That city where moss grows on the trees, alligators roam, and there are too many cultures to keep track of

On my first day in New Orleans, I went out exploring with another woman from my hostel. We both wanted to go to the same basic area of town, so we decided to travel together, since we were both traveling solo. Just walking down the street, taking the streetcars and observing everyone and everything around me, I knew that New Orleans was a very special and unique place. As I said on facebook, the city instantly mesmerized me :)

Part of their public transportation system includes these street cars. They're not like the cable cars in San Francisco, which are now used mostly by tourists (and cost a pretty penny). They're part of the regular transportation system, used by the city folk (on the weekend, however, they are stuffed to the brim with tourists). Luckily for us, they go most of the places that you want to visit as at tourist (there are also city buses that are part of the same system). Since both of us have taken public transportation before, it was fairly easy to figure out the system. Take the St. Charles streetcar (which has green trolleys) to the Canal Street line. From there, the Canal Street car had three lines, and we needed to take the "City Park" bound line since that's where we wanted to go. Watching many of the other tourists try to figure this out, however, was quiet amusing. I think it just shows how unaccustomed most people from the United States are to taking public transit, which is pretty sad.

For some of the way, the streetcar just takes up one lane in the road (much like our cable cars). In some areas, however, it goes down this nice greenbelt which separates the two sides of the streets. It's really quite scenic. One driver said the streetcars have been around since 1862! That's a pretty long time considering they're still in full use. I saw many joggers running along the tracks, they'd just jump over to the other side whenever a trolley came. I suppose it's a nice place to run since it's grassy and in a lot of places has shade, but I'm not sure if I'd like dodging trollies while I run. I guess you get used to it?

After a ride through the city, we arrived at City Park. The park is one of the biggest city ones in the United States, even larger than Central Park in New York City. In addition to being one of the city's parks, it also houses the New Orleans Museum of Art, or NOMA. They had a fairly extensive collection of art, I was pretty impressed. I enjoyed going through and seeing all the art, from Renaissance, to Modern, to African, to Chinese...they had a large collection with a lot of famous artists (I don't even know that much about art and I recognized many of the names: Monet, Renoir, Picasso, to name a few). My favorite room, however, was the one dedicated to the Louisiana landscapes. Sadly, it was one of the smaller rooms; but I really liked the paintings they had which were mostly of the New Orleans area from 100-200 years ago. This painting was one of favorites, depicting a bayou with an African American man in his canoe. (I have a thing for landscapes, and for bayous, so a double plus.)

Although I'm not usually a huge fan of modern art, I did really enjoy this piece. It is depicting the complexities of the ecosystems in the Louisiana bayous. It's supposed to show the competition between the different species as well as show how different invasive species have affected the native ones. I thought it was pretty neat.

Also in the park, and right next to the museum was a sculpture garden. They had a lot of different interesting sculptures. Here are three of my favorites: the one on the right is a tribute to the suffering of African Americans in the region. It even has a bell in it's back that you can ring which sounds very mournful as it resonates. The one on the left was titled "Karma" and looked like one man standing up with a bunch of other people crouched on each others back, getting smaller as they go up. It also kind of looks like vertebrae, especially if you look at from the side. The one on the bottom had large strings of beads in it, kind of like a giant, permanent Mardi Gras tree. I can't remember what it's title was, but that's what it made me think of. Pretty appropriate for a sculpture garden in New Orleans I thought.

After the museum, we grabbed some Gumbo (a local soup/stew dish with meat, seafood, and rice), which we ate outside at a picnic table by the bayou. The gumbo, was pretty good, but I enjoyed the scenery more than anything. They had the "typical" Louisiana style trees with lots of moss growing off of them (which, I learned, is not at all harmful to the tree, it's actually a completely separate plant). The whole park was just stunningly green, and the day we went was just gorgeous-the perfect temperature and a clear blue sky.

I was looking for an alligator the whole time we were in the park, because I had heard rumors that there are sometimes a few lurking around. Unfortunately, I didn't find any. I did, however, spot some turtles and some lizards! These little guys were just hanging out on a tree branch in the bayou. Bayou St. John runs right through the middle of the park, which adds a fun feel to it. Apparently it used to be pretty important to the Native Americans who lived in the area because it was part of the important waterways system that they used which included Lake Pontchartrain, the Mississippi River, the various bayous, and the Gulf of Mexico. I just wanted to lay out and soak up the sun like these little turtles.

