January 5th: Outer Journey

My favorite part of the day was definitely the cuisine tour. I'm very much a foodie, so I was excited to try a little bit of each of foods that New Orleans was famous for. It was also great to learn about the ingredients in each of the famous dishes as well. We started off by eating a brisket po boy sandwich with horseradish sauce on it from Tujaque's. I'm not a huge fan of horse radish, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I liked it on this sandwich. It was more of a clear, watery horse radish sauce instead of a thicker white horse radish sauce like they serve in Illinois. It was also cool that, at the next stop, the tour guide gave us the recipe for it. At the second stop, Creole Delicacies, we tasted beans and rice. It was probably the least flavorful thing I tasted on the tour, but still really good. We then made our way to Antoine's for shrimp gumbo. I was excited for this because I love sea food, and it definitely did not let me down. It was so good, and I could have stayed and eaten all evening. Next on the list was a praline shop called Leah's Pralines. I have a huge sweet tooth, so I thought pralines would be right up my alley, but they were too sweet for me and the texture wasn't my favorite. Lastly, we stopped at one of the fanciest restaurants in New Orleans called Arnaud's to try turtle soup. This was by far my favorite dish on the cuisine tour. It was so rich and no one could even tell it has turtle in it. The shrimp that they served on the side was dripping in a really spicy sauce, but it was also very good. I could definitely see how the city spoke through its food. It amazing how these families would buy half a block worth of buildings that had private dining rooms. The food is like nothing you can get in Illinois. It's so unique, and I keep having to remind myself that I'm not in a foreign country. 

Arnaud's

Antoine's

January 4th: Inner Jouney

While my class and I were looking at the architecture and history of Jackson square, I couldn't help but think about the history of feminism during the time Michaela was building and perfecting the two apartment buildings on either side of Jackson Square. Even though the tour guide made it seem like she was a spoiled brat who got whatever she wanted, I felt proud to know that a woman was behind it all. I also couldn't help but go crazy over the architecture in Jackson square and surrounding area, especially the wrought iron fences and balconies. My dad is very handy and has made many things out of iron, like trellises and mailbox holders, similar in in design to the balconies of Michaela's apartment buildings. My dad has shown me how much work is put into something like that, and it made me more appreciative of it. I also felt delighted that not much has changed in the Jackson square. I love how Michaela's apartment buildings are still standing. I've always had a weakness for older houses, so seeing the character and small little detail of the building was fun and it was nice to learn that the city of New Orleans appreciates it just as much as I do, keeping the buildings nice.

During the cemetery tour, I couldn't help but think about how different the burial traditions are than they are in New Orleans. I get the people in New Orleans cannot bury underground, but my grandparents would not like the idea of being buried with each other and then adding the bodies of every member of the family after that. I liked thinking about how there were probably just as many bodies in the 500 square foot cemetery as their was in my hometowns 3 acre cemetery. It was fun to learn about these traditions and how much different these traditions are from ours in Illinois.

Here is a fun video of a tour of Jackson Square:

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

Arrival: Inner Journey

Arriving at the train station in New Orleans was such a relief. It reminded me that good things take time, and I truly felt that the trip was worth the log train ride. Although I felt excited about the trip, reality set in, and got nervous about my bag possibly getting lost and ordering our Uber at the correct time. I would have been mortified if my luggage had been lost because I felt so gross from traveling and didn't pack any clothes or toiletries in my carry on bag, No one in my group had ever ordered an Uber before so it was nerve racking. I'm from a small town where Uber isn't really a things, so it was only something I had seen on the Internet and television. 

When we arrived at The Original Pierre Maspero’s, I got nervous when we told the water waiting at the door about our reservation, but he acted like he had no idea what we were talking about. A waitress walked our and acted a little rude, which also made me a little nervous. One of my biggest pet peeves is bad service, so I started off with a bad impression. I was relieved when our waitress was the sweetest women. She gave us so many recommendation and help with the menu. It reminded me to never judge a book by its cover. After dinner, we were supposed to go on a haunted history tour, but it had to be rescheduled because it was raining. I was relieved that we wouldn't have to do the tour in the rain though. 

At Cafe Du Monde, I was so excited to try the beignets, but felt a little bit iffy about the coffee with chicory in it. I'm  a coffee addict and very picky about what is out into my coffee. It has to be perfect or I won't drink it. I stood out on a limb and tried the coffee with chicory, and was surprised at how much I liked it! It reminded me that New Orleans is going to have so many different foods and drinks that I've never tried, and that I need to be adventurous when choosing what to eat or else I will regret it later. 

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

Departure: Inner Journey

When I left class on Wednesday to get my luggage from home, I started feeling really nervous. When I got home, I felt like I was forgetting everything, but I also realized that I didn’t have much time to spend with my family and dog before I left. This made me even more nervous because I am such a homebody. I’ve lived in the same town, in the same house, for the past 21 years. I finally gathered everything that needed and hauled it all down my stairs. I made sure to love on my dog a little bit more because I know I’ll miss her. I usually spend my lunch break everyday playing with her, so I have a feeling she will miss me too. Every time I travel away from home, it always makes me realize how much my family means to me, and how thankful I am for them letting me have these experiences.

I was dreading the hour and 45 minute drive to the train station in Champaign. When I was in high school, I was on the dance team, and we would drive hours away for competitions every weekend. The drive to the train station reminded me how important patience is. I learned that I’m still capable of driving long distances without getting bored. I also learned how thankful I am for good friends. I wouldn’t be going on this amazing trip if it weren’t for Kendra and Marcy telling me about it. I realized how important things like this are in building friendships. We were all really nervous to go because we didn't know what to expect, but we decided that we were all in it together. It has been non-stop storytelling and laughter between the three of us.

While on the train, I liked to imagine I’m on my way to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry just to make things more exciting. I haven’t taken a trip like this in a while, and I’m proud to have learned that I can still sleep just about anywhere. Neck pillows and cozy blankets are a life-saver. I’m very excited to see what else I’ll learn when we reach the city.

Kendra, Marcy, and Me

Departure: Outer Journey

It was a very strange feeling traveling to get on a train at 6pm, knowing I would be boarding a train at later that evening. I’ve only taken a train one other time, and we left early in the morning, so I was a little nervous about sleeping on a train through the night. I was lucky enough to carpool with my friends to the train station, and we all got each other excited for the trip. We talked about what we wanted to do on our free day and all the places and things we wanted to see. When Kendra, Marcy, and I arrived at the train station, I felt a little better seeing all of my other classmates there. I texted my mom that we had made it, and that’s when it hit me that we would be in New Orleans in less than 24 hours.

When we boarded the train, we got settled. We put our bags above us and got our blankets and pillows ready to sleep. My classmates and I discovered that the train seats provided us more room than we imagined. We discovered different foot rests and mechanisms that would help us sleep better. The only problem was, none of us were tired. We sat and talked for an hour or so, and then I moved to listening to music. Nothing could make me tired, so I was starting to feel like I would never sleep. If you are traveling on an Amtrak train, here are 10 tips for sleeping on a train.

Around 6 in the morning I was woken up by the train crew announcing a stop over the intercom. Kendra, Marcy, and I headed to the bathroom for the first time since getting on the train. My first experience in a train bathroom was not the most glamorous, but I was thankful to get out of my seat and stretch my legs. We headed back to our seats and instantly fell asleep. I ended up sleeping until 8 AM. I’m very thankful that I got some more sleep. Overall, I’ve enjoyed the train ride, but I miss my bed and dog back home.

Inside of the Train