Up fairly early & off for breakfast @ "Cafe Du Monde", a New Orleans institution since 1862. On the menu:
- Cafe Au Lait (made with ground Chicory Root) &
- Beignets (sweet pastries dusted with powdered sugar)- The unofficial doughnut of New Orleans.
From breakfast I walked through "Jackson Square", the heart of Vieux Carre, constructed with the symmetry of French & Spanish Colonial architecture and which opens up onto the Grand 1794 "St Louis Cathedral" designed by Gilberto Guillemard. One of New Orleans' most notable landmarks. This venerable building, its triple steeples towering above its historic neighbors, the Cabildo and the Presbytere - looks down benignly on the green of the Square and General Andrew Jackson on his bronze horse and on the block-long Pontalba Buildings with their lacy ironwork galleries. Truly, this is the heart of old New Orleans.
Once past this impressive cathedral, I headed for Rev. Zombie's Voodoo Shop to do the 10am "Cemetery History Tour - Cities Of The Dead..." This tour took us within the walls of the oldest & most interesting burial ground in all of New Orleans - St Louis Cemetery #1.
"St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 was founded in 1789, and it is the oldest cemetery in New Orleans. Located at the corners of St. Louis and Basin streets. At one time the cemetery was much larger (300 square feet) but today it is much smaller due to development around it. Like most cemeteries in New Orleans, most of the graves are above ground tombs or wall vaults.
Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1 was listed on National Register of Historic Places in 1975. It just recently (March 2004) benefited from a big restoration project.
Saint Louis Cemetery is supposedly haunted by the ghosts of Marie Laveau, a Voodoo priestess, and her daughter...both are buried in this cemetery. Supposedly they return to life each St. John's Eve and lead their faithful voodoo practitioners in a wild ceremony/orgy. The area in front of her grave is filled with all sorts of gifts left by cemetery visitors - beads, herbs, bricks wrapped in foil, dried beans, bones, etc. Also, her tomb is covered in small x's or crosses...people draw them on the tomb for luck. It's also said that if you turn around three times, either clockwise or counter clockwise, in front of her tomb and then knock on it three times your wish will be granted". Not sure about that, but I did leave a "dime" on her tomb for luck. Source: http://www.graveaddiction.com/1stlouis.html
Apart from visiting Marie Laveau's tomb, we also learnt the fascinating history & burial practices of this evocative above ground graveyard - which was also used in the movies "Interview With A Vampire" & "Easy Rider".
The history and mysterious world of voodoo was also discussed, with its connections to ancient West African religions & the crossovers it made with Roman Catholicism in the slave-holding colonies of the 1800's. Also caught a glimpse of what current practitioners are doing within the "Marie Laveau's House of Voodoo" on Bourbon St.
On completion of this great & informative 2-hr tour, I met up with the girls for the taxi ride to the airport for the journey back to LA (after another stop over in Dallas/Forth Worth - had a drink , but no haircut required).
Arrived in LA by 7.30pm & was @ our hotel thanks to a stretch-limo. The Peninsula Beverley Hills is home for the next 2 nights
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment