Tuesday July 5th I took the 12 hour Amtrak ride from Atlanta to New Orleans. I love trains! So much more room than airplane, you can walk around, and you can bring liquid and razors on! There were several people sitting near me that were on their first train ride and it was fun to watch them. I went through Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. It was cool to see different parts of the country roll by - plains, rivers, mountains, small towns, farms, etc.
I got in NOLA about 8:30pm and went to my B&B Maison Perrier and it is awesome! It is near the Garden district and is gorgeous. I'm in the Jasmine room and it has a really high (with stairs!) 4 poster bed, a fireplace, a balcony, and a tub with whirlpool jets. The owner, Tom, met me and told me about the place and gave me some tour info.
 |
| Maison Perrier |
 |
| living area |
 |
| dining area |
 |
| porch |
 |
| my room - the "jasmine" |
 |
| my room - the "jasmine" - the balcony |
 |
| my room - the "jasmine" |
 |
| my room - the "jasmine" |
Wednesday July 6th - my birthday! Tom's wife made breakfast in the morning- scrambled eggs with bacon and cajun spices, a biscuit, cheese grits, yogurt with blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries. yum!
I set off to the Spielman Gallery to go on a walking tour of the Garden district. The owner of the gallery is some famous photographer. He told me how much he liked Mumbai when he was there - he was staying at the TAJ!! Of course he liked it! He did all the Bombay Company catalogue pictures and some other stuff. All the other people cancelled their tour so I got a personal tour by Sherry Lee. She is a retired journalist who took the tour guide test in March and was very enthusiastic about her job! We walked through the Lafayette Cemetery and the Garden District. We saw some houses of famous people - the Mannings, John Goodman, and Sandra Bullock.
 |
| Sandra Bullock's house |
They put the coffin in the top, then after a year and day, they open the tomb, burn the coffin and shove the remains of the body into the bottom. They can fit hundreds of bodies in here over the years. If a family member dies sooner than a year and a day after the last family member died, they are put in a temporary wall tomb until they can be put in the real tomb. Then they brick it back up and then put the front back on.
Then I walked all around the French Quarter etc. I had Beignets at Cafe Du Monde for lunch - it is my birthday after all!!
Thursday - The B & B made bananas foster pancakes for breakfast - yum!
I walked down to the French Quarter - it takes me a little more than an hour and I'm a sweaty mess, but it is a nice walk. I took a walking tour of the Quarter with an emphasis on Voodoo culture. Marie Laveau is burried in St. Louis Cemetery and you now cannot enter the cemetery without a guide because people were doing things to her grave. Everyone in this area was forced to become Catholic and they mixed it up with their native Voodoo religion from Africa.
 |
| St. Louis Cathedral |
 |
| St. Louis Cathedral |
 |
| St. Louis Cathedral |
 |
| Marie Laveau's tomb |
 |
| Nicholas Cage's tomb |
On my way back to the Maison Perrier I stopped at the Civil War Museum - or the War of Northern Aggression as it is known here. It was really interesting. I went back and rested for a bit until it was time to meet Norma and Miguel for dinner at Felix. I had fried pickles and red beans and rice.
They always make a big deal about my birthday - it is always a "surprise" They make posters for me and a cake and we always have a big family dinner together.
