Sunday, February 19, 2017

Today’s Weather: High 70’s with little cloud cover

Great start to the day. We had a quick breakfast and headed back into the city for the 11 o’clock mass at St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square. We got to the church a little early so we attended one of the many street artists shows. Jackson Square is full of all sorts of artists, ranging from musicians to painters. We all lined up to see an amazing magician named Dusty who paired his magical talents with his energy and comedy.  His best tricks were making a watch appear on his wrist and making a $20 bill disappear and then appear inside of a fresh lemon.

Once the show was over we stepped inside the grand cathedral. Wow, what a view! At first, we did not know where to sit, but then a caring guide showed us what pews to sit in. The service was similar to BC High; however it had a New Orleans twist, which made it more casual and allowed for jokes to be slid in.  The cathedral was very beautiful, there were many statues and paintings. There also was a plaque to commemorate a BC High graduate ('52) Alfred Hughes, who served as Archbishop for seven years helping the city of New Orleans after Katrina.

St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square

After a fairly short service, as a group we walked over to the French Market. There we got to treat ourselves to a New Orleans delicacy, the beignet from Cafè Du Monde. Though only the cheap price of $3.00, the beignets served not only as stomach fillers, but a stimulus to our taste buds.  The hot dough heavily coated with powdered sugar was a sweet that served us all greatly.  After eating, we went outside and heard street performers dancing. The dancers were all older men, but they were able to marvel us by spinning on their heads and doing repeated flips. They also displayed some of that unique New Orleans humor.

Beignets from Cafè du Monde

The last but definitely not the least stop of the day was the Whitney Museum. At the Museum, we had a tour on a former plantation. The museum is the only museum that focuses primarily on the lives of slaves that served on that plantation. We started off with a video that talked about the history of the different owners of the plantation. Throughout the walking tour, we got to ring the bell that still stands from when it serves as a plantation. We saw names of slaves on a wall, that labeled occupations, origins, and estimated date of birth who worked on the Whiney plantation. After seeing the walls, we got to tour cottages of slaves, prisons of slaves (where they could stay in for two weeks), and the owners house.

Statues of former slave children created by Woodrow Nash

at Whitney Museum

Overall, it was a great day, by far it was the hottest day and served as a great contrast to the frigid Boston weather. The primary source information is very valuable because it allows for a story seldom heard to be told. Day 3 served as a great building block for the days to follow.      

Seamus Donovan and Daniel Abraham