Representing Steemit in NEW ORLEANS (Part 1)
Welcome to New Orleans! Last week my boyfriend and I attended an expo in New Orleans for his business-www.lushescurtains.com. Considering it was my first time in this city, my boyfriend was very nice and decided to stay 4 days with me here to show me around the most popular places, introduce me to the local creole food and take me on some tours to learn about the vibrant history and culture of New Orleans and what a better way than to do it in style with our Steemit shirts spreading the word around as we explored the city!
Let me start by saying that I was pretty impressed with how much history this city has and after taking a few tours it changed my mentality about many things including voodoo. I also learned that there is more to this city than just Mardi Gras, which is how most people know New Orleans. Hope you enjoy this post and learn a little more about this interesting city.
Fun Facts About New Orleans:
•New Orleans has the highest number of historic districts. 20 districts in total. Some I will discuss below. My boyfriend and I stayed at the Business District at the Aloft Hotel, a very modern and chic hotel, which I highly recommend as it was within walking distance to the main attractions.
•New Orleans is the place where Jazz was born along with rock and roll and blues.
•It is known as the most haunted city in America especially around the French Quarter, which is the oldest district in the city with the most spiritual activity in the US.
•The Tombs are above the ground in cemeteries, which add to the city known for being haunted.
•Notable personalities were born here such as Louis Armstrong, Truman Capote, Ellen DeGenereres and Reese Whiterpoon.
•New Orleans is known to be the place where Voodoo was introduced in the US. With Mary Laveau, the most famous voodoo queen in the 1800 living in the French Quarter and practicing numerous rituals and exorcisms as well as other good things I will talk about in the second part of this blog.
•It is the home and birthplace of poker and craps.
•The first opera performed in the US took place in New Orleans in the 1790s.
•The New Orleans Superdome is the largest enclosed arena in the world.
•New Orleans is well known for the creole cuisine and beignets.
How New Orleans Started
New Orleans is known for having very interesting characters and a lively and party atmosphere. You may ask yourself why this is. Well, in the early days of New Orleans when this territory needed to be colonized French prisoners, casket girls and prostitutes were sent to be the first women in the city. They played a major role on what the city became. Pirates also played a role as their base was located near New Orleans bringing robbery and crime to the city.
The French Quarter
This is the oldest district in New Orleans. Two of the main attractions here are Jackson Square and Bourbon Street.
Jackson Square is a beautiful public gated park about a city block right in the front of French Quarters. This is where the St. Louis Cathedral is located and where the executions used to take place between the 18th-19th century.
Bourbon Street is the most well-known street in the French Quarter due to its bars and entertainment venues with interesting history. This is also where festivals such as Mardi Gras take place. A very interesting bar we found here is Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, a tavern known to be the oldest structures remaining in New Orleans since 1772 and used for smuggling and said to be haunted.
In Bourbon St. even the dogs have gotten drunk and the signs have gone gay!
The Garden District
This district is the well-known for the collection of historic mansions owned by many celebrities including Sandra Bullock, John Goodman and Peyton Manning. Many movies have been filmed in these houses as well. Some of these include The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Django and the Pelican Brief. During the 19th century the wealthy newcomers moved to this district and built these beautiful structures, which still remain today. This is the area that was least affected by Katrina therefore, it is the best preserved district. The greenery and flowers make this district very beautiful.
Bottom left hand corner is where the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was filmed.
Upper Right hand corner is where the movie Django was filmed.
Middle right hand side home belongs to John Goodman.
Bottom right hand side home belongs to Payton Manning.
The Swamps
Are you an adventurer lover?
Getting up close and personal with alligators is definitely a must in New Orleans! We took a boat swamp tour to be able to see the exotic fauna and flora that you do not get to see anywhere else in the US. The boat tour is about 1 hour and 30 minutes along the lazy river, which makes it easier to stand and take pictures throughout the tour. You even get the opportunity to hold an alligator and take pictures, making this experience more adventurous! The boat captains are very good when it comes to talking about the history and explaining the wild life in the swamps. The swamp tours do provide transportation to and from the hotel which makes it convenient and for the reasonable price of $15 per person as it is about 40 minutes away from the city. Here is a glimpse of what you will see in the swamps. Enjoy!
WWII Museum
This museum is considered the #1 in the US top 3 in the world! Wouldn’t you want to visit if you were in New Orleans? We certainly did! It is a huge museum so I definitely recommend planning at least half a day or splitting it into 2 days to be able to see a 4D movie and see all the expositions, which are truly beautiful. A very unique thing about this museum is that the films were displayed on big rocks and each section was themed based on the countries and seasons. Highly recommend this museum if you like to learn more about history and WWII.
Free Walking Tours
I was so amazed with New Orleans Free Walking Tours that I had to share it with you! You can practically do any of the city tours, cemetery tours, ghost tours, culinary tours and bar tours absolutely free of cost in this city through freetoursbyfoot.com. The only thing they ask for is for you to provide the tour guide with a tip based on what you think the tour is worth. I highly recommend these tours as they are great and the tour guides are very knowledgeable. My boyfriend and I did a combination of these free tours with some paid Groupon tours.
With this I conclude part 1 of our New Orleans trip. There are so many great things to talk about and share about New Orleans. Stay tune for the ghost tours, voodoo and cemeteries as well as my favorite section- the creole gastronomy of New Orleans where I share the best places to eat in the city!
What a Vacation! Makes me want to visit New Orleans Soon! You really got down to detail on this post! I love it! Another amazing Post by @Travelista ;) Upvoted!!!!
It was good to see so many photos of New Orleans, and surrounds. I loved all the old period homes. I know that New Orleans is a beautiful old city, but your post brought it to light. Good work on those Steemit shirts too!
Thank you @naquoya! I appreciate your good comments and glad you liked the pictures! Wait till you see the food! :)
Cool photographs and videos. love it. Keep sharing cool posts @travelista
Thank you @vishal1 . Finally got it going to show properly. Glad you liked them!
It's obvious you've had a blast, and i can experience it thru this fine work- Love the detail!
Glad to hear this @magdalenaruth! This was the purpose of the post to show enough to make you feel as if you were there and make you want to be there! Thank you
you're welcome!