I went to New Orleans the summer before my senior year...so that was in 1997. I am from the midwest so I was kinda scared to go but I went none-the-less. I LOVED IT. Coming from Nebraska, I found the city full of culture and uniqueness. I consumed it in everything we did and everywhere we went.
The food, the air, the people, the sounds; it's all a different world.
We stayed in the Ponchatrain Hotel which is on St. Charles Ave. We were told that it was the first Hotel in New Orleans so I felt like I was really touching a piece of history.
The trolly ran right in the middle of St. Charles Ave and was the main way to commuter from area to area.
Bourbon Street was different. I suppose I'd have a different oppinion of it NOW that I'm older, but for a lil' Nebraska girl who was naive in the ways of the world...I saw things that I was shocked to see.
I really enjoyed the French Market where I learned the success to bartering. I had so much fun I blew a hundred dollars collecting many items to remember NO by.
Likewise, the French Cafe was a neat site. I loved their Ice Coffe and - I'm gonna slaughter the spelling - bengeits. YUMMY. I was meaning to try alligator but people said it tastes like chicken so I skipped out on that. But I did try some cajun and boy was it good. A little too much for my stomach to handle, but good.
Another neat thing is how beautiful and historically rich the streets and its buildings are. I took a ton of pictures of the buildings, churches...etc. One of my friends got her palm read, which was exciting.
The malls were neat too. And down by the river is more exciting as it's just a beautiful site.
Now I was there for a National Church Gathering, so we also had a chance to reach out into the community and do some volunteering. We went into an area that I would consider to be like projects. We cleaned up the streets, playgrounds...etc. We actually uncovered a whole parkinglot. Since the sea level is different there things like sidewalks can easily get grown over. It was an amazing experience.
Another really neat thing about NO that I didn't get to see first hand, are the cemetaries. They are mosuliums like in Romeo and Juliet. I saw them from a distance, but supposidly they have street signs in the actual cemetary so people can navigate in it and not get lost.
Layola University was beautiful and Canal Street was really neat too.
Just an overall NEAT place to visit. I recommend probably NOT going there during Mardi Gras if you're looking to really TAKE IN the atmosphere.
Anyway, sorry so long and random...but I would LOVE to go back for a honeymoon someday. Such a great place.
Hootie
------------------
What do you get when you cross an Alpha Omicron Pi and a Sigma Phi Epsilon? A beautiful Chi Omega!!!
Zeta Delta Chapter of Chi Omega
http://www.unomaha.edu/~comega
Threaded Mode