We began our journey by jumping on the St. Charles Streetcar (the only streetcar that was never removed from New Orleans). The ride there was pretty nice. The landscape was beautiful. One of our classmates (who I will keep nameless) wanted to express his pride for the Saints and throughout the ride to Canal Street, he yelled 'Who Dat' (an NFL exclamation . . . I just want to be safe. :) )
Here are some pictures from the ride:
After we got off the Streetcar, we walked down Burbon Street as we saw the musicians walking by and we ended up in Front of the Cabildo (landmark of New Orleans where both Plessy v. Ferguson and the Louisiana Purchase took place.). As Doctor Hunt said, make sure you look at the roof and notice the French Architecture.
Afterwards, we took at look at St. Louis Cathedral (the oldest continuously operating cathedral in the United States). In 1987, His Holiness John Paul II visited it and held mass there.
After looking at the St. Louis Cathedral, we then looked at The Presbytère (historical building that was originally used to house Capuchin Monks then later became a Museum.) Here are some pictures:
We then proceeded to the Pantalba. The Pantlba had a fascinating history. In short, a Creole Baroness named Micaela Pontalba was very wealthy and owned several buildings. Her husband and her father-in-law were after one thing, her money. So, she was sent off to France to be kept under watch. She had given her father-in-law such a difficult time that he shot her. Luckily, she survived as the bullet only touched her hand. Because she survived, her father-in-law killed himself because what he did, attempting to kill a woman, was un-chivalric. So, she was able to be legally separated from her husband after this and got possession of her stores again. It worked out in the end for her (well, maybe with the exception of her hand :) ) For more information, click here.
We wrapped the day up by going to Café Du Monde and ordered some delicious Beignets.
We then went headed for the St. Charles and after two full Streetcars passed us, we finally were able to jump on one. We had almost arrived on campus when a wire appeared to have caught on fire. So, we had to stop the ride and wait. After waiting for probably 20 minutes, we continued and made it back to campus.
It was a good day, and I believe that everyone there learned a lot!
Hope you enjoyed this,
--André L.
Looks like y'all had a wicked good time downtown! I didn't know the story about the Pantalba though I felt like I've walked past there millions of times (okay, not millions, but still).
ReplyDeleteAs for the streetcar incident on the return back to campus? I totally understand. Last year, I was going to Cafe du Monde with a few friends around ten pm. We had just passed Lee Circle and the streetcar veered a little, and fell off the track. Needless to say, we had to walk the rest of the way because the conductor made us get off. Only in New Orleans, right?
Hahaha! That's awesome Maria. Yes, there are certain things that only happen in New Orleans.
ReplyDeleteGlad you commented,
--AL
your posts are great!!!
ReplyDelete