First Impressions

All I have to say is... wow! New Orleans is different from any type of city I have been to or imagined. I think I really gained some excitement when we were about 15 minutes out from New Orleans. When the train was traveling over the water, I felt like New Orleans was its own personal city and the water separated it from the rest of the country. It makes it feel special. When we were arriving into the train station, to be quite honest, it was quite a dump. There was garbage in the ditches next to the train tracks and the buildings looked very run down. When we exited the train and walked into the train station, I instantly felt this vibe. I can't really explain the vibe, but it was a happy one. There were paintings on the wall that were small points that played out the history of New Orleans. There were pictures of Andrew Jackson, and many people playing a variety of instruments. After we grabbed our luggage, that is when we ventured into the real New Orleans to get to the hotel.


On the ride to the hotel, I noticed the WWII museum, which is what I am looking forward to seeing. Now the driving is something I noticed very quickly. The roads we so confusing and the lights take forever to change. Since I am from Chicago, I am very familiar with lots of horn honking and rude, reckless drivers. Here in New Orleans, they are not like that at all. They are calm drivers, and I have heard very few horn honks. I think some of the ones I heard were for people to recognize where the car was.

Shortly after exiting the train, we took an Uber to the hotel and our driver was stuck in the intersection for a short time, but the other drivers did not beep at her or give dirty looks. They just patiently waited their turn. When we finally got to the hotel, I was taken aback by how nice it was when we entered. There was a man waiting to take our bags and kindly put them on the cart to bring to our rooms. While we were standing in the lobby, I took a moment to look outside at the streets and noticed an apartment who had a Cubs flag waving. Even all the way in New Orleans.... Go Cubbies!

Honestly, all you have to do is look at the buildings and you know that each and every one has such a unique story. The biggest thing that captured my eye was the detail on the buildings. My dad is a carpenter, so I understand the work that goes into creating detail on anything. The biggest thing to me is that all of the buildings have such unique detail that is strategically placed, which makes it sacred to New Orleans itself. When you travel to other cities, you will not see the buildings that you see here. Let alone the location of the buildings are perfect. Now I love how New Orleans is a city, but you do not get the city feel. It is more so a homey feel to me. Compared to Chicago, there is no traffic here in New Orleans, which I love. When we were touring Jackson Square, it took me a second to realize that there was very little traffic, but just the people who were walking in the area.

We took a Streetcar to get into Jackson square, which was so cool. I love that they look so old fashioned, which is what makes them so unique. I don't think I have ever been on a Streetcar until last night. When we got to the French Quarter, I could not get over how beautiful the buildings were. When we walked past the statue of Andrew Jackson, I was taken aback by it. When we walked the streets, I saw street performers, which was expected. There was a guy with this very odd looking instrument, but when he played it, it sounded cool.



For dinner, we headed to the Original Pierre Maspero's. It is a cute little restaurant on the corner. We had to wait outside for roughly 15 minutes before being seated because we arrived earlier than our scheduled dinner time. The workers greeted us at the door and the first thing I noticed was their kindness. They were intrigued to hear about our trip and asked us what we thought so far. I thought it was funny that it was about 55 degrees (give or take) and they had a space heater located outside the entrance of the restaurant as if it was just too cold. When I looked around at people on the streets, they were wearing winter coats as if this weather was awful. To me, 55 degrees is a nice fall day and all you really need is a light jacket, but I was fine throughout the tour in my sweater. Now, the food was PHENOMENAL. For an appetizer, I split alligator legs with someone and those were very good as well. For my meal, I had shrimp and grits, which was absolutely incredible. A classmate next to me got crab cakes and oh my, next time I have to get those! I just cannot get over how good the food was.



Shortly after we finished eating, we went down the street to PJ's coffee and I got a white chocolate cappuccino. I'm not a huge fan of white chocolate, but I figured since I am here, I am going only get food or drinks that are out of my element. It turned out to actually be really good and I might have to get one again while we are here on our trip.



New Orleans has really not only taught me, but shown me how much history actually plays a role in the city. As I said earlier, you can just see the history by looking at a building. You know there is a reason for the placement of them. When we spoke of the Poltalba buildings, I was amazed at how large they are. The architecture of each building just showed how old the buildings are and I couldn't help, but keep thinking of the history and how each place has this crazy old history of its own. I mean when my instructor spoke about the positioning of Andrew Jackson's statue and how he always tips his hat to Baroness Micaela Almonester Pontalba. Whether it is a joke or not, I might stick with that story because I like it. The reason it's funny is because Pontalba and Jackson were having an affair while he was there. I think with the affair, it gives the history a mystery that no one will really know about, which leaves it even more intriguing as you're going through.



When we did the Ghost tour, we heard multiple different stories, and these stories got me thinking. I mean honestly ever corner you turn I bet has history that is there, but we only hear the big prominent ones as tourists. When we have gone into places, I ask the worker or waiter/waitress small questions about the place. I make small talk with them to listen for any slight accents or for any stories they have. I ask for their recommendations while I am there about anything that is a must see. The waitress at Original Pierre Maspero's gave me some tips while we were there. I have to say the waiters/waitresses at that restaurant were very kind, which gave me a nice feel for New Orleans that not everyone is standoffish. When I briefly went into Marie Laveau's Voodoo shop, I did not get the friendly view. The cashier was very standoffish and you almost felt as if she did not want you there. Personally, I did not want to be there either, but rather have a look around to experience it. That is honestly how I feel about the trip though. I just want to experience it, I want to go places and learn the history while actually looking at the site. For my personality of being such a visual learner, it is really helping me as I go place to place and we talk.

When I boarded the Streetcar home, I sat there and thought about how this is the lifestyle down here. As I sat there, I thought about how it is hard for people to appreciate the history of something that they have lived in for so long. Although here in New Orleans, it is different and the people do seem to appreciate the history. They keep the voodoo going because some have such a strong belief for it. Last night during our Ghost tour, I saw at least 10 different tours and that was just last night. The tour was probably not a ghost tour, but either way, it was learning the legend or history of a certain location. New Orleans is a very special place, and I cannot wait to keep diving into the heart of it.