Christmas in New Orleans (Elective Post)

For my last post, I have decided to talk about my favorite holiday and what I saw while I was in New Orleans. As many of you know Christmas is right around the corner and it just so happenes to also be my favorite holiday as well! As I walked throughout New Orleans, I was happy to see Christmas trees displayed throughout the city. Not only were there Christmas trees inside the houses, but there was also Christmas trees outside on the decks of the different houses as well. Many houses had greenery wrapped completely around the outside of their porches as well. I found all of this really amazing, and I feel that I saw some of the most beautiful decorations I have ever seen before! I loved being able to walk throughout the French Quarter and see all the decorations on display and the people around the decorations having a great time as well. As we were taking our music tour, I was able to see decorations on many hotels we passed as well. Below are a few pictures of the city lights throughout my time spent in New Orleans! Enjoy! 

Until next time,

Hannah

Farewell New Orleans

Today I was able to say farewell to the beautiful city of New Orleans! I decided to go and take a picture of my favorite place while I took my trip. Throughout my time spent in New Orleans, there were many places that I visited that I really enjoyed so it was very difficult to pick a favorite! I finally decided on picking La Divina which is an Italian restaurant in the French quarter. I first experienced this restaurant while on our cuisine tour, and was able to sample both gelato and a muffuletta which were both amazing! Because the samples just weren't enough, my friends and I continued to come back here throughout the duration of our trip. We celebrated our last day with a scoop of gelato for breakfast! The next time I'm in New Orleans I hope to visit this restaurant once again and would recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting the New Orleans area. Below are a few pictures of myself and the La Divida restaurant. 

As the class comes to an end, I can say I had a good experience in New Orleans but nothing truly beats home! My favorite part of the trip was the pharmacy tour that we went on because it related directly to my future career of nursing. Throughout class time, my favorite part was being able to blog and having the opportunity to let all my readers back home know how I was doing daily. I felt that I learned so much while I was in New Orleans about both myself and the people of New Orleans. I learned that the New Orleans residents truly value family and want to live everyday like it is their last day. I learned that I really like traveling and experiencing the different culture that was down South, and would love to visit once again. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, but I can say without a doubt that I will truly never forget this trip to New Orleans!

Until next time,

Hannah 

Fleur-de-Lis (Elective Post)

When I started my blog, I made a poll to guess how many symbols of the fleur-de-lis I would see while I saw in New Orleans. Throughout my entire time there, I was able to count 31 different times I saw the fleur-de-lis throughout the city (check out some of the pictures below)! I was amazed at how many different times I saw this French symbol. I was able to see this symbol on plates, napkins, flags, and even on city blocks on the street. It was really neat to see how often this symbol was represented and the significance of it as well. Out of all the times I saw the fleur-de-lis, my favorite was on a Christmas display. This symbol was put on every tree that was displayed on the balcony and made for a very New Orleans Christmas feel. I'm so happy to have seen this symbol displayed throughout the different area in New Orleans. I can say that overall I had a great time looking for each of these symbols all throughout the city! 

Until next time,

Hannah

Cabildo & Presbytere

This morning I was able to go on a tour of two wonderful museums called the Cabildo and the Presbytere. The Presbytere explained about the history of Hurricane Katrina and the direct impact that it had on both the people and the city of New Orleans. One of the things that amazed me the most was the different way that the people of New Orleans responded to this crisis. During our tour of the museum, there was a specific booth set up to describe the way that different local heroes helped others during the storm. One story stuck out to me more than another other story that I heard today. This story was about a young man who came upon a women who was in labor after Hurricane Katrina had hit. The man explained that his left hand was cut and that his right hand was infected with dirty water. After removing his hands from the water, the man asked God to bless his hands in order for this baby to be delivered healthy. The man said at the end of the story that the baby survived and ended being extremely healthy. I thought this was especially neat to here because even with all the bad that happened during hurricane Katrina, there was also still some good that came out of everything as well. The word amazed is what kinds to my when I think of my reaction to Hurricane Katrina. I couldn't believe the amount of damage that was done during the storm, but I was also amazed by the generosity of the people as well.

