ART

Inner Journey


Art comes in many different forms. A nice walk through the Crescent City will quickly show the different ways humans make and perceive art. As we were making our way to the various art galleries that fill the many buildings surrounding us, art was everywhere. Anytime a person is talented, whether it be at music, sports, painting, dancing, or writing, I am always extremely drawn to that talent and it will bring up emotions within me. Watching young boys waking up early and tapping dancing with their mom's pot lids secured on the bottom of their shoes will forever leave a lasting impression on my mind. Watching the daily lives of the people that live in New Orleans and hearing the background music of the locals was like living in a musical. Walking through Jackson Square and seeing the many different pieces of art. Some were amazing photographs of landscapes, intricate hand drawn pictures, performance artists that appeared as living statues. There was one artist named Victor that was selling his drawings. His art instantly drew me in. His drawings were all black and white. Some were of animals, others were of various places throughout the city, but the one I bought was of the St. Louis Cathedral. What impressed me the most about it was how it reminded me of illustrations that are draw in one of my favorite poetry books. I have read that entire book twice to my five-year-old daughter and I instantly felt connection to this picture. While deciding on buying the drawing, I was able to converse with Victor. He was one of the youngest looking artists that were on the square that day. He was kind and was setting up all of his drawings when we met him. If I had the money I would have bought at least five more of his illustrations. He was my favorite artist that I met.

The Picture I bought from Victor

Outer Journey

The Golden Lantern is a small, dark unassuming place. The crowd is a mix of characters. There are men dressed as women, women dress as men and every other gender bending genre thinkable. There is the sound of an acoustic guitar playing in the background. Walking through the doors, deep dark walls are illuminated with the glow of neon tube lights. Bar height table without chairs are placed sporadically through the front of the room. To the left is an opening where a small square stage sits. On the stage is a man dressed in drag. His skin is brown, his face is smooth and covered in makeup. Fake eyelashes are lining his upper lid with heavy, thick mascara. His lips are lined and filled with bright lipstick. His fingers strum the guitar with perfectly manicured nails. He is wearing a short, tight dress with pantyhose and heels. Between his song renditions he would tell stories of his daily life living as a gay man. He was quick witted and funny, stopping in the middle of a song to get the attention for a patron who's whistle was obnoxiously loud and interrupting. Once his set was finished the queens were up next. The time between the first set until the beginning of the drag show was the calm before the storm. The audience dispersed, some going to the restroom, some going outside to smoke or talk on the phone. Slowly everyone comes back and the room that was previously filled with tables and seats was now empty. The concrete floor became lined with the people coming back in to see the show. There was a "T" shaped pathway made so that everyone could get a glimpse of what was to come. One by one the queens entered the room and went side stage behind a black curtain. Some were fully garbed while others came with faces on but not the costumes. It was the first few fleeting glimpses of what was in store. The glamorous makeup, wigs, dresses and shoes were a girls dream come true. As each queen was announced, a dramatic entrance was a must. Each queen had a different persona and would lip-sync to different songs. Some queens were more energetic than others and some were much better at lip-syncing than others. All of the queens made their rounds through the "T" and collected fist fulls of dollars. They were doing what they were suppose to do, getting paid for entertaining us. 

What's that sound?

Inner Journey


When speaking about New Orleans, music is a staple to the city. Music is one of those magically amazing things that can transfer people to a different time. Music can change the mood of people, from happy to sad, somber to excited, bored to pumped up. All around the city of New Orleans I felt the music at each and every turn. There were big bands of up to seven different musicians playing different instruments. The way they played was by feeling the music and not reading it. Sheet music was nowhere to be seen. I will forever be awestruck by people that can play perfectly by ear. When visiting the Jazz museum, the historic significance of famous musicians was inspiring and made me feel completely musically inadequate. Talent, desire, and being raised in a city that is constantly playing music has helped to shape the amazing musicians that are featured within the museum. There were different types of music that was being played. Jazz was the most common. There was also a woman who played the clarinet. Not only did she play the clarinet, but she blew that thing like she was the big bad wolf trying to blow down the brick house. She played on the street and her family assisted with her show. Her husband and daughter played the and kept the rhythm while she took the reins and played her heart out. She was incredible. When it came to the last note of the song, she blew it for at least twenty seconds start without wavering at all. It brought a tear to my eye; it was like the note flew into my ears and leaked out of my eyes




