Dear Students: here is your sixth blog topic. Visit some place in New Orleans that you’ve never been before and blog about it. You can blog about any place you like, but it should be a specific place: a building, a park, a street, etc. If you want to blog about the French Quarter, find some particular part of the Quarter to write about. This blog should be posted some time BEFORE our class on October 31. Respond by hitting the RESPONSES button underneath this entry, and make sure your post is at least 250 words. Happy blogging!
Blog Post #6: Visit to a New Orleans Place Sunday, Oct 19 2008
Uncategorized 7:28 pm
Visit a place in New Orleans that I have never been to before. Hmmmmm! I just went to burbon for the first time. Some people would consider that pathetic due to the fact that I have lived in New Orleans all my life. But I was a sheltered child and even now my mom would kill me if she or anyone of her fifty million friends found out I was there. For once, I was the the tourist; it felt good seeing something new. And the energy that the people give off on bourbon besides the drunkeness is exciting! They’re so happy! Well, they are tourists so I guess technically this was their vacation so happiness comes with the standard package. The only thing I did not like was the fact that ANYONE!!! I MEAN ANYONE!!! can go and be in the middle of bourbon. People had their little kids! I mean REALLY????!!! You are going to bring your baby girl to a place where the watch pepshows, drink, and have very convincing female impersonators! WOW!!! Also bourbon was a lot of repetition. I do not know what I expected but I did not expect much. However, the very little I did expect was nothing but a mere dream. Other than laughing at the tourists, What is there to do on Bourbon? I enjoy watching the tourists as much as any local but I got bored real quick. Bourbon somewhat ruined my night. OH and FYI to any tourists: Bourbon & heels. NO!!!! You will hate yourself if you do it!
Visit a place in New Orleans, La. Well actually born and raised in New Orleans so basically I know all the hang outspots for teen and college student. Since I know where the spots are to hang out what i could do is name the places that are exciting for me to visit. The first place is Bourbon St. This street has a variety of people all colors, shapes, and sizes. On Bourbon you cant go into clubs and dance, have fun and just be yourself. Also on Bourbon you can get drunk or watch drunk people which is very amusing. Another place where you can visit is Club Hush formerly called Club Dreams on Decatur St. in the French Quarters. This club is very exciting the best part of this club is that ladies get in free on Friday and Saturday night. Another place to go visit is Club Roc A Fella 2.5. This is my favorite place to go I love this club. ladies always get in free on Saturday and local celebrities are always there performing their acts. Also you can go there if you stay on campus and don’t have a car. This club is right on Pine St. right across the street from Xavier University. To the girl above your right Bourbon St. and heels don’t work.lol
Renelle: actually if you start from the Canal St. end of Bourbon Street and walk all the way down to Esplanade Ave. you will notice quite a few differences in the surroundings. It is actually somewhat residential down towards Esplanade. Also one of the oldest buildings in New Orleans – Jean Lafite’s Blacksmith Shop (which is a bar) – is down toward that end of Bourbon.
Alicia: the blog assignment asks you to visit someplace new. So check out a spot that is not a hangout for teen and college students! Ever been to the sculpture garden at City Park? Try that. Or something else. There are virtually infinite cool places in New Orleans to see.
Living in New Orleans all my life born and raised I thought I knew my city. I thought I knew all the cool sites and all its history and culture behind this great city. Well I was wrong, because this summer 2008 I experienced something I thought I would never encounter. I went to a historically grave site. Every time I thought of people going to a grave site to tour it I thought they were freaks. I thought they believed in voodoo and all those evil spiritual things. I guess since that’s what people from New Orleans first think when someone says they’re going to a grave site. The experience was not what I expected. I thought we were going to have to perform evil spiritual things, but it was totally the opposite. When I first walked in I was quite scared, because it is a grave site, but later down the line I got comfortable. I learned things I thought I’ll never learn. Like how some of the most famous legends of New Orleans are buried there. We learned these specific legends name and their history. We learned when they died and in some cases how they died. We saw pictures of where they lived and we knew their skin color, culture, we even knew their parents name. I was happy I experienced that all my days here living in New Orleans I never considered stepping foot in a graveyard site. The experience was a good one and I would encourage anyone to go.
Elisah: did they show you the “short-term” mausoleums where they place a body when the regular family mausoleum is “occupied”? Apparently there is a certain period of time to wait for a body to sufficiently decompose before they will place another body in the same mausoleum. Hence the need for a sort of mausoleum hotel!