After seeing the museum, the sculpture garden, and the park, we decided to head over to tourist central: Jackson Square in the French Quarter. We got some beignet's (which are basically square doughnuts with tons powdered sugar on top) at Cafe du Monde, which is one of the famous cafe's in the area. We ate them in Jackson Square and enjoyed the sunshine and flowers. The Cathedral that is off of the square is the oldest functioning Catholic cathedral in the country. It's from the late 1700s, and it looks just stunning from the outside, very picturesque. 

They have a lot of iris's around the city, which are all in full bloom and very colorful. They state's symbol, the fleur de lis, is based off of this flower.

After finishing our beignet's, we decided to ditch the French Quarter. We took a ferry across the Mississippi to Algiers Point. We got a nice view of the city from the ferry (although my iPhone doesn't capture the greatest photo).

Once on the other side, there were a lot of beautiful old houses, and really nice people (I don't think they get a lot of tourist's over there). We were trying to find one particular street, which for some reason we were having a lot of trouble locating (I think the locals must call it something different from the guidebook), even though everyone was trying to help us find it. After walking in a few circles, which wasn't so bad because we got to enjoy the scenery all the same, we came to the street we had originally been looking for and realized we had basically done the whole tour backwards. This gas station was opened in 1929! But it's no longer in operation as a gas station.

This was one of the beautiful, old, southern-style homes we walked by. There were many in the area that were photo worthy.

After a long (and fun) day out and about, we stopped by Walmart on our way back to get some food to make at the hostel. I had to get one of these daquiri-in-a-bag, because it was only $2, and you can drink it on the street (as long as it's not in a glass container) So, I drank it on the way back to the hostel, just because I could :)

It was great introduction to the city. I got to see a lot in just one day, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

The beginnings of southern culture, ya'll

Well, my blog is called Adventures Around the World, so here's to my adventures in the Southern United States (a bit different from that liberal, California culture I'm so accustomed to, sometimes you would think you're in whole other country).

With a layover in Chicago O'Hare the inevitable happened...my flight was delayed. Not just a little delay, but a four hour delay. Gotta love that customer service coming from United... In any case, what is the best thing to do while waiting endlessly for your flight (they wouldn't give us a definite departure time, since we were "waiting on a crew from another flight"), get an extremely overpriced beer in the bar near your gate of course! It did help pass the time a little bit. That, and working on my honors thesis, and making friends with all the other annoyed people on my flight (luckily, there was no one who got extremely irrate.)  We did finally take off, and land safely in the Northwest Arkansas Airport, where I meet up with my Grandma and Grandpa :)

On my first day in Arkansas, we decided to go see a Civil War Reenactment, something none of use had seen before. As we were driving along the road to the battle, this convenient little sign popped up, guiding us to the Civil War. It made us all laugh. I wonder if they had these back in the 1800s in case people wanted to drop by and see the battles? :P

At the battlefield (which was in Missouri, right over the "stateline road," it's so weird how the states just flow in to each other here), there were some other signs that made me giggle. The had the "US" area for the Union Soldiers (or, damn Yankees as they are often referred to around here) and the "CS" for the Confederate Soldiers. Both sides had a little encampment near the battlefield, where they would hang out while the waited before the battle and during the battle intermissions. Every once in a while, you would see the "soldiers" intermingling in the neutral area (where the people coming to see the battle were hanging out). I don't think it was quite the same 150 years ago... As they were preparing for the beginning of the battle, Confederate soldiers would drive across the battlefield in their cars, since their encampment was on the far side of the field (that made us laugh too, the mixing of modern convenience and trying to maintain the authenticity of the battle). All the soldiers were dressed in period costumes, and you would think some of the people that attended still thought it was 1862.