Doreen Ketchens


Outer Journey



He was sixty-two when he died. His hair was shoulder length, white with small areas of black that refused to age. He wore dark sunglasses while he performed. His voice was gruffly and strained with emotion as he would belt out his songs. His fingers were long and strong but would stroke the ivories in a way that no one else could. This man was born in Bogalusa, Louisiana and raised by a single mother. He was a transplanted to New Orleans when he was a young boy and learned to play by rebuilding broken pianos. The little boy grew up to become a legend behind the keys. His fingers would mesmerize and captivate the eye while seeing him play. Dressed to the nines, he would sit behind his piano, play the songs he wrote and transport the audience to another place. He was known for his amazing piano playing as well as his creative song writing. There was no one alive doing what he was doing at the time. His history is kept in the jazz museum of New Orleans. His room is the first one encounter while walking in. It’s a huge white rectangular room with vibrant colors and artwork based on him all over. There are letters from other famous people adoring him. A black piano starkly contrasts the white walls. Five black phone receivers line the shiny piano. They all continuously loop his famous songs. Pictures of the man line the walls, some yellowed with age, others clipped from decades old newspapers. A small black screen hangs on a white wall facing away from the entrance. It shows an old interview with him describing how he wrote songs and how he grew up fixing old pianos. He was charismatic and showed a short, fleeting glimpse of the legend in his element. His name was Henry Roeland Bird better known as Professor Longhair, the man that became one of the most famous song writers to come from New Orleans.

Professor Longhair

Au Revoir New Orleans

Inner Journey



With today being my last day in the Crescent City I have mixed feelings. I will mostly miss the food and the kind people that live here. I thoroughly enjoyed the food that is offered. Before coming to the city, I had highly anticipated the culinary experience that NOLA offers. It did not disappoint me whatsoever. Going on the culinary tour was a perfect way to taste a lot of the cuisine that New Orleans is known for. I was able to experience the staples like etouffee, gumbo and jambalaya. My favorite dish was not featured on the tour and it was the char-broiled oysters. The Corner is where I had them with full intent of only eating a half dozen. That did not last because as soon as I tried it, I ordered another half dozen. I am a huge fan of oysters Rockefeller and I was hesitant to try to the char-broiled thinking that it would not be as good, and I was very wrong. Not only did I order another half dozen, but I also went back the next night and bought another dozen. The flavor was amazing, and the oysters were hot, soft, smooth, and dripping in garlic butter. The restaurant was nice and small. It was right on the corner to Jackson Square, so it was a perfect spot to stop and people watch as well. The bartender was kind and the manager was even nicer. Both of them recognized me the next day when I had to indulge myself again. I also had a great surprise while eating my second helping of char-broiled oysters, in the form of a rat. As I was on my last two oysters, the rodent showed up and hopped on a box and the climbed up some cords then disappeared. I quickly hard swallowed my last two and promptly left.












Outer Journey



The whole trip through New Orleans has been such a blast. The history, food and culture the city offers are one of a kind. Hearing about the bravery of Joan of Arc, seeing the compassion and kindness of Henriette Delille, tasting everything from sweet, soft beignets to savory, succulent oysters, the city will forever be imprinted in my mind. Warmth and kindness radiated from the locals. The city truly is a mixing pot of culture that comes from all over the world. In one city block men from Germany, Sweden, and different states in the US can be found. Walking through the city is exhausting and exhilarating. The raw talent of street musicians mixed with the Spanish style houses really make the history and rumors of the city come to life. The varying degrees of sound from the bands and artists carry the melody and beats into the ears of each of the passerby’s. There were some things that were unbecoming, such as homeless people begging for change or sleeping on the park benches, rats, and the smell of urine every so often. Although these things are the "ugly" part of the city, they are the truths of the city. New Orleans is home to a large amount of diversity that balances between traditions and technology. Smart phones capturing images of young and old faces in front of century old buildings and long-standing statues epitomizes the different stages of life. Walking down the poorly repaired sidewalks, under the glow of lit gas lanterns, the city sings.