A place in New Orleans where I never been to? That’s a tough question regarding that I grew up in New Orleans and have been practically everywhere. Of course, most college student are going to say they want to go to the infamous Bourbon Street, but I don’t. I’ve never been to Bourbon Street, and don’t plan on doing so either. I have no interest in THAT kind of “fun”. Fun for me would be where my friends and I can hang out. Most of my friends and I love food, so if I could visit anyplace in New Orleans, it would be an Emeril restaurant. I’ve never been to one since they are quiet costly, but if given a chance I would go. Since Emeril is from New Orleans, I’m sure his food is a very good representation of New Orleans life. One of his famous restaurants is Emeril’s Delmonico in Garden District, which specializes in Creole dining. Creole dining is usually a mix of European, African, Mediterranean cuisines. The food would include things like gumbo, turtle soup, muffuletta, jambalaya, red beans and rice, a lot of seafood dishes, and much more. Basically food types New Orleans is famous for. The location of Emeril Delmonico is also very important. It is in the Garden District, one of the most beautiful areas in New Orleans, even after Hurricane Katrina. The Garden District is known for its beautiful and expensive homes. Many of those homes were plantations built in the 1800s. It is also near St. Charles St. and Magazine St. –two also widely popular streets in New Orleans. So basically, when dining at Emeril’s Delmonico you can get an enriching taste of New Orleans food, the environment, and history of New Orleans.
I recently was on Bourbon Street and after hours of walking around, realized that I was hungry. I began to look to find a good restaurant to eat at, when on the corner sat a restaurant with the title “Embers Steakhouse”. Deciding that this was where I was going to eat, I went into the restaurant to find a hostess near the entrance of the restaurant. She was very pleasant and sat me down at a table, gave me a menu, and informed me that she would be back to place my order when I was ready. I saw the traditional Red Beans and Rice plate and decided to go with it, realizing I had a taste for it. The waitress took my order and gave the order to the chef. I watched as he was making someone’s order, probably mine, and waited. When I received the plate I was moments past starving. The plate consisted of red beans and rice, cornbread, rolls on the side, and a decent sized pork chop. The food was phenomenal. The food was seasoned to perfection, steaming hot,and smelled just as good as it tasted. I almost had to stop myself from licking the plate. Then I finished the meal with a large cold glass of water. The price of the meal was close to eight dollars, which was worth every penny. New Orleans food has its own authenticity and had I not been allergic to Shellfish and shrimp, I could learn to try newer things without being afraid of an allergic reaction, but regardless, I always enjoy the food in New Orleans.
Saleha: I’ve been to NOLA, which is Emeril’s French Quarter restaurant. It was very, very good, and worth the price (though I can’t afford to eat like that very often). I hope you get to Delmonico!
Bryan: thanks for the interesting report on Embers! I’ll have to give it a try some time.
I have been on Canal Street and it has a lot of shops and other interesting things. There are a lot of places were you can go and but masks and other neat New Orleans things. I really had fun going to the different shops. I walked from the Tulane bus stop to the end all the way to the River Walk which was another place that just had a lot of shops. I did not realize that I did not have enough money to do as much shopping as I wished but I still had fun. There was this place in the River Walk were you can buy begin’s (believed I spelled that wrong), but I am talking about fried dough and I love that!! Where I’m from you only get that at like six flags or at a carnival and that is if they have it. I really enjoyed my self at the River Walk and on Canal Street. On Canal there is a Sax Fifth and we went in the store just to look because we knew that the prices were beyond are wallets, but it was still fun to window shop. Even though while we were in there the people looked at us like we were not suppose to be there. I did not mind because I know that I can go any where I want and I was not being destructive or acting like I was crazy I was just looking around not really touching anything because I knew I wasn’t buying anything. Overall I had a wonderful time on the town in New Orleans.
Visit a place that you have never been to in New Orleans? I recently visited the west bank. My friend who choreographs for the dance team allowed me to participate in his dance class. We had to travel over this old, kind of scary bridge. It reminded me of the bridges in NY. It was the farthest that I’ve been away from the campus. The dance class was great. It was an advance contemporary dance class. We did a dance to Better Man by James Morrison. As we traveled over the bridge, I saw this new hotel that was built. The building has a circular shape. It was really interesting and I would probably stay there. Another place I recently visited was Bourbon Street. I guess every tourist feel like they should go there at least once. Like those tourist, I was no different. My friends and I decided to go there because we were extremely bored. All I can say about Bourbon Street is that it is a world of its own. There are so many different types of people who go there and so many things to get into. Every place plays different genres of music. So whatever you are in to, you are sure to find a venue that caters to you. I probably won’t visit Bourbon Street often, but I can’t say I will not go there every again! The only thing that I didn’t like about Bourbon Street was the smell. Besides that it was an interesting experience.
