I woke up before the alarm and my roommates and quietly got up and got ready for the day. I felt well rested and was ready to take on our official whole last day. As I stated in my last post I have gotten bad blisters on my feet, like the size of half dollars and was concerned I would not make it today. I was preparing for the worst. Fortunately, this morning they do not feel nearly as bad as they felt last night. I waited patiently for my roommate who bravely volunteered to put the moleskin on the under and side of my foot that is hard to apply, to be ready. She gently puts the moleskin on the outside of both of my heels. I slowly slip my bandaged foot into my nike tennis shoe. Thankfully they are dry from the recent down pour that we had the pleasure of walking in. We UBER to Artillery Park which is right across from Jackson Square, to reduce the amount of walking before the three hour walking tour. We make it there earlier than 7:55am start time so we walk to Cafe Du Monde. My roommate generously offered to buy my coffee and beignets as I bought them the time before. It is much colder than I feel like it has been since we have been here or braved. It is sunny and that we will find is our only saving grace. We quickly return to our meeting spot to meet our tour guide. He is an older African American man who is wearing a Mardi Gras hat, a yellow sweatshirt and black pants.
He immediately talks about how cold it is as we have heard from every local how cold it has been and how they do not know what to do with themselves. Our tour starts with a beautiful view of the river at Artillery Park and ends at Congo Square.
I cannot even remember all the stops we made but each stop was as enthralling and encompassing. Our tour guide was quick with information and even dates. He was was mesmerizing with his recall of historical significance and his smile was contagious. He was also quite witty.
From Congo Square which was amazing to put a picture to a place and to imagine the trading and birth of music, we went to lunch at Napoleon House which was suggested by Val and on the corner across from The Original Pierre Maspero's. It's charm hit you as you enter with the name in tile right before you walk in. The bar is the first thing you see when you walk in as it really is a statement. I order Seafood Gumbo and Caesar salad which was delicious.
From Napoleon House we go to our next stop of Presbytere which I had been looking forward to since I had heard what it was. The Presbytere housed the Katrina and Mardi Gras museum. When you walk in there is a beautiful glass bottled ceiling paying to those whom lost their lives and those that helped them.
We slowly made our way through the museum soaking in as much as we could. There were tons of videos, photos and artifacts on both floors.
There was always something to read or look at. After the Presbytere we had the afternoon to ourselves.
Today was a successful day. I got to go on the three hour tour which was a huge concern for me but I toughed it out. I remember dreading get out of bed this morning as I was afraid of not being able to walk. It was a great feeling to be able to make it. Today had a lot of emotions. Excitement that I could make it on the tour turned into whole hearted interest with the three hour tour. I could not be more happy with the outcome of that tour. It was jam packed with information. Milton was truly one of a kind. I enjoyed making my way through the city with someone who had such a wealth of knowledge. I really enjoyed the cemetery and visiting Marie Laveau's grave.
It was great to hear of how she was a hair dresser and a voodoo priestess. I also enjoyed hearing how her and her daughters never corrected anyone who thought she was not aging even though her daughter were identical and also named Marie. I also immensely loved the break we took. It was an amazing visual aid to see how wide spread the flooding was and hearing his stories.
I could not believe when he said he was from the ninth ward and there was water there for 2 months. I also could not believe his friends story of being stuck in the tree for 4 days before being rescued. Thinking of what the community of New Orleans dealt with in regard of Katrina is truly hard to wrap my head around. The thing that hit hard to the most was when I learned that the hospital had lost power and that they were assisting with bagging their ventilated patients after the pack up generators went out. I could not imagine this as I have had to help bag a patient for probably five minutes and my hands hurt and ached. You not only have to bag but you have to maintain a good seal. I also heard a real life testimonial of what people had to deal with at the super dome. I had heard some things but not that people were walking in urine and fecal matter. As if things could not get worse with inadequate food, water and electricity. I literally cannot fathom these types of conditions. From the Presbytere I went and got my tarot Cards read.
I was nervous as I had never done that before but a fellow classmate went and said hers encounter was awesome. The reading went well for example I was told I was with my true love, my family is healthy, financially stable until it came to something that could happen in the next 6 months. The card read was for disappointment. I immediately thought of NCLEX and got a pit in my stomach. I will be taking my boards in June or July and she said that is when possible disappointment could happen. I tried my best to forget about that one negative part and tried to enjoy my last free afternoon.
He immediately talks about how cold it is as we have heard from every local how cold it has been and how they do not know what to do with themselves. Our tour starts with a beautiful view of the river at Artillery Park and ends at Congo Square.
I cannot even remember all the stops we made but each stop was as enthralling and encompassing. Our tour guide was quick with information and even dates. He was was mesmerizing with his recall of historical significance and his smile was contagious. He was also quite witty.
From Congo Square which was amazing to put a picture to a place and to imagine the trading and birth of music, we went to lunch at Napoleon House which was suggested by Val and on the corner across from The Original Pierre Maspero's. It's charm hit you as you enter with the name in tile right before you walk in. The bar is the first thing you see when you walk in as it really is a statement. I order Seafood Gumbo and Caesar salad which was delicious.
From Napoleon House we go to our next stop of Presbytere which I had been looking forward to since I had heard what it was. The Presbytere housed the Katrina and Mardi Gras museum. When you walk in there is a beautiful glass bottled ceiling paying to those whom lost their lives and those that helped them.
We slowly made our way through the museum soaking in as much as we could. There were tons of videos, photos and artifacts on both floors.
There was always something to read or look at. After the Presbytere we had the afternoon to ourselves.
Today was a successful day. I got to go on the three hour tour which was a huge concern for me but I toughed it out. I remember dreading get out of bed this morning as I was afraid of not being able to walk. It was a great feeling to be able to make it. Today had a lot of emotions. Excitement that I could make it on the tour turned into whole hearted interest with the three hour tour. I could not be more happy with the outcome of that tour. It was jam packed with information. Milton was truly one of a kind. I enjoyed making my way through the city with someone who had such a wealth of knowledge. I really enjoyed the cemetery and visiting Marie Laveau's grave.
It was great to hear of how she was a hair dresser and a voodoo priestess. I also enjoyed hearing how her and her daughters never corrected anyone who thought she was not aging even though her daughter were identical and also named Marie. I also immensely loved the break we took. It was an amazing visual aid to see how wide spread the flooding was and hearing his stories.
I could not believe when he said he was from the ninth ward and there was water there for 2 months. I also could not believe his friends story of being stuck in the tree for 4 days before being rescued. Thinking of what the community of New Orleans dealt with in regard of Katrina is truly hard to wrap my head around. The thing that hit hard to the most was when I learned that the hospital had lost power and that they were assisting with bagging their ventilated patients after the pack up generators went out. I could not imagine this as I have had to help bag a patient for probably five minutes and my hands hurt and ached. You not only have to bag but you have to maintain a good seal. I also heard a real life testimonial of what people had to deal with at the super dome. I had heard some things but not that people were walking in urine and fecal matter. As if things could not get worse with inadequate food, water and electricity. I literally cannot fathom these types of conditions. From the Presbytere I went and got my tarot Cards read.
I was nervous as I had never done that before but a fellow classmate went and said hers encounter was awesome. The reading went well for example I was told I was with my true love, my family is healthy, financially stable until it came to something that could happen in the next 6 months. The card read was for disappointment. I immediately thought of NCLEX and got a pit in my stomach. I will be taking my boards in June or July and she said that is when possible disappointment could happen. I tried my best to forget about that one negative part and tried to enjoy my last free afternoon.
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