New Orleans (2 of 2)

This is the second page covering our 2024 trip to New Orleans. Click here for page 1.

Last month, I mentioned that more photos taken around the French Quarter would be shared in this part, starting with a a few picture taken along the Mississippi_River, often called The Big Muddy because of its brownish-gray color. Strictly speaking, this is incorrect because the sediment-filled waters come from the Missouri River that flows into the Mississippi at St. Louis. Frankly, the Mississippi waterfront is not the most attractive part of New Orleans. The area around Jackson Square is very pretty, though, and the riverboat Natchez conjures up the writings of Mark Twain.

Click on any image to see a larger (2400 x 1600 pixel) version!

The French Quarter (continued)

Barge on the Mississippi River


Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral	Horse-drawn carriages waiting for customers on Decatur Street


On Canal Street	The Ritz-Carlton on Canal Street	Riverboat with paddle wheel


Another view of the riverboat	The last in a line of riverboats named Natchez


The Golden Age of riverboats was the 2nd half of the 19th Century	Relaxing under a tree before heading back to town

Making our way to Audubon Park and back

On February 1, we acquired streetcar passes. Each ride costs $1.25, but for $3, you can get a pass and ride all the streetcars (and buses!) for 24 hours! Surely, this is an incredible bargain! Anyone can take advantage of this by purchasing a pass on the streetcar—exact change is required. We boarded a St. Charles line streetcar at the corner of Carondelet and Canal Streets, bought our passes, and rode all the way to Walnut Street where we entered Audubon Park. We strolled around this beautiful park for a while and saw a flock of Black-bellied whistling ducks by the edge of a pond—and in a tree! We had never seen this before; you would think webbed feet would not be great for moving around on branches, but the animals seemed to be just fine. Apparently, this species even nests in trees!


Back on Canal Street to catch a St. Charles line streetcar	On the St. Charles line streetcar


Entering Audubon Park by the Walnut Street streetcar stop	Signs that it rained heavily two days before we got here


The Gumble Memorial Fountain in Audubon Park	Black-bellied whistling ducks

This species of duck is frequently found in trees, something we had never seen before

We then walked back along St. Charles Street admiring some of the beautiful homes, many of them already sporting some Mardi Grase decorations. Taking advantage of our streetcar passes, we got on and off whenever we felt like it, for example when we spotted an appealing coffee shop. Eventually, we ended up back at Canal Street where, with some difficulty, we finally found a number 47 street car of the Canal Street line to take us to The Cemeteries.


Residence on St. Charles Street	Some already have rather obvious Mardi Gras decorations


Others like it a bit more understated	Inside Gracious, a coffee shop on St. Charles Street


Watching a streetcar go by outside Gracious	Waiting for ours coming from the other direction


In the streetcar heading back to town	Back near Canal Street	Some streetcar users are interesting people!

Taking the Canal Street Line and Visiting Greenwood Cemetery

Burying people in New Orleans is a problem because the average elevation of the city is between one and two feet below sea level. The solution the early settlers came up with is to entomb their dead in marble chambers above ground. Some of these chambers are individual graves, some are more like above-ground family crypts. There are also individual plots, but these, too, are above ground: instead of digging a hole, a mound of earth is created and the casket is placed inside it. A normal headstone is ised. and usually, one or two stone steps are created to allow mourners to access the burial mound and deposit flowers. In New Orleans, cemeteries are called Cities of the Dead and walking through a cemetery, one can see why.

One of many alleys in the Greenwood Cemetery


The graves are all above ground...	...and some of them are quite impressive.


Some are simple plots with steps leading to the burial mound...	...while others resemble above-ground crypts.


In Greenwood Cemetery	In Greenwood Cemetery


Fireman's statue and Fireman's tomb	Griffin family tomb	Peterson family tomb


In Greenwood Cemetery	Heading back to the entrance


Our Canal-Street-Line streetcar is arriving for the trip back to our hotel	Making our way back up Canal Street

The photos on this page were taken on January 31 and February 1, 2024.
Photos from both New Orleans pages are also available in a gallery.

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