A place a recently visited in New Orleans was the French Quarters. It was very cool experience. It is so lively in the French Quarters. There is something for everyone to get into. In some places you have the people that dress in all gold and act like statues. You can take pictures with them. Some are even accompanied by a gold dog. Not a real dog of course but a gold statue of a dog. It’s very interesting when the gold men move and try to scare you. In the French Quarters there is a place called Café Du Monde. In French I believe this means Café of the World. It was nice to get the beignets and coffee. It is a nice place to sit down and watch the scenery. There are so many places to shop at in the French Quarters. There is a lot of New Orleans paraphernalia. You can get a lot of souvenirs from there. The most exciting thing about the stores is that all have unique Mardi Gras mask. This shows you that Mardi gras is a big part of New Orleans. I can’t wait until the Mardi Gras festival. I heard that it is the most exciting time of the year in New Orleans. Also in the French Quarters there is a restaurant called Two Sisters. It is a very famous restaurant that is talked about. I visited that place when I went to the French Quarters. I loved it. New Orleans is so full of life. You can see it when you go to any place especially the French Quarters. I had fun on that visit.
Aleia: that’s a long walk you took (but great exercise)! And it’s “beignets” (a French word).
New Orleans is an interesting and historic city that I would love to explore more, but I don’t really get the chance to very often. I am from the New Orleans area, so I’ve been to many parts of the city before. However, there are a large number of places I have never been. A place I had never been before was Magazine Street. My friends and I were just riding after taking a trip to the store one night, and we just followed the river road. There were many small specialty shops and restaurants. We were really looking for a place to eat, but Magazine St. was not the place to find fast food. I would like to go back maybe during the day to really catch the scene and find a nice place to sit down and enjoy a meal. For the night life, the street was very serene and laid back. Another place I had never visited before was the Warehouse District. I had never noticed it before, but it can be seen from the interstate coming from the Westbank. I don’t remember much scenery, but it was the simple fact that I was in New Orleans’ Warehouse District. My family and I ate at Sun Ray Grill, which had a very home-like feel and incorporated a lot of art. I really got a taste of New Orleans at this restaurant after having the crawfish and brie with french bread. It was delicious. I hope to visit more places like Jackson Square, the art museum, Treme, and WWII museum.
In August, the week of orientation, my mother took me to the French Market; I am not sure if that is the correct name. I have always passed by the Market, but never got the chance to actually walk through it. I did not know what to expect. When my mother and I finally reached the French Market, I was amazed at the variety of interesting things that it had to offer. The French Market is made up of a lot of little booths and/or tables. On the tables the sellers spread out their particular product that most of them have hand crafted themselves. In the Market, I saw oils, shirts, jewelry, masks, beads, sculptures, alligator heads, and lots of eye-catching items. One booth stands out in my mind because of the unique quality of the item that was up for sell. The booth belonged to a lady who was selling pins, decorative pins for clothing. The pins had so many different shapes and very vibrant color patterns. The lady went on to explain to my mother and I that her brother makes these wonderful creations as a hobby. She told us how he takes his time to make sure ever piece is placed properly, and she also showed us a picture of her brother. In the picture her brother was hold a basketball sized decorative piece that shared the similar characteristics of the pins, which his sister was selling. The animal sculptures were very well done, and there was an assortment of types of animals. The oils smelled so good; I like the one that smell like baby powder. The alligator heads were captivating. The masks were decorated beautifully. We only spent an hour in the market, which was not enough time to see every thing in the French Market. I hope to one day go back to the market and walk around for hours to be able to see the items I missed from the first visit.
Ashley and Asia: thanks for the reports on the West Bank (it almost seems like another world over there) and the French Quarter. I saw one of those gold men walking down the street near where I live recently. Funny to see that outside of the Quarter!
Kara: it’s funny that you say you couldn’t find “fast food” on Magazine Street. That street happens to have many, many very good restaurants (including some nice po boy shops), but it is true that you won’t find very many chain fast food places. To me that is a very good thing: New Orleans is not a corporate town, which is one of the things that makes it unique.
Tiffany: the French Market (that’s the correct name) is a great place to do your Christmas shopping. Lots of good bargains!
