Today I did a history walk through the old city of New Orleans with a very local historian. While I discovered some things yesterday, today I found out the real 'dirt' on the characters who made New Orleans.
Most people would be aware that New Orleans is famous for its Mardi Gras festival, so it is natural therefore to see lots of accoutrements for sale. I knew the bead throwing was part of the festivities, but the sale of alligator heads threw me a bit. Double click the pic above.
I found it interesting to note that seven of the New Orleans trams come from Brisbane, Australia. Also, much of the wrought iron around the old town balconies also comes from Brisbane, and much of it was used also as ballast on ships prior to finding its way here.
I had to do a cemetery tour while I was here because NO is famous for its above ground cemeteries. The pic on the right proves that some are buried below ground as the cemeteries sink into the alluvial soil. There is no bedrock here.
The other pic shows the beautiful Italian mausoleum in the background to the right with the the prepared pyramidal grave site for Nicholas Cage (the actor) in the foreground. Interesting....and Nicholas Cage now lives in the author Anne Rice's house. Rice is the author of the Vampire Chronicles which created the famous Brad Pitt, Kirstan Dunst and Tom Cruise movie "Interview With a Vampire", which was partly filmed at the Lafayette Cemetery here.
At the end of the day, New Orleans is about the music, no matter how one listens, how one plays. It is about the music.This page is dedicated to musicians...everywhere.
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