Outer Journey

Today has been a long and stressful day.. I woke up early and I definitely did not want to. I could have slept until about noon most likely. After I actually woke up woke up for the day I was glad to get things started. First we started off my going to the Cathedral and it is magnificent. It was tall, white, and old with great features. I was very interested in what our tour guide had to say about the Cathedral. It is one of the oldest buildings in New Orleans as well! The floor of the church was black and white tile and a fun fact I learned today was that there are actually fossils embedded into the tiles! I could not believe how big this Cathedral was. I have seen the one in Milan, Italy and it is massive, but so is St. Louis Cathedral and I was so fascinated. Even though the church was great, I enjoyed the walking cuisine tour the best. Our tour guide was so upbeat and friendly and gave us exquisite information about the places we visited. The first place we started at was Tujague’s. There we had what they call a “po boy.” This sandwich consists of brisket, French bread, tomatoes, and horseradish. I wasn’t very fond of it because there was horseradish on it and I really hate horseradish. I was so glad I tried it because it was a great experience! Another place we went to had red beans and rice and that is my absolute favorite! My mom comes down to New Orleans every year and when she gets back she always brings back the spices from that place and makes red beans and rice. I honestly think I could have eaten at least 6 bowls of it because I love it so much. My favorite place overall that I went to was Antoine’s. This place was full of the owners daughters Easter dresses, hats, crowns, etc,. The dresses were absolutely beautiful but it’s a shame they didn’t find all of her belongings quicker because someone could have preserved them. They found them all packed down in her drawers in her apartment. A lot of them had stains on them but the detail on them were so detailed and one of a kind. Besides the great history lesson there, I got the opportunity to try turtle soup. I was consistency of chili but had a very distinct flavor that I’ve never tasted before. It wasn’t my favorite because I honestly couldn’t really get over the fact I was eating turtle, but I did find it packed with different flavors. The shrimp that came with the turtle soup was also a little different. It had the special mustard on top but that also tasted like horseradish so I only ate one piece of it. Overall I was very satisfied with my walking cuisine experience and I would definitely do it again and maybe even invite my family to come along too!

Cathedral

Po Boy

Red beans and rice

Inner Journey
While on the cuisine tour I learned a lot about the prohibition era. While at Antoine’s the tour guide stated that most bars had alcohol, even though it was banned. In Antoine’s there was this little restroom you could go in and you would bring your own tea cup and tell the waiter/waitress what you wanted and you got it. She said that the police would come in there all the time trying to catch customers with something in their cup other than tea. New Orleans was a major harbor for importing goods and exporting goods. What they would do is they would ship tons of alcohol and receive a good amount too. Just in Antoine’s alone, they could hold u to 300 and some gallons of alcohol in the restaurant. The amount of alcohol they could hold in that place was insane. They have one of the biggest above ground wine cellars in New Orleans. It was over 160 ft. long and could hold up to almost 3,00 bottles of wine. Another thing I learned was that at the Oyster bar, the owner’s daughter was a live to the fullest kind of gal. Her father told her that the purpose in life was to have fun and she did just that. When her father died and she took over the restaurant she noticed it going downhill. Parts of the building were falling apart and she knew she needed to get this place back together so she didn’t ruin her father’s business. Across the street they were having issues at that restaurant. They hired a male from Sweden to work there because he has worked at the finest of restaurants, hotels, etc,. When Germaine noticed him getting the opponents on track, she gave him the chance to buy Antoine’s and he did just that. He had to close down the restaurant for over six weeks to get everything back up and running again. He knew that if he shut down the complete restaurant the everyday customers would grow angry and they could in face lose their business. The new owner was letting them come in whenever they wanted because he kept a side of the restaurant open. Later he found out that he ran out of money and he talked with the regulars about purchasing their tables for $ 10,000 each and most of them did. They were given a key to the restaurant so they can come in whenever they wanted and if someone was sitting in their seat when they arrived, they had to be placed at a different table. Since the owner had to regulars purchase their own tables he then had enough money to finish the renovations. Above the apartment of the oyster bar, the previous owner’s daughter, Germaine lived there. She was a very well-known lady and was a queen 27 times from different groups of the Mardi Gras. She was given an exhibit where her old apartment lies and it holds one of the oldest costumes worn by her mother, Lady Irma. Seeing all of her beautiful dresses made me cherish history because you got to see how some of the high class people lived like!

Germaine's ball gown

Ball gown/accessories

Crowns/accessories