When we first arrived in New Orleans, I was beginning to worry that spending two months in New Orleans would lead to us running out of things to do and getting bored. As our time in The Big Easy was drawing to an end, I was starting to realize how much we still had left to do! Because of our various injuries during our stay, we were significantly behind on some of the things I had planned. We did what sane, rational people do – decided to squeeze in as much as possible in our last week in town and to hell with the physical consequences. That’s normal and healthy, right?
On Friday night (February 24) after John got off work, we decided to head back to City Park. We had intended to visit the museum ever since our fist visit to the park but the timing just hadn’t worked out so we did the next best thing, we visited the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden – a fenced in portion of the park just behind the museum that housed a large collection of sculptures and statues by various artists. Some of the sculptures were really beautiful and others were….interesting. Our visit was a little rushed as we arrived only about an hour before closing but, with my leg still acting up, it was probably for the best. We weren’t able to make it through the entire space but we did see several sculptures and installations and really had a nice time.
On Saturday, we drove over to Metairie to visit the cemetery there. For most people, cemeteries are places of sadness and are usually a bit depressing. In New Orleans, the cemeteries contain so much history and are full of beautiful mausoleums and statuary that they are a tourist attraction on their own. Sadly, because some of these graves are so old and because some people are disrespectful assholes, many of the cemeteries have been closed to the public. Metairie cemetery is much newer but just as stunning and does still allow visitors. It is also much larger, being settled on a grassy hill just outside of New Orleans, and is able to be driven through. By this time I was able to walk for about 30 minutes at a time before my nerve pain would flare up so we got into a lovely rhythm of walking among the monuments for a little while, then driving ahead until something caught our eye, then getting out and walking for a bit again. There were paved roadways for the cars and the graves were spread out in orderly rows with grassy walkways in-between. It was so quiet and peaceful.
We saw incredible mausoleums with stained glass windows, gorgeous statues, and historical monuments. Some of the tombs had started to crack or crumble but most were in remarkable condition. Several mausoleums had the stained glass broken out but were still impressive. John even found us an audio tour that he was able to download that provided driving and walking directions through the graveyard and pointed out interesting sights along the way. I think John had been a little skeptical when I said I wanted to explore a cemetery but I think he really enjoyed himself as well.
We had planned this visit for the morning so that we could spend a few hours and then grab some lunch at Drago’s. Several people had recommended this restaurant to me and I had been wanting to get there for several weeks. They have a location downtown and another in Metairie. I had heard that they were both about the same as far as quality but that the one in Metairie was often less busy so that is the location we chose. It was amazing. We had a 1/2 Dozen Charbroiled Oysters, the Bayou Roll, Crawfish Salad, and the Crawfish Fest which included Crawfish Etouffee, a Crawfish Cake, and Crawfish Mac & Cheese. We didn’t care for the Crawfish Cake (like a Crab Cake) or the Etouffee but everything else was DELICIOUS!
After lunch, we drove over to Carrollton to do something that John had been excited about since we first arrived- riding the street car. We had been to Carrollton our first night in town and felt fairly comfortable there. It was definitely one of the safest areas we could think of to leave the car for this adventure. We scouted the area and found a place to park down a quiet residential street near the end of the St. Charles Street Car line. We parked (for free!) and walked the few blocks to the first stop on the line. On the way, we visited an outdoor art market and I bought a few cool stickers and two awesome pairs of earrings.
The streetcar was boarding when we arrived so we hopped right on. The St. Charles has been running since 1835 making it the oldest continuously running streetcar line in the world. It still has wooden seats and no air conditioning but there is a nice breeze with the windows open once it gets moving (it was in the upper 70’s when we were on it and we were very comfortable).
We passed through some incredible neighborhoods on the way down to the French Quarter. You could easily tell which streets had been on parade routes but the beads hanging in the trees lining the streets. On the parade routes, you could also tell which offices or apartments were vacant because, with no tenants to clean up, there was a buildup of beads and toys on the balconies.
We rode all the way down to the very edge of the French Quarter and then got off the street car. We walked a few blocks toward the river and got in line for the ferry across the Mississippi to Algiers Point. We had ridden the ferry over from Chalmette on a previous occasion but this crossing was right in the middle of downtown and offered a beautiful view of the city skyline. As luck would have it, we were there at sunset and it was lovely. We rode across and walked around for a few minutes taking pictures of the French Quarter as the sun dipped toward the horizon in the background. When we were in the Quarter, I had thought that it was kind of dirty and a little scary but seeing it from the opposite side of the river with the sunset painting it beautiful shades of pink and orange, it was quite lovely.
Because my leg was hurting, we caught the ferry back on its next trip then walked the couple of blocks back to catch the St. Charles line. We waited a few minutes but the car arrived quickly. We hopped on and were lucky enough to snag seats (the pain in my leg meant that standing was not an option). It was pretty full for the first several stops but by the time we reached the end of the line in Carrollton, there were only a handful of riders left. The price for the round trip street car ride plus the ferry were covered by the transportation pass that we had purchased on our phones earlier in the day. It was $3 per person for this unique adventure.
We ended the day with dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Carrollton, La Patrona, then drove back across town to our house – completely exhausted from the day.
At this point, I feel like I should tell you all that I am a breakfast eater. I love it. I could eat breakfast food for every single meal and be happy as a clam. John is not a breakfast eater. He actually went through a period where the very sight of eggs would make him nauseous. He can’t stand even the thought of a breakfast burrito. When I wake up, the first thing on my mind is what I am going to have for breakfast. John prefers something simple like a bagel with peanut butter or he skips breakfast all together and waits for lunch. It is the greatest point of contention in our marriage.
