Hey guys… During the baseball season my family needs me a lot on the weekends so I try to use my free weekend as best as possible. Last weekend I went on a trip to New Orleans with two of my closest friends here…
… One of them is my Swedish neighbor and also an au pair. The other one I actually met at college. And fun fact: she was my Swedish neighbour’s room mate at Orientation. Quick side bar: As you can see, there are a lot of ways to find new friends while staying in the US!
Many people asked, why we wanted to go to New Orleans. ‘There are so many homeless people and drug addicts’, but we didn’t listen. Because of „American Horror Story“ and „the Originals“, I was interested in the Voodoo and witchcraft background of the city. There were actually people at the famous Jackson Square who offered Tarot card or palm readings. First, we wanted to try it for fun – but it was too expensive, especially considering that we’re not actually believing in it.
The French Quarter in Nola is a completely different world in general. The streets are narrow, the buildings are built super close to each other, and usually decorated with plants. Of course we also walked down the famous Bourbon Street, that changes into a party zone at night. One of the most famous activities to do in New Orleans is a „Cocktail-Tour“, where you head from bar to bar. But sadly, we were too jung to participate…!
The Creole Food is another thing that we had heard about before visiting, and we had to try it. It’s mostly (fried) seafood with fries or in a sandwich. We couldn’t buy any Beignets, because the line at the ‘Cafe du Monde’ was super long every time we walked past.
Of course we also had to go to a festival while in New Orleans; and the Bayouboogaloo Jazz Festival happened to be on, when we were there. There were artists on two stages and a lot of food. The festival was based right next to a river, so some people actually came with their kayaks and could listen to the music from the water.
The next day, we woke up to a storm – the lightnings were pretty close to us, so we couldn’t leave our hotel room for a while. When it had finally calmed down to ‘just rain’, we went to a mall, to do at least something that day. Later, the sky cleared up and we could explore the city more:
The Garden District is another beautiful part of New Orleans. There are huge trees framing the streets and fancy mansions (where, for example, Sandra Bullock lives). In this area, are also the cemeteries New Orleans is known for, but sadly we couldn’t enter them, because it was Sunday, and they were already closed. Marie Laveau, for example, is buried in St. Louis cementery no. 1, and I would have loved to see her grave. Due to the cemetery’s proximity to the sea, the people get buried in stone tombs, which gives the cemeteries a unique look and makes them a popular location for movies and series.
In the end, we booked a „Ghost Tour“, that led us through the French Quarter again. We heard stories about vampires, ghosts and serial killers, and at night in New Orleans, you’re not that sure anymore if you believe in them or not…
This trip was one of the best ones I’ve ever done, and I am super glad that we didn’t listen to those who told us not to go. If you are interested, we also saved the highlights of all our trips on Instagram:
Oh yeah, and I made a short video about it, too!
