A Memorable Weekend Getaway in the Big Easy
Myniece, her boyfriend and myself in New Orleans |
Discovering the French Quarter's Hidden Treasures
Uncovering the History
The French Quarter has so much more to offer than music and drinking. Like most cities in the South with many historic stories to be told, the stories New Orleans has to offer gave me chill bumps.
Haunted New Orleans
New Orleans is known to be the Most Haunted City in America. Knowing that, we took a Vampires and Ghosts Walking Tour and a St. Louis Cemetery Tour to explore the city's spooky side.
Bourbon Street: All-Day and All-Night Party
Downtown New Orleans Selfie |
New Orleans' Unique Culture and History
Known for its Mardi Gras party all year long, Bourbon Street is lined with jazz and blues clubs and "take-out" bars. You can party to the wee hours of the morning and drink in the streets, taking your drink from one bar to the next.
Sampling New Orleans' Iconic Drinks
Collage of New Orleans specialty drinks |
Sugary Delights
Drinking a fish bowl |
Haunted Adventures at Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Bar
Sign of the oldest bar in America |
Hand Grenades and Shark Attacks
Shark Attack Drink |
The Famous Hurricane and Beyond
The Hurricane, one of New Orleans' most famous drinks, was on our list. We picked up Hurricanes at the VooDoo Lounge and enjoyed a buy one get one free deal.
Uncovering the Supernatural
Ghosts and Vampires Galore
We joined a ghosts and vampires walk and explored New Orleans' oldest cemetery, learning about the historical basis for the ghost stories and encountering tales of real-life vampire sightings. To this day, there have been many sightings of the Carter brothers, John and Wayne, even by the new owner of the apartment building where the Carter's once called home.
Ghosts of the Andrew Jackson Hotel
You can even book a stay at local hotels and spend the night with ghosts like at the Andrew Jackson Hotel, where several boys died in a fire decades ago when it was an orphanage.
Ghosts of the French Quarter
Marie Laveau: The Queen of VooDoo
Marie Laveau |
VooDoo has a bad connotation, culturally we think of VooDoo
as something evil. Hollywood has sensationalized VooDoo giving it a bad name.
Louisiana VooDoo is a spiritual religion brought to New
Orleans from the slaves of West Africa along with traditions from the Native
Americans using herbs, poisons, and ritual creation of charms and amulets
intended to protect oneself.
Marie Laveau was dedicated to her practice but she couldn't
read or write. When she saw her "patient" she would make a doll of
them. She would then stick a pin in the doll of where the injury or pain was.
New Orleans residents would walk by her shop and see the dolls then see the
patient walking down the street looking sickly.
This is how the rumors started with VooDoo dolls. People would say she would stick the doll "in the knee" and the person would have knee pain. When it was just the opposite.
Exploring the French Market
Beignet |
Cafe Du Monde is known for its beignets, but my experience left me less than impressed.
On a tour bus |
A relaxing trolley ride down St. Charles Avenue offered a different perspective of the city.
New Orleans Selfie |
New Orleans is a city filled with history, culture, and unique experiences that go beyond Bourbon Street. From haunted tours to delicious drinks and hidden gems in the French Quarter, it's a place where a weekend isn't enough to explore everything. Swamp tours, plantations, riverboat cruises, the Old Abisnthe House, and Pirates Alley are just a few of the many other activities waiting to be discovered in this vibrant city. My next trip to New Orleans is already in the works to explore even more of what this remarkable city has to offer.
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