Hey there from Jackson Square on a beautiful Monday morning! My friend and I woke up bright and early so that we could make it for breakfast at Cafe Du Monde (another place that is seriously overrated, IMO). We had to make sure that we had cash because the cafe doesn't take anything else, but aside from this fact everything on the menu is dirt cheap! It was very packed, even for a Monday morning, and we couldn't even find somewhere to sit and eat our tough sugar biscuits. Now, as a woman who grew up on REAL French beignets courtesy of my mother, I can say in all honesty that these were sub-par (and yes, I actually put my nose up when I said that). We took our food to go and headed back over to the French Quarter to buy a Voodoo Tour and learn more about the "scariest" part of New Orleans history. Now I, for the life of me, cannot remember the name of the tour or how we obtained it, but I can say with certainty that if you get a voodoo tour, make sure it is given by someone who KNOWS what they're talking about. Our tour guide was Haitian (Haiti represent!) and and actually practices as his religion. He taught us about how fake the shops are in the area and about how the religion itself falls prey to the many different misconceptions about what it actually is. This fits in line with my own understanding of voodoo and how it came to be popularized by those who are afraid of what they don't understand. He had us engage in a mock ceremony, which I'm sure must have looked funny to see a group of tourists dancing around his family symbol with our umbrellas and sunscreen covered noses, but we had fun regardless and garnered a bit of a crowd. He continued to show us the area, having us walk through the quarter and even see where Marie Laveau's house is, which was awe-inspiring (keep in mind, she wasn't an evil voodoo priestess, but a mastermind in the art of blackmail and gossip, VERY interesting to hear more details behind this woman of mystery!). After finishing the tour at a "real" magic shop, my friend and I decided to hit the Mardi Gras museum, as we had found a Groupon deal online. By this time, it was now blazing hot, a huge difference from the on and off rain of the morning. So the coats came off and we chose this museum as a place to escape the heat. Upon arriving at the museum after paying about $13 for both of us, my friend and I were baffled at how this place could call itself a museum. It was more like a dusty time capsule of costumes. Regardless, it was still a wonderful experience to see the effort and work that people put into costumes as part of an age-old tradition. After walking through (it only took us a few minutes to get through the entire "museum") we decided that food would best remedy our bruised expectations, so we proceeded to find a restaurant to. Again, after consulting Yelp, we were able to find a restaurant entitled Maison Soule, which was empty and looked cozy enough. We were the only patrons and had a wonderful server who provided us with fantastic food and drinks. What I loved the most was the view of the street which was bustling with life even at midday on a Monday. After eating, we were thoroughly stuffed and ready to head back to the hotel for some much needed rest and relaxation....upon awaking hours later, we realized we had one last thing to try: The Hand Grenade. So of course we went back out for one of those and... promptly returned to the hotel for a good nights rest. Pretty boring, I know, but the drink doesn't really live up to the hype!
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