New Orleans

My trip to the city was amazing. I was able to visit to Saint Roch Cemetery 1 & 2. They were breath taking. Cemetery one which is older had a chapel near the front gate dedicated to Saint Roch the patron saint of miracle cures. Inside the quaint chapel was an alcove full of braces and prosthetic limbs along with prayers of thanks for Saint Roch giving the gift of miracle cures. Saint Roch being a Catholic cemetery of course, was full of Catholic art and sculptures. The 2nd cemetery located across the street had several large mausoleums that look liked they were currently in use for new customers.I was also to able to go on the Haunted History tour featuring Saint Louis Cemetery Number one. This cemetery was the oldest in the city. It was raining pretty hard that morning but the weather wasn't going to stop me from achieving my dream. The cemetery was a site to behold, full of history and an amazing feeling of mystery.I can't explain the feeling that came over me walking through the gate. Many people don't understand my love of cemeteries. I always get the feeling, from most people, that I am sick, or crazy, somehow. New Orleans cemeteries were the holy grail for me and I was actually there. It was so old, and mystic. I cried tears of joy when the taxi driver dropped me off at Saint Roch. He asked me if I was ok, and I just blubbered "I'm great. Thanks for the ride." tipped him and got out. I cried again when walking with the tour group into Saint Louis. Again, I got looks like I need to be strapped in a white coat. I still get teary eyed when I talk about it..Saint Louis #1 featured many society tombs including the Italian society which a large sculpture of a woman holding a torch. This tomb was featured in the movie Easy Rider with Dennis Hopper. There was so much artwork it was over whelming. I kept falling behind from the group to take pictures and explore. The ground was full of puddles and like an idiot I only packed flip flops to wear. There I was balancing (pretty badly)a umbrella, camera, jacket, and my hand bag, wading through puddles. I was backing up to get a wide angle of a tomb and ran right into another tomb. I fell on my ass right into a puddle. By the end of the tour, I was completely soaked including everything I was carrying. I couldn't of been happier, though.I asked the tour guide about the damage done to the city from Hurricane Katrina she mentioned the dead palm tree near the front of the cemetery and an old tomb with several families interred in it were the only things to sub stain any damage. I was lucky enough to finally be able to visit the tomb of Marie Laveau. I couldn't believe I was actually standing two feet in front of it. It wasn't in a book or on the TV I was actually there. I laid my hand upon her tomb and asked her my heart's desire. There were many coins and trinkets laying next to her grave for, thanks of the wishes she had granted. The rain that day, gave the cemetery an even more eerie and wonderfully magical feeling. You can see my pictures taken of the cemetery at my website in the Cemetery Section.I also visited the French market where I spent the majority of my time, spending money. There was anything the mind could imagine for sale there. I was told that pre hurricane Katrina there was also fresh produce for sale. The market went down for several blocks near the quarter and was a great place to spend an afternoon.The French Quarter was just how I always thought it would be. Music of every kind was blasting from every bar we passed, which were many. Balconies full of fragrant flowers loomed above. It was so alive down there, and exciting.I stopped at Marie Laveau's House of Voodoo. It was pretty much to me, like a tourist shop except it had voodoo memorabilia. There was however, a small to scale tomb of Marie Laveau's, of course, I had to buy that.I was able to go into Mississippi along the coast and see the damage from the hurricane. It was serene and heartbreaking. We drove along what used to be a large tourist area but now was reduced to ugly condos and construction. The boardwalk along the beach was torn in pieces, the many restaurants and large hotels were no more. It was eerie with all the rebuilding and murky water in the distance. There used to be beautiful Victorian homes that no longer stood, foundations with no houses, stairways that lead no where. In the city many houses still bore the mark of Xs with the number of bodies found inside. Many fema trailers could be found along with abandoned houses. Living in Idaho it didn't really occur to me how horrible and utterly devastating the hurricane was. I mean I saw it on the news, and the many images but my mind didn't wrap around the utter devastation people were living with, and continue to live with. Imagine loosing everything, your home, everything in it, your job, because the building no longer stands, your car, and maybe even your life. I felt incredibly lucky.