Fortunatley for me, John loves me very much and is generally willing, one day per week, to suffer through breakfast. This is usually on Sunday mornings. And, because he loves me, will look for a really well rated or really unique breakfast experience on those days. This week, he chose Sunday morning Jazz Brunch at The Court of Two Sisters in the French Quarter. Brunch was served buffet style and consisted of a station for eggs benedict, piles of sausage and bacon, pans of scrambled eggs and potatoes, mounds of crawfish, plus a bar with cereal, fresh fruit and pastries. I was in heaven. The food was amazing however the musicians seemed to be on break the entire time we were there so the “Jazz Brunch” was missing a key element. Still, we had a nice meal and the restaurant was beautiful.
After we ate, we walked around the Quarter for a little bit for our final time. It didn’t last long as we were full from breakfast, my leg was hurting, and honestly the French Quarter is pretty gross. It’s really hard to describe to someone who hasn’t been there but the Quarter, rich with history and THE tourist destination in New Orleans, is simply disgusting. It is a tourist trap with tacky souvenirs, people are jammed in like sardines and you feel crowded everywhere you go, and the air is heavy with an odor that is quite indescribable and very unpleasant. And then there’s the goo. That’s really the best word that I have found and is the easiest way to generalize the horrifying stew made from spilled liquor, vomit, urine, and spit. The brick streets are slick with it. It forms puddles in the gutters and lies in wait for any unsuspecting tourist who is unfortunate enough to wear flip flops or sandals. The various bars and restaurants send employees out to hose the sidewalks down each morning but still they cannot completely wash away the unholy stains from the night before. If you think I am exaggerating I can assure you that I am actually probably underselling the absolute horror of it.
Anyway, we did stop at one well known store where I finally picked out my souvenir Mardi Gras mask. I know that I said in the previous paragraph that the quarter is full of cheap and tacky souvenirs but, after all of my complaining, I am a tourist and getting a Mardi Gras mask as a souvenir is just what you do when you find yourself in New Orleans. Having attended multiple Mardi Gras parades, I considered it a badge of honor as well. A souvenir of the unforgettable experience that was more beautiful than the excruciating nerve pain in my leg. I had been searching the entire two months that we were in town for just the perfect mask and I finally found the one at Crescent City Mask Company. It cost me $50 but it did look a little nicer than the ones I had seen at the souvenir shops located closer to the docks where the cruise ships came in. Plus, I loved the feathers.
We also made one final visit to City Park before leaving town. We felt terrible because there really weren’t a lot of places for Harley to get out and explore. We took her on a few outings to Lake Pontchartrain and to Bayou Sauvage. We even rented a cool yard/park called a Sniff Spot for an hour to let her off leash for a bit and get her some exercise. We took Harley with us on this trip to the park and found a nice quiet stretch without too many other people around. She ran around like a crazed beast and sniffed everything and rolled everywhere. We went home tired and content.
Our last adventure in New Orleans was a visit to St. Louis Cemetery Number 1. This cemetery is one of the older cemeteries in New Orleans and is currently owned by the Catholic Church. Like many of the cemeteries in the Quarter, it is closed to the general public. There is one agency that is permitted to conduct tours there and you must book through them. Thankfully, the tour is fairly inexpensive and they have lots of options for dates and times. The weekends were pretty full but we were able to get an afternoon tour on a weekday during our last week in town.
After having visited the large, quiet, beautiful cemetery in Metairie we definitely found this to be an entirely different experience. The entire place takes up about one city block. It was surrounded by high walls and had a gate that was locked when tours were not in progress. The tombs are crowded together in a mish-mash – there are no discernable rows and many of the crypts had disintegrated. Name plates were unreadable. There was actually a section where nameplates were on display. They had fallen off of their respective tombs through the years and no one had any clue where they belonged so they were all grouped together in one spot. Decades (and centuries, in some cases) of weather and vandalism had definitely taken a toll. Thankfully the church is working to preserve what remains and restore what they can.
There were some tombs that were better kept than others and some that were fairly new. We got to see a large pyramid crypt that is currently empty but will one day hold the remains of the actor Nicolas Cage. We also got to see the tomb belonging to Homer Plessy- the activist and plaintiff in the Supreme Court Case Plessy v. Ferguson which led to the creation of the “separate but equal” doctrine in 1896.
My favorite tomb, however, was the one belonging to Marie Laveaux – The Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. Her tomb holds the remains of Marie and her daughter, Marie’s husband’s family, along with 80+ other people that Marie allowed to be buried in her tomb as the families could not afford their own burials. After Marie’s death, visitors would knock on the tomb three times or mark three x’s in the tomb in hopes that Marie would grant their prayers. They would also leave offerings of rum, tobacco or money but this practice is no longer allowed due to the fragile state of the tomb. Marie was so famous during her time that the New York Times printed her obituary when she died in 1881.
And yes, you read that right. One small mausoleum held the remains of over 80 people! Because of the extreme heat in New Orleans, the bodies and wooden coffins placed in the openings of the tombs at their initial burial disintegrated quickly and after one year and one day, would be pushed further back into the tombs and a new body could be interred there.
The rest of our time that week was spent packaging and sending souvenirs to family at home and preparing to move. After two months sitting in one place, it took a little while to get everything put away and secured for the move but we made it and on the morning of March 4th we left New Orleans behind and began making our way to Mobile, Alabama. As much as I like to refer to New Orleans as a “terrifying lawless swamp” or an “apocalyptic hellscape”, I am so glad that we got to experience Mardi Gras and visit this insane town.
