Picture Day returns and heads out to the Big Easy!
Sorry I missed last week. I know so many people look forward to Mondays to check out my wonderful photos, so I apologize. It was a small oversight and I'll try not to let it happen again!!!!
Moving on, in October 1995 Krys and I went on our honeymoon. Close readers will note that this was 15 months after we were married, but we call it a honeymoon, so it's a honeymoon! This was the first time we could scrape together enough money to go anywhere, and we went to New Orleans. Now that New Orleans has been destroyed, I'm glad we went, because it really is (was?) a fascinating place, and although I stick by my contention that it was bone-headed to put a city there in the first place, it's a shame it was wiped out, because it is unlike any other American city. It would be nice if it could come back strong (of course, it still shouldn't be there - it's below sea level, people!)
So we'll have pictures of the Big Easy for a week or two. We took a lot o' photographs!
Here's the Saint Louis Cathedral. Saint Louis, of course, led two Crusades against the Muslims (he died on the second one, in Tunis), and upheld the right of kings to rule absolutely when Simon de Montfort wanted his blessing in his war against Henry III. So of course he was canonized, and of course Americans, those lovers of freedom and democracy, go around naming cities and churches after him.
One thing I like about old cities and cities that aren't necessarily perfectly planned are quirky streets. This is a cool little alley alongside the cathedral. Cool little alleys are cool.
Why did I take this picture? Apparently, that fence is famous. Why? It's the Cornstalk Fence! See, the tops look like cornstalks and are painted yellow. And it's famous!
We took a trolley ride through the Garden District and marveled at the gorgeous houses. I took a bunch of pictures, but I'll only post these two. People actually live in these. Neat.
We took a tour of the Lafayette Cemetery - during the day, so it was decidedly un-spooky. As you should know, cemeteries in N.O. are keen because they can't be underground. So we get nifty mausoleums (mausolea?) above the ground and we get scenes like this:
On one of the days we went on a bus tour of some of the plantations along the Mississippi. This was a nice trip but it almost made me bash my head against the window of the bus and is a reason why I can't live in the South. In the city we toured a museum about the history of the area, and we learned about the Code by which slave-owners and slaves lived. The tour guide kept talking about how much better it was for the slaves in Louisiana than the rest of the South. The bus driver kept saying the same thing. Listen, Southerners: slavery is evil. Deal with it and get over it. What your ancestors did 150 years ago shouldn't make you try to justify it in your historical presentations. Sure, maybe slaves were treated "better" in Louisiana than elsewhere in the South. But guess what? It doesn't change the fact that white people owned other human beings! It was very frustrating. My sister always talks about how wonderful northern Virginia is and how it's not like the rest of the South at all. I could probably live there for a year or two, but then somebody would say something idiotic and I'd lose my mind. So no thank you. I know there is racism everywhere, but in the South it's a little ridiculous.
But the houses sure are nice. This is Nottaway. Nice to have more money than God and not have to pay income taxes and have no labor costs. Look what it gets you!
So that's New Orleans, part one. Join us next week when revisit the glory that was once the Big Easy!
Moving on, in October 1995 Krys and I went on our honeymoon. Close readers will note that this was 15 months after we were married, but we call it a honeymoon, so it's a honeymoon! This was the first time we could scrape together enough money to go anywhere, and we went to New Orleans. Now that New Orleans has been destroyed, I'm glad we went, because it really is (was?) a fascinating place, and although I stick by my contention that it was bone-headed to put a city there in the first place, it's a shame it was wiped out, because it is unlike any other American city. It would be nice if it could come back strong (of course, it still shouldn't be there - it's below sea level, people!)
So we'll have pictures of the Big Easy for a week or two. We took a lot o' photographs!
Here's the Saint Louis Cathedral. Saint Louis, of course, led two Crusades against the Muslims (he died on the second one, in Tunis), and upheld the right of kings to rule absolutely when Simon de Montfort wanted his blessing in his war against Henry III. So of course he was canonized, and of course Americans, those lovers of freedom and democracy, go around naming cities and churches after him.
One thing I like about old cities and cities that aren't necessarily perfectly planned are quirky streets. This is a cool little alley alongside the cathedral. Cool little alleys are cool.
Why did I take this picture? Apparently, that fence is famous. Why? It's the Cornstalk Fence! See, the tops look like cornstalks and are painted yellow. And it's famous!
We took a trolley ride through the Garden District and marveled at the gorgeous houses. I took a bunch of pictures, but I'll only post these two. People actually live in these. Neat.
We took a tour of the Lafayette Cemetery - during the day, so it was decidedly un-spooky. As you should know, cemeteries in N.O. are keen because they can't be underground. So we get nifty mausoleums (mausolea?) above the ground and we get scenes like this:
On one of the days we went on a bus tour of some of the plantations along the Mississippi. This was a nice trip but it almost made me bash my head against the window of the bus and is a reason why I can't live in the South. In the city we toured a museum about the history of the area, and we learned about the Code by which slave-owners and slaves lived. The tour guide kept talking about how much better it was for the slaves in Louisiana than the rest of the South. The bus driver kept saying the same thing. Listen, Southerners: slavery is evil. Deal with it and get over it. What your ancestors did 150 years ago shouldn't make you try to justify it in your historical presentations. Sure, maybe slaves were treated "better" in Louisiana than elsewhere in the South. But guess what? It doesn't change the fact that white people owned other human beings! It was very frustrating. My sister always talks about how wonderful northern Virginia is and how it's not like the rest of the South at all. I could probably live there for a year or two, but then somebody would say something idiotic and I'd lose my mind. So no thank you. I know there is racism everywhere, but in the South it's a little ridiculous.
But the houses sure are nice. This is Nottaway. Nice to have more money than God and not have to pay income taxes and have no labor costs. Look what it gets you!
So that's New Orleans, part one. Join us next week when revisit the glory that was once the Big Easy!
Labels: French Quarter, Garden District, History, My life, New Orleans, Picture day
posted by Greg | 3:49 PM
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