Arrival: Outer Journey

When we arrived at the train station, I was completely relieved that we had made it to New Orleans. It was nice to finally walk on still ground again. I was expecting the train station to be way more busier than it was, which was nice, since my group and I were nervous about using Uber for the first time. After getting our checked bags from the train station workers, we ordered an Uber and headed outside to the pick up area. Our Uber driver, Nathaniel, was so nice. He said that he was born and raised in New Orleans, so we used that to our advantage. He told us what we had to eat here while we were in town, places to visit, and his review of the zoo near by. This made us even more excited for out trip to start.

When we got to the hotel, we were more than ready to freshen up after our 17 hour train ride. Kendra, Marcy, and I patiently waited for our room keys. When we got a hold of our keys, we were so excited to see our room because the pictures online were so much nicer than we expected. When we entered our room, it was so nice to change our clothes and lay down for a little bit. Who knew 17 hours of doing nothing on a train could make you feel so gross and tires?

After we freshened up for an hour or so, we met with the rest of our classmates in the lobby to leave for dinner. I was super excited, and quite hangry after not having a real meal for a day and a half. Kendra and I both ate way too many Pop-Tarts and fruit snack on the train ride. The walk was so nice. One of my favorite parts was the brick side walks and all of the neon signs. When we arrived at the street car pick up, I was really nervous because I obviously don't know my way around. It was nice having our teacher there to help us out for the first time. It was so cool seeing Jackson Square for the first time in person, since I only saw it during class presentations.

Next, we made out way to the restaurant, The Original Pierre Maspero’s. This was an amazing experience! It was so fun getting to know other classmates as well as try new food. I got the Crab Cake Maspero. The crap cakes were amazing and better than I expected. Everyone got different things and shared with everyone, so it was nice getting to taste a little bit of everything the restaurant had to offer. I loved how different the food is from the "Cajun" food that I have had back home in Illinois. The food at The Original Pierre Maspero’s was so well spiced and so flavorful. After we ate, we split up from most of the class and headed to Cafe Du Monde for dessert. Kendra, Marcy, and I shared a plate of beignets and I ordered a coffee with chicory. Everything was so much better than we thought it was going to be. I think we've already convinced ourselves that we need more beignets before we go back home.

Street Car

Crab Cake Maspero

Beignets and Coffee with Chicory