The Cabildo was also a wonderful place to experience as well. Throughout our time at the Cabildo, there were many stories told to me by both the pictures that were on display as well as the artifacts that were there as well. One of the most interesting stories I learned was when I saw a picture of Marie Laveau. The description by the picture stated that there was no pictures of Marie Laveau, and that the painting that was on display was put as someones best guess as to what she looked like. I was really surprised to hear this because the people of New Orleans are very big on incorporating relatives and the stories of families into their culture. I assumed that there would be multiple pictures of family members including real pictures of Marie Laveau, but there was not. Overall, I feel that the Cabildo taught me that culture varies within each family and that every painting truly had a different story.

Until next time,

Hannah

St. Louis Cemetery (Elective Post)

Throughout our trip to New Orleans, we were able to attend a tour that took place within a very famous cemetery here in New Orleans called the St. Louis Cemetery. It was very rainy the day we arrived, but the tour was still a blast and was very educational as well. As we arrived at the cemetery, the first thing I noticed is that all the graves are put above land instead of under the land. Our tour guide explained to us that the reason for this is because it is easier to have the graves above land due to all the flooding that occurs multiple times in New Orleans. While we were here, we were able to see many different graves including graves that belonged to Marie Laveau and the future grave of Nicolas Cage. I really found the grave of Nicolas Cage interesting because the grave marker is set up almost like a pyramid. It was really interesting to see the different grave markers and how each of the family had decided to remember their relatives. One fact that I found very interesting was that every year the families of the deceased family members come out and clean the graves and celebrate their life. I thought this was very interesting and really showed how close the culture truly is here in New Orleans. I also noticed that there was different graves with a marker that had the words "perpetual care" on it. Our tour guide explained to us that those graves that had the perpetual care marker meant that those graves had been paid for and had money set aside to be well kept and taken care of. Overall, the tour was very fascinating to me and I'm very glad I got to experience it! 

Until next time,


Hannah

Ghost Tour (Elective Post)

Today, I have decided to elaborate more on the ghost tour that I was able to attend at the beginning of my trip here in New Orleans. This tour was excellent and really changed the way that I saw New Orleans! At the beginning of the trip, our tour guide explained to us that there has been many tragic deaths here in New Orleans. Natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, have caused many fatalities during unimaginable times of terror. Our tour guide explained that deaths such as these have caused New Orleans to have many spirits left behind and have caused the city to become haunted. One of the first stops on our trip involved stopping at a hotel that was haunted. It was explained to us that the hotel would have many different dances back in the 1800s. Due to a tragic death, the hotel became haunted and our tour guide explained to us that many of the hotel rooms that are still open for people to stay in today are haunted as well. We were also told that there is a disclaimer to anyone who decides to stay in the hotel that they are at their own risk for staying in the rooms that they choose. This was very eye opening to me, as I couldn't imagine staying in a place like that. We also were told stories about the famous Voo Doo Queen and were able to see different homes throughout the city that belonged to many different famous members of New Orleans (including Brad Pitt). My favorite part about this tour wasn't the scary part of it, but was that I learned a lot about the history of New Orleans and why it is so haunted.  

One of Brad Pitt's many homes

Until next time,

Hannah

A Day Full of Information (Excursion)

Today was another great day in the wonderful city of New Orleans. I had the opportunity to attend a museum on Hansen's Disease first thing this morning. While I was there, I was really exposed to the different effects that this disease had on many people. I was able to see the different tools that were created to help those who had been diagnosed with Hansen's Disease in order for them to be able to eat properly. I also heard a story that was told by a former resident at the hospital where those with Hansen's Disease were treated as well. I learned that Hansen's Disease affects many people and can eat away at their limbs as well. This disease made me realize how fortunate we are to have modern medicine readily available to treat Hansen's Disease. I wish I could take all of you on a tour to this museum, because I highly recommend the experience that I had throughout the time that I was there.

The second experience that I had today was when I went to the Whitney Plantation. This museum explained the life of the slaves who lived in various plantations in the South back in the 1800s. I was able to see the various houses that the slaves lived in as well as the house that the owners of the slaves lived in as well. I also watched a video and was able to hear the story behind the reason why the Whitney Plantation Museum was created. Throughout my time spent there today, I learned that there were many children persecuted compared to what I had at first thought. I felt that it was sad to learn about the deaths, but understood that the point of the museum was to educate others about the history of slavery. I would also recommend this museum to any of you reading this as well because of the great educational experience that is available when you go to the Whitney Plantation. If I could sum up both of my experiences today into one lesson, that lesson would be to always be open to the various educational experiences that are out there when touring different museums. I'm so happy to have had the different opportunities that I did today to attend the various tours that I got to be apart of!

Until next time,

Hannah