History, Religion, and Medicine

Inner Journey


We took a trip to the St. Louis Catherdral. I am a huge fan of architecture so I was looking forward to seeing the inside of this enormous building. When we walked into the Cathedral there were three spots that had votive candles that are meant to be lit in memory of someone. I chose to light one in remembrance of my father-in-law, Tom. He was chrisitan and I wanted to try to connect with him some and pray that he knows he is missed. Doing this caused me to get pretty emotional and teary eyed. I was not expecting to feel as emotional as I did when we went there. Another unexpected occurance, was when I learned about Henriette Delille. She was free woman of color that experienced the heart crushing death of her two babies before they were three. After their deaths, she decided she wanted to help the poor. She chose to go to the Ursuline and ask to become a nun. However, she was not a white woman so they denied her. This did not deter her from her goal. She used some inheritance money she had to find a small unrecognized order of nuns. This eventually became the Sisters of the Holy Family. The sisters took in all of the slave orphans and elderly and helped to educated, house, and care for the poor. She was later declared a servant of god and is now venerable. The city is hoping that she becomes a saint. She will be the first Aferican American in history to become one. That is so inspiring to me. The impact she had by being kind and caring for those that others just pushed to the side is inmeasurable. It makes me proud to see a woman lead with a tender heart. She was able to overcome personal loss and biases to care for those who could not care for themselves. I love a strong woman, and I love that I got to learn about her.












Hernriette Delille






Outer Journey






In addition to going to the St. Louis Catherdral, we all got to go to the Pharmacy Museum. The wind was blowing and the sun was shining as we walked down the broken side walks to get to an unassuming building front. There is a large white sign hanging infront of a dark green door identifying what lies inside. Upon entering the museum, the walls are lined with bottles of different types of medicines and remedies that were used in the 1800's. The room is dark with natural light illuminating it down the middle. The floors are dark concrete with patches of busted spots showing through. There is a beautiful courtyard that is right outside of the back of the building. its lined with vibrant green plants. There is a flower covered arch that leads to another section of the courtyard that has a towering tree growing high in the middle of the ground. Up the winding staircase to the second floor of the museum, the room is white and bright. There are different types of signage that show their age through cracks, stains and faded words. There are glass cases filled with different tools and remedies that have been used throughout history to treat specific illness and ailments. One glass case stood in the middle of a large white room. The case held different types of tools for the eyes, including old eye ointments and a set of semi-circle hazel shaded glass eyes. This is the first pharmacy to ever be established in the United States and the history it holds has filled my mind with wonder.

Courtyard behind Pharmacy museum

Real medicine used

FREE DAY!

Inner Journey


The thought of a free day was so exciting. The three of us slept in and finally got ready to leave the hotel around one in the afternoon. First we got food and then we went to the French Quarter. While there we walked around looking at the various artists and their works. We met a very interesting artist named Viktor. He was originally from Russia and it was his first year selling his art in the Quarter. His art was amazing. He had a variety of scenes from around the world that he had drawn while visiting. Those pieces are the ones that initially caught my eye but then I saw his portraits of women that he draws. The portraits were absolutely stunning. He can capture emotion and feelings of his subjects just by drawing them. Most of them were looking over their shoulder with tendrils of hair falling around their shoulders and brushing their faces. I was able to speak with him and pick his brain a little about his journey to making it to New Orleans. He spoke about growing up in Russian, then making his way to America. He first came to Wisconsin, then he was in Chicago, and then he was in Austin, Texas and he is now in New Orleans. I was taken back with how nice Viktor was. He was warm and kind and spoke with a strong Russian accent. We were too late to get our own portraits drawn but promised to come back tomorrow to see if he's there to do our portraits. His art was so cool and I will always remember him.















