My Last Full Day (Outer)

I loved the food in the open air French Market. I had gator bites. They had a little bit of a kick in spice, but they were so good. The gator was on top of small bread slices. We went to get our medium readings at the Voodoo Authentica shop. I loved it, I would recommend it to other folks. The shop was very eye opening. I hope to visit again one day. After the readings we went to the Voodoo Museum. The Voodoo Museum is in a small house and filled with so many artifacts. I could feel so much energy in this building. It was more of a positive vibe than a negative vibe. It was full of informative artifacts of the the voodoo religion. We had so many different types of tours about the religion. It was so much better to see some of the the artifacts. It told the story better than just hearing it from a story. I am glad that we went to the museum. After we left the museum we went to back to Jackson Square. We saw a lot of street performers dancing. They were extremely mind boggling by the way they moved their body.
This has been an amazing trip. I love being able to visit and learn as much as I can. This is a city of much beauty as much as it having an ugly side. The city unlike others embraces the ugly. The city acknowledges the tragedies by honoring them in museums and history. 

Free Exploration (Inner journey)

Today was our free day. It was so amazing to have the ability to sleep in if I wanted to. I did not though because I could not sleep. I was able to go to breakfast on my own. I was able to be independent and sit and think. Sitting by the pool was extremely relaxing. I was able to think about my experience in the time in New Orleans. I thought about all the people who dress the way they want to. I dressed the way I wanted in a beautiful dress, but I did not wear make up or do my hair. I love this city, I have so many emotions. There are some good and some bad energies in the here.
I met up with some of my new friends in the hotel lobby. We went to the Voodoo Authentica for a medium reading. It was very invigorating and some closure. Charlie the medium is very good when it comes to predicting my life. He is very good. He told me about my love life and my future career.
He talked about some things that are very true about my life. He told me I like to be ten steps ahead. He also said I need to try and live in the now instead of the future. He is right I should live in the now because if I don't I may miss too much. I think that while in New Orleans people should visit a medium at Voodoo Authentica, they are very kind and great. I need to thank my ancestors for leading me to where I am today. I think that I am better than when I first came here.
I loved being here in the Big Easy, but I miss being home with my family and my friends.

Sunday Fun Day(outer journey)

Today we went through a lot of the city. We went a haunted history tour, the Presbytere, and the Cabildo. The Presbytere was a beautiful building full of hurricane Katrina and Mardi Gras history. The outfits were very beautiful and colorful. It had a history of the outfits, floats, and the crowns. It showed how they entertained the crowds. The Katrina half was very powerful. The museum had many videos of what happened and then the aftermath. The video in the museum with a dog drowning made me super depressed. One exhibit showed what the hospital staff did during the hurricane because this is when people started to loot the hospitals for drugs and supplies. The Cabildo had the New Orleans history museum half. I liked most of the museum, but the third floor. The third floor showed the evolution of the maps of the area and the line of the parishes. The first floor had a small history of everything from history to food. It was super cool to see the evolution of the musical instruments.
The second floor showed a larger history of the city.

It had more of the wars and building history of the city. When walking around the city we walked into this band and they are really awesome. They were chilling in front of the Presbytere and they were there every day this week. We walked along the riverfront to go to the hotel. The weather today was so amazing. The last thing we did was the haunted ghost tour. We walked through the city for this. The sun started to set and it started to get cold. I loved the haunted tour. It gave me an idea for what I may do when I come here again in the future.

Sunday Within(inner journey)

On Sunday, we went to the Cabildo building, Presbytere building, and on a haunted history tour. I started my day by getting dressed up. Today was the first really warm day on the trip and I wanted to enjoy the nice sun on my skin. In Peoria the weather is definitely cooler and I am less likely to enjoy the weather like I would want to. I love dresses, so I wore a short navy blue dress that the top was in lace. It definitely was perfect for today because everyone else was sweaty and I was not. It was difficult to go through the Katrina museum in the Presbytere. It was charged with so much emotion because of the the hurricane's destruction. I enjoyed learning more about the hurricane and the rebuilding efforts. I do not remember hearing about them as a child, I only remember when the hurricane happened. When looking at the first responders and doctors it was very sad. They would have to leave some people at the hospital to die if they couldn't transport them or the out come was grim. I do not know how devastated I would be if I had to leave my patients or residents there to die. I loved the Mardi Gras museum. I was imagining myself in one of the intricate dresses. Dressing up in dresses is one of my favorite things to do in my downtime. Soon I am going to try and learn how to sew better and maybe make costumes. The Cabildo had the history of New Orleans. It makes sense to have the two excursions after each other because they both connect well. There is so much history in New Orleans it is hard to absorb it all in one museum. The history of a strong women is important to me. Micaela Pontalba is an extremely strong women that should be talked about more.
She is the reason that the area is as beautiful as it is. If she did not like the way her foundation was she would come up with a reason the building needed to be demolished. She had money, with money comes power. She had two matching buildings that were the first apartments in the country. She was very beautiful also. It is very awesome to look into early strong women. It makes me want to be as strong as them.
When walking back to the hotel, we met these funky characters. They were pirates, obviously not real. These were some cool cats. They had to put in a lot of time and effort for an out fit like this. When in New Orleans you can dress how you want, that takes some confidence.

