bought by the wealthy were coated with gold or silver. The pills probably had no affect anyway, but if they did they would simply pass right through someone's system without dissolving due to the coating. What makes this especially interesting is the poor would go to nontraditional healers and the herbs they used would sometimes actually work, whereas the rich were just getting even sicker.
Overall, I learned many interesting facts about early medicine and I learned that the only way to figure out if something works is by trial and error. From the information given at the museum, you would think that the medical professionals who thought of some of those ideas were completely insane. But in reality their ideas were monumental in the formation of medical care that we have today.

Leeches used for bloodletting, which is still used in certain situations in healthcare.

Picture in the Pharmacy Museum

Cabildo and Pharmacy Museum

The Cabildo is one of the most beautiful buildings in New Orleans, and it is home to the Louisiana State Museum. It is situated in the heart of the French Quarter, in Jackson Square right next to the St. Louis Cathedral. It contains three floors, and each floor describes a different part of history of New Orleans and Louisiana in chronological order. The first floor of the Cabildo contains exhibits and artifacts from the very beginning of the state of Louisiana. It mostly focused on the indigenous population that lived in Louisiana prior to the arrival of the Europeans. It contains many artifacts that date back to the early 1700s and possibly even before. Another item on the first floor of the Cabildo is Napoleon's death mask. A mold of Napoleon's face was taken forty hours after his death, and this mold was used to cast a bronze mask.

Rosary from around 1700.

Napoleon's death mask.

The second floor of the museum focused on the Battle of New Orleans. There were various weapons on display, paintings, and most interesting was a frame containing a lock of Andrew Jackson's hair. Well, supposedly Andrew Jackson's hair. This floor also had a few interactive exhibits. This included lifting different cannonballs up to twenty-five pounds, a video about pirates, and becoming a part of art (this makes more sense in the picture below).

Me becoming a part of the art

Wall dedicated to Andrew Jackson

Possibly (but not likely) Andrew Jackson's hair

Lastly, the third floor of the Cabildo was dedicated to around the Civil War time period and a little before. This floor had a ton of information about life during that time period, especially concerning the life of slaves and slave trading. New Orleans and Louisiana had a huge market for slaves, therefore slaves were sold everywhere throughout the city.

Slave collar with bells. Some slaves would put mud in them to stop them from ringing.

Clothes and household items from the mid-1800s

The next stop of our day was the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum. Upon arriving in this shop, I was instantly reminded of something straight out of Harry Potter. Labeled glass containers full of different colored substances lined the walls of the room. There was a slightly musty smell, and the room itself was dimly lit when I first walked in. The first licensed pharmacist in the United States worked out of New Orleans, and his name was Louis J. Dufilho. Getting this license required extensive training, and a three hour oral examination.
I started on the second floor of the pharmacy museum, where there was plenty on display. The exhibits upstairs included midwifery, early vaccinations, dental tools, ophthalmology, and the use of alcohol in medicine.

Early vaccinations

Medicines used in midwifery

On the first floor of the pharmacy museum we were given a guided tour. A ton of interesting information was given, and the tour guide had a lot of energy and passion for what he was talking about. Many practices in early medicine included lead, arsenic, cocaine, heroine, gold and silver coated pills, and horrible hygiene practices. All of this was evidenced by the many artifacts found buried in the courtyard of the pharmacy (this means they were actually used), and from items that  were transferred to the pharmacy from the old location.

January 5th Part Two

I keep mentioning Ireland in my blog posts, but it difficult not to because I see so many similarities between Dublin and New Orleans. Something that very much interests me between those two cities is the impact of religion. Catholicism is the most popular religion in New Orleans, as it is in Dublin, but New Orleans celebrates their beliefs in very different ways. Mardi Gras is based off of the Catholic calendar. That is beside the point I am trying to make, but still just something I have noticed. What I am trying to say is I can feel the sense of community in New Orleans because of religion. When I went into the St. Louis Chapel, I saw people praying and people constantly coming in to take pictures. It is a staple of New Orleans, and it is a church. Many of the more elaborate and beautiful buildings in New Orleans are there because of Catholicism. I was raised Catholic, went to Catholic school for nine years, confirmed in the seventh grade, and all the other rituals that pertain to the Catholic faith. I have since had a falling out with my faith, and I have not been to church in quite some time. Being in the St. Louis cathedral and the Old Ursuline Convent has somewhat made me miss that feeling of community with other Catholics. Being in New Orleans and seeing the massive influence of the French Catholics, Spanish Catholics, and others has caused me truly think about what I used to so deeply believe in.
It was very interesting to be in the St. Louis cathedral, with the detailed statue of Joan of Arc, the baptismal font that has been used for years, and the portrait of Pope John Paul II, and then walk out of the cathedral and immediately see tarot card readers, palm readers, and self-proclaimed psychics. On top of that, this is completely normal in this city. Strangely, I love it. New Orleans is a city that loves tradition, and the traditions here are different and out there to me. But that is what makes this city so great in my eyes. On one hand of New Orleans there is this rich and interesting history and more traditional, if you will. And on the other there are psychics, voodoo, street performers, and plenty of fascinating artists who are outside of the norm.

The St. Louis Cathedral is right to the left of "Little Fae Sway" who does readings and gives spiritual advice

Speaking of artists, I thoroughly enjoyed the art on Frenchmen Street. I wish art was as big a deal in Peoria as it is in New Orleans. I bought a small print for five dollars from a man who looked so happy that I was interested in his artwork. Having no artistic ability myself, I told him how much I liked it and I loved how different it was. I do not think I have ever seen someone look at me with so much appreciation in their smile and eyes before. I bought a print from him, and then I bought three more prints from another artist on Frenchmen.

"Harpoon Blooz" by Typfy Art. Don't ask me why I love it so much.