Awaiting the Parade










On our way to have adventures!






Outer Journey


I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that were going to be able to see the kick off of Mardi Gras. It starts with Carnival, which is celebrated by a parade through the French Quarter. This year was extra special because the city was celebrating the Patron Saint Joan of Arc. The celebration was larger than normal because it is the one hundredth year of her becoming a saint. The street were lined with spectators standing on either side of the street and all throughout the square. There were people standing along the iron fencing and on top of the various garbage cans to get a view of the people in the parade. The night was cool and mild with a soft breeze. The crowd was full of people dressed up in full body costumes, masks, fun hats and normal street clothes. There were people from all age ranges craning their necks to catch a fleeting glimpse of the parade walkers. The excitement was palpable and it only revved up once the parade came through. There were two bands that were playing while marching in the parade. The rat-ta-tat-tat of the drum line mixed with the cheering of the crowd made a permanent smile on my face while hanging onto the cold fence line. The parade only lasted for about forty minutes but it was pure excitement the entire time. As the parade came to an end, we went to the concrete stairs and sat down with other spectators and waited for Joan to get there. The costumes worn by the parade walkers were very intricate and detailed. Women and men were dressed in different shades of greens, blues, pinks, and whites. There was a small speech that Joan made and then we were up and off to our next adventure, char-broiled oysters!

Jazz hands!

Inner Journey


The Jazz museum was on the itinerary for today. I love music. I was looking forward to learning about the different types of artists that were good enough to be put in the museum. New Orleans is full of a variety of musicians that are extremely talented. There were four rooms in the museum that had different artists and their different instruments they played that made them famous. One room was dedicated to Professor Longhair. I had never heard of him. He was a piano player and singer who became famous for banging the ivory and song writing. The way he would play and create music was innovative and people loved the complexity that he brought to the music world. While walking around and looking at the different artifacts and photos on the wall, I stumbled upon a video interview of him. In the video he was explaining how he would garbage pick pianos as a boy and fix them. By doing this, he was able to learn how the put the piano together and how the keys make the sound. It was fascinating to hear the way he would create the different sounds and make it look easy. There was another room that was dedicated to an artist by the name of Louis Prima. it was very nice to see a picture of him and to hear songs that he recorded. On our tour of the city, the guide played a song by Louis Prima and it piqued my interest in him. The room dedicated to him was very big and bright. The first thing that I saw when I walked in was a short documentary of his life. In it, his wife and daughter speak about the kind of man he was. It showed him singing and playing with his band at the many different venues that he was featured at. When the British invasion came Louis's style of music was becoming obsolete, in order to stay relevant and keep making money, he became a figure in world of Las Vegas. He is mostly known for singing the song that King Louis sings in the movie "The Jungle Book", but he really was one of the most well-known artists to sing and play jazz and swing music. In his gallery, there were two letters addressed to him. One from Bing Crosby and one from Frank Sinatra. Both letters were thank you letters for something nice that Louis had done for them. In the back of the room there was a little recording studio that we could sing one of his songs in and then learn how to do a swing dance. It was very interactive and a lot of fun.






