We finally arrived in New Orleans (a little bit early, which I think everyone was thankful for) but anyways, the city is absolutely breathtaking and I’m in awe. The history of the city is so noticeable you cant ignore it and the locals take so much pride in New Orleans I feel blessed to be able to visit a place like this. Jessica, Anne, and I took an Uber from the train station to our hotel (Shout out to my mom for the Uber gift card, love you) and he was an older man who was born and raised in the city and he actually gave us a short tour while he took us the scenic route to our destination. The buildings with the bricks and colorful front doors are by far my favorite thing I have seen so far. New Orleans is beautiful both day and night. We took the streetcar to Jackson Square so our instructor could give us a brief tour of some places that we will be spending out time at. I loved the streetcar; it is such a interesting way to get around the city. Every time I go to a city I fall in love with the fast paced lifestyle and get on the bandwagon of city life. I feel like I belong here, I fit in and feel comfortable. Our dinner was incredible at Pierre Maspero’s and I experienced Jambalaya for the first time! It tasted so good, I would recommend it to anyone again and again. The next stop was the ghost tour. I was looking forward to this so much and I have to say I was highly disappointed. No one was to blame it just didn’t fit in with what I was expecting and or wanting to experience. I’m someone who loves a good scare. The adrenaline rush of being scared is addicting to me. Name a crime show, new or old, I guarantee I’ve seen it. I’m so interested in spirits, ghosts and crime and history, which is why I was so excited for this tour because I felt like it would be all four of my favorite things wrapped into the two best hours of my life. In reality, the tour guide could barely keep my attention, like I’ve seen scarier children’s movies than that. No ghosts or ghouls present = sad Mackenzie. One really great thing that happened on the ghost tour though was Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo. We got to go in and see all of the items in her shop which was really cool, I felt super groovy and vibey in there. 

Marie Laveu's House of Voodoo!

To top off the night a couple friends and I went to the Carousel Bar, which is an iconic spot in a fancy hotel. The bar actually moves around like a Carousel and plays live music. Tonight there was a really great Jazz band playing and right when we walked in they started a cover of Isn’t She Lovely by Stevie Wonder, which made me think of home and my family because I love that song so it ended up being a great first day in New Orleans.

Jessica, myself, Anne, and Andrew experiencing the Carousel Bar for the first time! 

            After experiencing the ghost tour tonight I’m intrigued to know more about the hauntings of New Orleans because the tour was more history based rather than tragedy and crime, which is what I want to more know about. I’m not a religious person and don’t practice any specific religion, but I do believe in spirits. I believe in the after life and after we die our souls will leave the physical body but all go to a good place. I do not believe that souls are separated by the good or bad things they did while living on Earth. Everyone is equal and we all just float around the atmosphere after we die. In my short 21 years of life, I have experienced more death than the average person. I feel as if I have a lot of spirits that follow me and surround me. They send me signs and watch over me and I have even had experiences where I have felt as if they have saved me from harm’s way. Being in the city of New Orleans I hope to experience something spiritual because of the strong history of hauntings and death that has gone down here. This city is proud of its past and wants people to know about it. Other states and tourist attractions might want to hide their tragedies that have happened there, but here it seems to be part of their culture and how they became the city they are today. It’s really interesting and admirable how open they are, it is what sets them apart from other cities. Tomorrow we are going to the cathedral and convent in the morning and I am beyond excited for this experience. I know the cathedral will be beautiful and it wont be the first one I’ve been in, but I’m hoping that with the amount of spirit and history in the city that I will be sent a sign from a loved one or any spirit that is. This all brings me back to Marie Laveu and Voodoo. I feel if I believe in spirit and talk to them as if they are still here then I will not be cursed or have bad things happen to me. I believe that spirits are there to protect us, not harm us and by having a positive relationship with them I will be better off after death. Trust me, I don’t plan on dying anytime soon and I do feel much safer having loved ones watching over me, but if and when my time comes I want to be on the best terms possible with whoever is in charge of letting my soul enter the spiritual world. As I end this post, I go to bed with happy thoughts about my first day in New Orleans and positivity moving forward tomorrow, which is hopefully filled with new friends and new, fun and amazing opportunities.