January 4th: Outer Journey

To start the day, my class went on a tour around the city to learn about history, architecture, and death in New Orleans. One part that was really interesting was the history and architecture of Jackson square. I love the story of how Micaela Leonarda Antonia Almonester prevailed from three gunshot wounds and took her and her dead father's money to build the beautiful square just how she wanted it. The St. Louis Cathedral was one of my favorite parts as well. I love the bright white color and the way it looks with the Andrew Jackson statue standing in the front of it. It is one of the prettiest pairs I've ever seen.

Another one of my favorite parts of the tour was the cemetery. I find it really interesting how the bodies have to be "buried" above water because the sea level is so high in New Orleans. I've never heard of people being buried this way, so I had a great time hearing about it. It was also great seeing how each grave reflected the house that that family would have lived in. Some graves were one story, some were three story, and some even had balconies on them. We also got to see Nicholas Cage's grave for when he passes away. His grave was the most obnoxious grave there, shaped into a pyramid. The story that out tour guide told us about Nicolas Cage's story was interesting because his career started going down the drain once he moved away from New Orleans.

St. Louis Cathedral and Andre Jackson Statue

Tomb in the Cemetary

Tombs with Statue on Top