Cemetery, Gris-Gris and the French Quarter

New Orleans Cemetery #1
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We wake up this morning and the temperature outside is minus 5. This is not the weather we were expecting. It wasn’t even supposed to be this cold up in Washington. Our first activity for the day is a cemetery and Gris-Gris walking tour that starts at 9am. We decide to walk the 10 minutes to the meeting point to exchange our vouchers for tickets, and once done, look around for hot coffee. We cannot believe there is no Starbucks in sight! All the local shops are closed till 10am on Saturday. We decide to head to the nearest hotel, and are rewarded by that familiar green and white sign. After short consideration we decide that fluids may not be a good idea in this temperature when about to start a walking tour, and opt for a quick bite of banana bread and cranberry and orange scone – and that’s “sc-own” people, not ”scon”.

Just a little cold...
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A quick trot back to the meeting point and we board the bus with the other five fools doing a walking tour when it’s minus 4. The other 11 people registered for the tour had the commonsense to stay in their warm beds rather than turn up like us. We arrive at New Orleans Cemetery #1 and head inside to see the crypts. The subsidence of the ground has caused much damage over the centuries, but the cemetery is still in use today. The plots are title deeded and families can opt to pay yearly fees for perpetual care by the arch diocese to maintain their crypt. I don’t get a creepy feeling at all in here, mostly each of us are just jostling around for any sliver of sunlight we can find.

A Gumbo of Cultures

Cafe de Monde
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We are shown the tomb of Marie Laveau – the voodoo priestess, and how it has been desecrated by tourists. Our guide says  that some 10 years ago, a tour guide had the idea to make up some ritual of knocking, turning around three times, writing three crosses on the tomb, leaving a gift and then saying a chant and the priestess will grant your wish. Joe asks why they don’t just paint over all the “XXX” that are marked on the grave and clear away the offerings. The guide said the offerings are cleared away weekly and the grave was only re-painted a month ago! This is amazing when you see all the marks on it. We all let her rest in peace and move on with the tour. The mausoleums are many and varied, and the practice of opening up the crypt to place the coffin inside for the body to decompose for 12months before the bones are collected and deposited in the caveau – a cave under the crypt. If another family member dies while the body is decomposing, a crypt of a friend or other family must be “borrowed” to rest the body until the above-ground space in the intended crypt becomes available. I find this idea all a bit gruesome.

Iron Balconies in the French Quarter
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As our toes and fingers numb, the tour comes to an end, and we are dropped back at the pier. From here our first stop is hot chocolate and Beignets at Cafe de Monde . Their famous French donut pastries are delivered piled high with a mound of icing sugar which we indulge in while wrapping our cold digits around the warm chocolate. You can buy cake mixes of these things to take home to make yourself - and we see plenty of people toting these around during the day. Its then a walk around the French Quarter market area and in and out the souvenir shops to see what is on offer. Mardi-Gras is not far away – Feb 16 (shrove Tuesday), so there are plenty of masks, beads and boas on sale to liven up the party.  

Andrew Jackson Statue in Jackson Square
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We head back to the pier for the 1pm start of our French Quarter Walking tour. Even though the temperature has warmed up to zero, the wind is biting and making it feel much colder.  Our guide starts our history lesson, how the city was founded by two French brothers, was then gifted to the Spanish rather than being taken over by England, then taken back by the French. After the great battle of New Orleans , where the British Red Coats were defeated, the city finally was taken over by America. As we walk through the French Quarter, through Jackson Square and around the famous streets, our guide explained how the architecture changed with the revolving culture of the inhabitants, but the quarter still seemed to retain an overall look and feel. The fret work on some the small balconies are amazing and plants and decorative lights add their attractiveness.

...more Iron Balconies
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The tour ends in the middle of the French Quarter, and at the suggestion of our guide, we head to the Gumbo Shop for lunch. Here we order a Jambalaya and Chicken Gumbo, and before long the spices have warmed us up (helped along by the warm rum apple cider!). We now head for Bourbon street and the quaintness of the quarter is overtaken by the glaring neon lights, bars and blaring music  overflowing into the street. Mostly it is modern music which is disappointing, but we find a blues bar with a live band and head inside to imbibe a bourbon and toe-tap to the music. As the sun starts to set and with bachelor parties in full swing, we decide it is time to start on the walk back towards Canal street and our hotel. I note the ages of the people roaming the street start to change from 40 plus tourists to drink laden twenty somethings out for a big night out.

yummm ... Jambalaya at the Gumbo Shop
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We can tell the temperature is taking a dive as our warm breaths turn the air white, and after a short stop for another warming hot chocolate, head back inside our warm room for the night. The temperature tomorrow is only to be slightly better, and with our planned high-speed air boat tour sure to make it our faces go numb with the anticipated wind-chill. Brrrrrrr.