The battle we attended was the Battle of Pea Ridge, which happened from March 6-8, 1862. Apparently it was one of the most important battles for the Union Army west of the Mississippi. The reenactment didn't take place on the actual battlefield, but on a big field a few miles away (we were assuming they didn't want anything to happen to the historical battlefield). The ratios when we were there seemed a little off...a lot of Confederate soldiers for not so many Union soldiers. However, apparently in the actual battle there were quite a few more Confederate soldiers than Union soldiers. We heard that in the reenactment, they try and replicate as close as possible to what happened in the actual battle (ie, reenacters "dying" when an actual soldier from the side died). The problem was, I think they were so short on Union soldiers, that they kept coming back to life! (Some younger boys next me took note of this, "the Confederates would win if the Union wasn't CHEATING!" I don't know if they realized it was based on the actual historical battle).

Some Union soldiers going back to their encampment to rest between battles. A lot of the observers left between the battles, despite one of the organizers telling everyone "that was only the first part! There's a whole other battle where they capture the canons!" Everyone gave him a polite smile and said "it's cold and wet" and continued on their way. We were among those who wimped out after the first part of the battle. It was in the high 30s/low 40s and drizzly...a little bit cold for my spring weather liking. According to the reenactors, however, it just made the battle more authentic. (Apparently there were several inches of snow on the ground during the actual battle). 

After watching the reenactment, we decided to go check out the actual battlefield. Apparently it's one of the best preserved battlefields in the country. As you drive around it, there are different signs talking about what happened in different locations during the battle. Here, in the woods, one of the battles took place. The Union army apparently tricked the Confederate army by taking a roundabout way and surprising them at this location, probably part of the reason that the eventually won the battle (despite the fact the soldiers were exhausted by walked many more miles (I think about 60) than originally expected). 

A canon replica. Apparently they have some "historical fences" that have been around since the battle :) The rest of the props, however, are mostly replicas (I guess they don't want to leave the actual canons out through the Arkansas weather). On one part of the battlefield, they said the line of Union soldiers stretched out for a mile! I would be a little intimidated if I saw that.

The next day, we made a stop by the Crystal Bridges Art Museum. They have art from the Colonial Era through Modern times (if you can call it art, some of what they have nowadays...) Although I'm not a huge fan of modern art, this piece was kind of cool. As my grandpa said, "Through the looking glass: a rose colored world." The actual museum building and grounds are beautiful, a work of art in themselves. They also had a visiting exposition of Norman Rockwell, which was probably my favorite part of the museum. His drawings and paintings are great...they all tell a story, and are just fun to look at (unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures).

While I was here, the forecast was mostly cold and overcast...with a little bit of snow! I woke up one morning to find the deck covered in a light dusting a snow. Not exactly what I was expecting on my spring break.

Bentonville's Civil War Memorial, a tribute to the Southern Soldiers erected by the Daughters of the Confederate Soldiers in the town square. It kind of shocks me to think that there are still people who wish the Confederacy would have won. I just can't imagine how our country would be today (it's in a bad enough state as it is). At the battle, many people were supporters of the Confederacy...serious supporters. It begs the question...which parts of the Confederate ideas are they in support of?

The next day, we made a stop by the Native American museum. They have a very impressive collection of artifacts. A lot of the pottery we saw looked similar to the pottery I had seen from indigenous tribes in South America, which was cool. In addition to pottery, they had more arrowheads than I have ever seen in my whole life. It is amazing how many different kinds of arrowheads there are...shapes, sizes, serrations, materials they're made of, different purposes...

This was one of my favorite pieces of pottery, and apparently one of the most well known. It was made by the Quapaw Tribe, and is called "Screaming Quapaw," which was used as a teapot.

I also thought these head pots were pretty cool. Apparently it's the largest collection of pots of this kind anywhere in the world.

These are some of the dolls that they would give to children. They were all very unique and represented different spirits.

Some of the beadwork done by the Native Americans was absolutely incredible. This was a child vest, moccasins and toy horse. I can't even imagine how many hours of meticulous labor it would take to make these three items. And it's so beautiful. Apparently they only wore the fancy beaded clothing during special ceremonies. (I believe these particular items were made by the Sioux, but I'm not positive.)

Lastly, the lake that my grandparents live on. I decided to make the trek down to it (it's not that far from their house, it's just really cold outside). Once I made it to the bottom I only stayed a few minutes, because it was so cold out. Apparently two geese families are nesting on the tiny little island!

I've had a great time visiting with my grandparents and brushing up on my history...now it's on to the second part of my journey...New Orleans!