Our last stop for the day was the haunted history tour that lead into the Joan of Arc parade. Thinking about haunting leads to thinking about ghosts. The realization that if ghosts are real is kind of scary. A ghost manifests from connecting a strong emotion to a location. We did not experience anything, but was not the time of day to experience these things. I enjoyed it because it added an additional history to some of our locations we have already visited.

Saturday's Adventure (Outer Journey)

The Ursuline Convent is one of the only true French buildings left in New Orleans. It is very large and has a nice courtyard. The courtyard has these pretty trellis fixtures around one of the bells. I liked the way that the bushes were taken care of. The bushes were extremely green. The convent was made from cypress which is supposed to be termite resistant. It had to have some pieces replaced though. Just because something is resistant does not mean it can not happen. It was nice to learn about that and cypress. I am glad I packed a little snack or two because there was a lot of walking today. I was super hungry and ate one of my apples and muffins. It curbed my appetite until we went to the open air market. I wish I would have gone shopping because the stuff was really pretty. We decided to go to a BB Kings Blues Club. It was the best music I have heard since I was able to sit down and go some place. I had the spinach dip and it was creamy. We walked from there to our food tasting. The streets were packed and crazy. My first meal was a Po'boy. It had roast beef and southern mustard. The mustard adds a nice kick to the piece it's self. One of the places called Arnaud's had a really cool museum for Mardi Gra Queens. The dresses in that room were so intricate. There were so many little crystals. I love dresses and these are the best. Today was a long day but food was the best.

The Inner Foodie (Inner Journey)

Today Consisted of three different adventures. First we went to the Ursuline Convent. The Ursuline Convent was very big and beautiful. I am not the most religious person in the city. I believe religion is the best for some but not for me. I did not feel very comfortable, but I did enjoy going and seeing the architecture. I think it is weird to donate money to a place and it not getting taxed. I liked that the chapel had a statue of Joan of Arc. I like that she fought in battles, it makes me happy that she tried to fight the patriarchal society. She also has a statue else where in the city and her weapon of choice is the canon. After the Ursuline Convent, we went to the St. Louis Cathedral it was larger than life. I really liked the walk back to the cathedral. There were a ton of people and performers. The music clung around the city and streets. I loved being able to see the dancing Pikachu. I wish I was able to take a picture with him, but we were too busy. The air smelt like fresh sweets and barbecue. I would enjoy going and eating at one of the barbecue places or eat something that I never eat in Peoria. This is the city that has the most unusual people and I like the open and free atmosphere.
In the cathedral we enjoyed looked at the way they are set up. I wish I was more into the religious vibes. I did not relate too much.
The most exciting part of the day was going to the food tasting. The food was different than what I had expected. I had the turtle soup and it tasted like a weird chicken. It was unlike anything I have eaten. The praline was really good and sweet. They use butter, cream, and pecans. They are almost like a soft brittle. I am excited to try more food later on my own. Today was a success.

Inside a Tourist Eyes (Inner Journey)

Today was so much fun. I was able to experience a few firsts. My first macaroon was so delicious. It tasted like a brownie with a thick frosting on. I got them from PJ's coffee today with some other students. Today was the day with the least amount of anxiety. I was able to have fun and enjoy the weather. The wind was a little chilly, but the sun was amazing and felt great on my skin. I have not felt this great sunshine in a long time. I feel a slight sting on my scalp since I have such fair skin. I met one of the mules on the French Market. Meeting this mule made me so happy. They are so sweet and adorable. She had put her head on my chest, this was super exciting. I wanted to meet some new friends while I was down here and this was a check mark off my list. I hope I am doing well with people. I hope the people I have been with on this trip do not think I am weird. I just like being open anymore since I am not in high school.
I love being able to talk openly with people who are into the nerdy things like video games and television shows. In this city, I feel that I can be who I want to be. it is very relaxing, I like my outfits and being free. I know some of my outfits were a little thin for the weather. This is my goal to have more freedom of expression towards my style.
One of our tours was interesting because the houses have there own personalities in this city. A few of the houses were a fancy French style in the French Quarter. It makes me want to have a nice large fancy house and have a ball.