French Quarter, part two: Ironwork, Voodoo, and Tombstones
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“Iron lace”
The thing that caught my eye right away in the French Quarter was all the ironwork. I spent most of my time there looking up at the porch railings, window coverings and various doors and gates. There seems to be an unending variety of styles. Here are a few:
iron cross
iron gate and its shadow
humble house made beautiful
typical porch with typical ironwork
ivy leaf ironwork
Green gate
There was so much of this stuff, I could have stayed there for a couple weeks and still found more…I think I can add iron lace to the inanimate objects that I might be in love with!
Lunch
The Coffee Pot, and so much more!
All that walking and photo taking made us hungry pretty much at the right time. Just as we were heading down a street that looked like it had more restaurants than bars, we both decided we were hungry. Just like breakfast, The Coffee Pot seemed like iconic Nwaulins. It looked like it had been there for at least 100 years, but it was obvious that someone had done some serious decorating to keep the old world look fresh. In any case, it was authentic cajun food…good for Sam, not so good for me. I forget what I had for lunch (something with red beans and rice, which were perfect) but dessert was homemade red velvet cake. Sam had real, made by auntie so and so, soaked in rum, bread pudding. I loved the way this place looked and felt.
the courtyard
dark but not gloomy, refreshingly cool
up the spiral stairway
Into the courtyard
Reverend Zombie’s Voodoo Shop
After lunch the crowds had really picked up, so we just wandered aimlessly, trying to avoid bumping into anyone who might be just a little tipsy. We did come across a few interesting sights:
Reverend Zombie’s Voodoo shop
everything you could want for your magical needs
Voodoo Spiritual Temple
You get the point. New Orleans definitely vibrates to the beat of a different drum. Now, on to the cemetery!
St. Louis Cemetery
St Louis Cemetery 1
St Louis Cemetery 2
There are three of these above ground cemeteries in New Orleans. The rumor is that they are above ground due to problems with the water table. Apparantly it is also true that big tombstones on top of the ground are a tradition in France and Spain. In any case, some famous people are buried here: wealthy landowners, politicians, and one famous voodoo priestess,Marie Laveau. I thought it was interesting that Nicholas Cage will also be spending his afterlife there.
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You know the water does rise and this was discovered when some caskets were washed out of the ground so many times they realized they had to just stop trying to bury them in the dirt. That is why burial grounds are above ground now.
Yeah, I heard that, but apparantly the tombs were put there as a way of keeping the French and Spanish traditions going. I see you have a new name. Didn’t know who P*A*T*S*H*O*P*E was. 😉