NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

On March 1, 2019 I went to visit NOLA on Mardi Gras! I’ve always wanted to visit this city because of the French Quarter and being a fan of  the Vampire Diaries and The Originals. I actually didn’t even know I was visiting on Mardi Gras weekend until a got there and everything was booked!!!! I’m glad I booked my rental car in advice because it was my home for the next 2 days. Haha. On this journey I was able to visit the French Quarter, of course, enjoy the original beignets, eat at a crawfish boil, indulge in Jambalaya, visit the ancient cemeteries, participate in a Mardi Gras parade, and wander in the swamps of Louisiana. 

 

The doughy cinnamon filled beignets I devoured were to die for. Visiting Louisiana for these beignets alone is worth the trip. My next stop after this was to go see the voodoo shops, specifically Marie Lavure Voodoo House. She was known in New Orleans as the Voodoo Queen. A lot of people mistake Voodoo for wishing ill on people and in fact it’s quite the opposite, I learned. I also purchased some sage to burn through my home, “it takes some time to get use to the smell.” 

 

After wandering around the Voodoo shop I went to walk around French Quarter some more and landed on the street where the St. Louis cathedral is placed. This Walt Disney looking church is breath taking. Louisiana has a lot of fog throughout its busy season because of the swamp land and the temperature. This gave the next journey of walking through St. Louis cemetery 1 a spooktacular adventure. The tombstones were created to be small structures of cremation. People cannot be buried in the ground because of the moisture from the swamps or else they will arise back up :O. These cremation structures would hold bodies above ground while getting extremely hot inside to where the bodies would cremate in exactly one year. This allowed multiple bodies to be buried in these structures. 

 

Visiting the swamp lands and Jean Lafiette national reserve was a site that I’ll never forgot. The beautiful swamp grass trees and alligator infested lands were magnificent. After touring through the swamps and getting my drone caught in fishing wire across the swamps, I had about had it lol. Seriously who puts fishing wire in between trees the span of the swamp??? I almost had to take a dip in the alligator land to retrieve my beautiful drone. 

 

Anyways, to conclude my evening I went to a Mardi Gras parade to celebrate good food and indulge in drinks and everything that you can think of. The thought behind this process is to consume everything that you desire before Lenten season. Luxuries are giving up to replicate what Jesus Christ had to give up for us after Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Each color of Mardi Gras represents something as well. Purple represents Justice. Green represents Faith. Gold represents Power.

 

XOXO,

JASE