Proffesor Longhair











Louis Prima, Keely Smith, & Elvis Presley




Outer Journey




The Jazz museum is located on the corner of a city block across from the outdoor market. The building is a very large brick building with a black iron fence surrounding it and cypress trees that line the streets. The building is where the old U.S. Mint used to function. The doors to the building have large bars on them and upon entering, the building opens to a grand foyer with marble walls and staircases on both sides. The jazz museum features the artists on the second story. We entered the building around one o'clock in the afternoon. The sun shone brightly through the large vertical windows and reflected blindingly off the white walls. Each room was set up with either a different artist or by the types of instruments that were played. The drum room featured nothing other than drums and the artists that were awesome at playing them. There were showcases of base drums, snare drums, cymbals, and African drums. The African drum looked like a tall bongo and had antelope hide stretched over the top. The sides still had fur while the top was smooth from being played for decades. The faint hum of different beats lingered in the air, in an otherwise silent room. Another room had the baby grand piano that "Fats" Domino played along with the trumpet of Louis Armstrong. This room was particularly small. Only the piano and the trumpet were featured along with the story of how the piano was ruined when Hurricane Katrina struck. The restoration for this piano was pain staking slow and tedious. Due to the amount of water damage, physical damage and mold, the piano had to be completely taken apart. It was then cleaned, reassembled, and painted again. The piano was an eggshell white color and looked brand new. It was angled and braced to the wall. Metal surrounded it with a small black and white sign that read "Do Not Touch". This room was filled with palpable silence. I could hear my own heartbeat while walking the twenty steps it took to go through. After this I walked back out onto the sun-soaked stair case with music in my heart and curiosity in my head.

FOOD!!!

Inner Journey



Today was the day that I have been waiting for. The culinary tour!! I have wanted to taste food that New Orleans has to offer for ten years. I was first turned on to creole style food when I worked in a restaurant in the suburbs of Chicago. It was fine dining and I had to be trained for two weeks on the style of food and what specific ingredients were in the food. We had crawfish etouffee, seafood gumbo, boudin, dirty rice and a multitude of different seafood dishes. Ever since working there I have wanted to see if the food in the actual city was similar, or dare I say, better than, the food that I was trained on.


We went to five different places that all served us different dishes. Two of the restaurants were the oldest in the city. We learned the difference between creole and Cajun food. Although we learned about it there was not any Cajun food that we ate. Everything that we had was creole, which is more of a tomato-based food. It was all delicious. We had beef brisket sandwiches, seafood gumbo, red beans and rice, shrimp remoulade, and turtle soup. At each stop we toured the restaurant, looked for the spirits that haunt them, and tasted the delicious food. Everything that we tried had some sort of seafood in it. My favorite dishes were the brisket sandwich and the turtle soup. I have never tried turtle before, and I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked it. The texture of turtle is kind of stringy making each bite become a question on whether or not I had a hair in it. Other than that, the flavor was beefy and robust. The brisket sandwich that we tried was served with a special sauce and on a French baguette with lettuce and tomato. Every bite I took tasted amazing and made me want to eat ten more! I am happy to say that the food was just as good as I was hoping it would be, although my jeans will not be.















Outer Journey




We got to enjoy a home-cooked pot of red beans and rice while sitting in a courtyard. As we walked through the store to the back room, we entered the courtyard through a skinny blue doorway. The walls in the courtyard were whitewashed and the sun was peaking in through the opening. There was an older woman sitting behind a thin tall table that had a very large silver pot producing steam. We all sat down in the chairs that were set up into rows of three. The courtyard was warm and welcoming with a small water fountain against the wall. There was a cool, soft breeze that would quickly come and go. The silver haired woman spoke to us about her creole roots and how to make an authentic roux. The steaming pot was full of red beans and rice that she had prepared for the group to taste. Along with the rice and beans, there was a bottle of Louisiana hot sauce that was passed around. Once everyone had their own bowl it was silent while we all enjoyed our food. Each bite of rice and beans was tender and full of flavor. After finishing the bowls, the garbage was collected, and we were taught about specific products that were sold in the store we had previously walked through to get to the courtyard. There was a dark brown of bottle that was passed around. Each person took a whiff of the bottle and then took a second whiff. The aroma was that of the sweet vanilla bean. It smelled so amazing that I wish I could have it as a scented candle. I cannot wait to taste it and bake with it.