Let the Site Seeing Begin

Outer Journey

We finally got to see New Orleans during the day! It was quite beautiful. We left the hotel at around 7:15-7:30 in the morning and headed to Jackson Square. It was a little chilly outside, 50 degrees and very windy. As we got closer to the river, it got winder. We arrived to the square a little early so we walked to the river to see the sites and it was stunning. The sun was still rising, the water was splashing on the steps in front of us, there was a bridge, and some boats. 

Once we began our tour with Milton, a local gentleman who was born and raised in New Orleans, also known as a Creole. Creole means that the parents moved here from another country and had the child here in Louisiana. He took us around Jackson Square and explained some of the architecture and the knowledge behind it. How the buildings were built by a gentleman named Andres Almonester, then later finished by his daughter Micaela Almonester who was the Baroness of Pontalba. They had a strong influence in the French Quarter, especially in Jackson Square. The father had a lot of money and when he passed away, it all went to the daughter, Micaela. When she finished the buildings, the fencing that was around it had a unique design and if you looked closely enough you would be able to see the initials “AP”. Furthermore, the individuals who made the fencing on these apartment buildings and the gate around Jackson Square are completely unique to this area and can’t be replicated today. 

We traveled to Congo Square where the slaves would meet on Sunday’s and sell their goods or trades to gain the money to become a free person of color. There was a lot of dancing and music played there as well. 

We made a stop at the Saint Louis Cemetery One, which is a Catholic cemetery that has a small area in the back for individuals who were Presbyterian. There are rumors that Marie Laveau buried there, although the catch is, they say she has three different burial sites within this cemetery, and two more throughout the city. They believe that she is at this one in particular because her daughters are buried there. Nicholas Cage, the actor has a pyramid here for his burial one day as well. This area is guarded and you have to sign in with the tour guides prior to walking through. 

Later in the day, we went on the pharmacy tour. The building was built in 1823. Louisiana was the first state to implement a medical license before you could legally practice medicine here. The first female to be a pharmacist and practice medicine was a Nun by the name of Sister France Xavier. The pharmacy has this items in the front glass window that are called “show globes”. The show globes were to alert the public of things that are going on. Therefore, when the show globes are light up “red” it means that there is a dangerous disease. At one point in time, the building upstairs was converted to a dentist office, child birthing area, and minor surgeries. An interesting bit of information is that in the 1840’s in New York City was the first city that had a pharmacy open to a person of color. Meanwhile, it was not until the 1930’s that a person of color was able to open a pharmacy in Louisiana. 

To end our day, we looked at art in a few different art galleries on Royal Street and listening to music on Frenchman Street. There was one art gallery that tried to get us to buy a piece that was 15 hundred dollars. The piece was of a naked woman standing holding a rope. Well, we laughed at him and told him absolutely not because we are broke college students. While we were on Frenchman Street there were so many bars that had different bands singing and it was all different. There was a band that played at 39 which sounded pretty good, they played some different cover songs and gave it their own twist. They seemed to be more like an alternative type band, but I am not very good at knowing some genres of music so that’s just my best guess. 

Overall, the trip has been a great learning experience filled with lots of amazing history, music, and art. 

Inner Journey

Well, the weather would have been great if it wasn’t for the wind! Isn’t that such a Midwestern thing to say? But in this case, it was so true. I am absolutely exhausted and freezing cold even though I went back to the hotel to get more layers. As I sit here and write this, I am trying to unthaw. After the sun went down, it got down into the 40’s and the wind would just go straight through you. 

All the tours that we went on were very educational and you got to see some beautiful architecture. Our first tour guide, Milton was extremely smart, kind, and funny. He took us so many places around the city and showed us many different things, but one thing that I loved most about him was that he talked to us about his personal experiences with things. Milton told us things about his life and what he experienced as a person of color and as a Creole. Another thing that I thought was very noble of him was that if we asked a question that he really did not know the answer to, he wouldn’t try to answer it or make something up. 

The houses that we saw like the shotgun house and the Creole house were extremely gorgeous. The amount of architecture on the houses was breath taking and to know that it was all done by hand is out of this world. I truly have no words. Milton informed us that each house would be different in architecture unless it was two houses that belonged to the same family. 

The pharmacy tour was interesting because we learned about things that we never knew anything about. Additionally, they would show us things that they found buried in the courtyard of the building after the pharmacy had closed down. They had found these syringes that they used back in the day and being able to compare those to what we use know and how things are sterilized completely different is outstanding. One of the things that the gentleman said that took me by surprise was that the first syringe ever made did not have a needle, you would have to make an incision and then inject the medication. It was not until the 1860’s that they got a needle but, they could never properly clean it because they could not take the needle/syringe a part. Well, just thinking about that makes me cringe because I could not imagine the germs that they are giving to everyone. Honestly, I have become somewhat of a germ freak, and things like this make my skin crawl. Although, one thing that I did not like about this tour was how crowded the place got. Everyone was way too close and I couldn't see half of what he showed. 

I truly never knew that I would get to learn so many interesting facts in these tours or that I would even be able to remember them all, but I couldn’t be more excited about it. I have loved every moment of these tours, minus being cold! I can’t wait to see what more I learn tomorrow.