Since I’m from Grosse Tete, Louisiana I have really been almost every where in New Orleans, I thought until a couple of months ago I would say in June or July I went to a place called Tee Eva’s on magazine street. Previously I was totally unaware of this place. Tee Eva has some of the best personal sweet potato pies in the world to me. Tee Eva also has pecan candy, snowballs, pecan pies and other delicious treats. I don’t know if many people know about it because I don’t hear people mention it often. I can’t exactly remember where we were headed but we were on Magazine Street and we saw this little building painted yellow with other colorful designs and I saw where she was selling sweet potato pies so we decided to stop. I am so glad that we stopped because the treats there were so good. There really aren’t many other places I haven’t been in New Orleans but I’m sure if I have never been to Tee Eva’s there are many other places that I have not been. One weekend I will go riding around and find some places I haven’t been or even heard of. Not only are there a lot of places I haven’t been but there also are a lot of restaurants that I haven’t been to. New Orleans has so many hole in the wall restaurants that have some of the best food that you can imagine. New Orleans has so many different aspects of it to discover.
Eyonna: thanks for the nice review of Tee Eva’s. I’ve never even heard of it until now, but it sounds good!
Last year, for Halloween, I remember my Art teacher took us to the Metairie Cemetery for a school field trip. It was truly an enriching experience for me, and the trip sure had it’s educational value. The acitivities included, eating, throwing rocks at the ducks, running around chasing each other playing hide and go seek, sneaking out trying to find the nearest Burger King, and so on. Yeah, educational. But anyway, it was my very first time over there, and my very first time going into a cemetary ever. Although it is not the most interesting place to go to, it is a significant part of New Orleans. By the way, I’m pretty sure everyone knew or knows this, but I found out that although the name is Metairie cemetery, the actual location of the cemetery is in New Orleans. Anyway, I learned taht a lot of famous people from New Orleans are buried there, but i can’t think of any off the top of my head. I also learned that the cemetery actually used to be a race track for horses. People should visist this place to enjoy the nice scenery, pay respects to whoever they want, or just for that spooky feeling on Halloween
David: thanks for the Metairie Cemetery description – very appropriate for the Halloween season!
One of the most interesting places that I have been to in New Orleans is Cafe Du Monde in the French Quarter. The ambiance of the cafe is very nice and depending on the time, you can catch one of the local street artists outside playing music. The natural playing of the music is what drew me to Cafe Du Monde. I love music and the fact that I can enjoy a nice beignet, sip on a frozen cafe au lait and listen to music is very enjoyable for me. I have brought many of my out of town friends to the cafe and they enjoyed it as much as I did. If you haven’t visited Cafe Du Monde then you should. Oh yea! Another thing that I love about the cafe are the prices. Nothing is over five dollars so its perfect for the broke college student! The waiters at Cafe Du Monde are also very interesting. Many of them are from different parts of the world and their accents remind you that New Orleans is a place full of culture and diversity.The waiters from New Orleans give their customer the true New Orleans experience. Their typical New Orleans vernacular allow out-of-towners to gain the true essence of New Orleans. Ultimately, the location, the people, the food, and the prices are what I love about Cafe Du Monde in the French Quarter!
Donnisha: that’s a nice description of Cafe du Monde. Here’s an interesting fact about the cafe. The waiters actually “buy” the food and beverages before bringing it out to the customers. If you go inside to use the restrooms, you’ll see the waiters in line to purchase the food and coffee they are about to take out to their customers. I suppose this is a theft-prevention measure, and I’ve never heard of it at any other place.
A place that I not too long ago visited is probably going to come as a shock to some people. Well, I recently had, for the first time, went to Lakeside Shopping Center. I think that many might be shocked because I have been down here in New Orleans since June of this summer. And for some reason, I managed to get everywhere else except Lakeside Mall. The mall is really nice, and it is a great size. Although there are big malls in Tennessee, there are not any malls that big in Memphis. When I first walked into the doors, my reaction was kind of like wow. For a moment, I felt like a kid in a gigantic candy store. I love to shop, and this mall has every kind of store that I could ever want to shop in. And, not to mention when I left the mall, I only had about twenty dollars left: and, I started out with $200! My mom wasn’t too happy, but I was with my new clothes and shoes. My friends and I arrived there at one something that afternoon. yet, it was about eight hours later when we finally left. But that was my fault because I was so excited about going in each and every store. And I went in each store and stayed for a long period of time. My friends became grouchy and tired after I started to take so long. And I myself was really tired, but you know how you’re so excited about something that no matter how tired you are, you are pepped up? Well that’s how I was that day. But, it was a fun outing and I can’t wait until we go back…..but my friends can!
Ashley: you may know that the Macy’s at Lakeside Mall has just re-opened. New Orleans was without its Macy’s since Katrina, and now two have reopened.
Living in New Orleans all my life I couldn’t really think of one specific place in New Orleans that stands out from all the other places I have been in New Orleans. So I got in the car and begin to drive around in search of a specific place with some kind of relevance to it. I found myself at the Williams St. exit off of I 10. I took a left and then drove all the way down to the end. At the end I parked my car it seemed like I was in some kind of little town. It looked like something you would see on an old time movie of some sort. I walk up these steps and I could see the Mississippi river. It was a great view of the river, and they had a bench up there. I was the only person up there so I just set up and enjoyed the view. It wasn’t too much to look at except the river, but I just felt a sense of ease up there. It felt like all of my thoughts were just gone for that little time while I was up there. It is a great place to just go and chill by yourself and even with someone. I have been up there a few times after I found it, and it seems I am the only one there every time that I go up there. I probably would have never found this little spot if it wasn’t for this blog that I had to do for freshman seminar. I am glad that I found this spot because I now have a spot that I can just chill by myself or even with someone.
Tracy: isn’t it funny how we can sometimes forget the great Mississippi River that is always nearby somewhere?
XULA is a historically black college that is first in placing African Americans in medical school. Desiring to be a Pre- Med major, this was my first choice for colleges. Since it was an official visit I was required to practice with the team. This is where I got very nervous. I had never practice with a colligate team before, and didn’t know what to expect. That practice happened to be one of my best workouts ever. I did things that I didn’t know I could do. It was amazing. After my first practice with the team I went to dinner with my Coach, Coach Bo. Coach Bo is a short, chocolate, round guy who loves to make jokes. Our two and half hour dinner went well. We ate Chinese food that was cooked to perfection. After dinner I quickly returned to my dorm to take a shower and crash, because of our 6:00 am practice the next morning. Due to dinner with my Coach I didn’t get back to the dorm till eleven, but made it to bed by twelve. The following day I took a tour around the campus. The campus was beautiful. It was small but spacious. The library was the biggest building on campus. The tour was very intriguing, since I learned so much about XULA. After the tour I feel in love with the school and knew this was the place I want to spend the next four years of my life. Later the evening I returned to the gym for my last individual workout. This workout is where I put my faith and hope to the test. It lasted for about two hours, but I new it was important because the rest of my life was riding on my performance. Thankfully I was offered a four-year full ride scholarship, which includes my books, tuition, room and board, anything I need for college. I was overwhelmed with joy, that I didn’t know what to do. Shortly after my practice, my mom and I went out to celebrate and call everyone we knew to share the god news.
Jazmone: I think you may have posted in the wrong place or else you are responding to the wrong question. This blog asks you to comment about a specific New Orleans place.
i am in love with Cafe du Monde, it is one of the most diverse spots ive been to since ive been in New Orleans. The atmosphere is so peaceful and chaotic all out once. My most memorable moment in New Orleans was actually at Cafe du monde with my friends from Xavier. There were two muscians, one who played the guitar and the other, a violin. My friends and i sat close to them so we could listen to the music intentively,it was so beautiful. Everything seemed perfect,there i was eating beignets and drinking coffee enjoying sweet sounds. Another thing, its not expensive, so its convenient for the average college student! Also, bourbon street is only a few blocks away. So,You have the best of both worlds!
Birkinesh: perhaps you could elaborate on your experience at Cafe du Monde. This is a polite way of saying that you aren’t very close to 250 words.
Everything is pretty much new to me in New Orleans since I’m from California. So far that I’ve been here I’ve been to a few places with majority of them giving a little piece of New Orleans. About a month ago, a friend picked me and said that he was going to surprise me. While on the freeway I tried to look for some kind of sign of where he might be taking me. When we exit the freeway I say a sign that said French Quarters and Business District. So I assumed we would be going down to the French Quarters and walk around. I was kind of wrong, we park and I was at the Riverwalk. It was so beautiful at night, all the bright lights were on and it light up the area. As he led me up the stair, I noticed the beautiful fountains and stone used on the ground. Since I made us late to catch the boat, my friend showed me around the board walk. We watched the fairy go back and forth. Since my friend is from New Orleans he explained the reason for the ferry and he told me about the big boat that goes around the river. After walking and talking on the Riverwalk. We walked back to the car and we stopped at Café de Monde. Of course we both had to indulge in some Beignets and hot chocolate. Outside of Cafe de Monde two people where outside playing great music. It was all exciting to see and not very expensive at all!
Ebonee: that’s a nice description of the riverfront area.