We got up early today to head into the French Quarter for some sight seeing and shopping. My first thought was "wow! Tiny streets", closely followed by my second thought, "Holy one way streets Batman!" That pretty much sums up driving in the French Quarter. The streets are tiny, there are one way streets everywhere, and if you are not careful, you will end up in a horrible loop around the same few streets because of them. Parking is also insane, so after about 20 minutes of driving around and around, we finally managed to squeeze into a small spot. If any of you get the idea to drive into the French Quarter and hunt for a spot, save your sanity and either take a cab, or park in a garage.
We got out of the car, noted where we had parked,m and began to walk. We walked up and down, popping into shops as we went along. We saw silver shops, art galleries, art studios, dress shops, cooking stores, and souvenir shops. The running theme in all of these places was masks, beads and shot glasses. There were masks for everything. I even bought one as a souvenir that resembled a cat! After seeing NOLA masks, I was very disappointed in the mask I bought here in Toronto for the masquerade, but I just knew I wouldn't have time to buy one before the event. Also, the one I bought here matched my dress, which I hear is an important quality in a mask.
Everything was bright, sunny, and new to us. As I walked through the streets, I found it so hard to believe that this place had been hit by Katrina, but the it was slightly visible along the edges of the area we did see. The architecture in the French Quarter was beautiful. It seemed like everything was neatly stacked on top of, or next to, each other. The balconies were gorgeous, most of which were wrought iron designs. Between the balconies and the palm trees, I was completely oblivious to all other things.
We walked through a street food festival and then realized that we had to head back to the car to make our way to the hotel for the lectures. We loaded all of our treasures into the trunk and after a quick stop for food along the way, we arrived at the hotel for the lectures. Sadly our quick eating was not quick enough to keep us from being late for the lectures. I ended up missing about 10 minutes of Sergey and Josh's Tech Magic lecture, which was one that I was supper excited for. I can still say that even though I missed the first 10 minutes, the lecture was full of laughs, really interesting and informative as well.
Next Nathan lectured on Lilith. I found it quite interesting as I have never really heard much about her, or rather I had, but the references had been changed to omit Lilith. The style Nate has as he speaks seems to take his audience along for a ride without them realizing it until the end. At the end of Nate's lectures, I always feel like I've learned something, like I've been entertained, and like I've laughed way too much. This lecture was all of that, plus more and it left me wanting to hear more, as always. I am hoping that PRS will bring Nathan back to do more lectures with them in the future. I also recorded Nate's lecture and will be posting it here in the next couple of days.
The last lecture was about the vampire culture in NOLA. Belfazaar spoke and freely answered any and all questions that were thrown at him with a refreshing honesty and humor. It was interesting to learn about the perceptions of people in NOLA regarding vampire. It was also very nice to discuss the details of vampires and the misnomers that they deal with on a regular basis. It was also cool to learn that Belfazaar and his house have begun a program that feeds people who need it on the 3 major holidays and how he cares for the people around him. I have recorded the lecture, and Belfazaar gave me his permission for it to be put up here, so look for that in the next few days.
When the lectures were finished, we took the opportunity to find a place to shit down for a meal. The prospect of food that wasn't served to us through a drive through window was incredible appealing. We ended up at Chili's, and after waiting for a table, we were finally sitting down and looking over a menu. We laughed and chatted over dinner and then made our way back to the hotel for a short rest and to get our stuff together for our Ghost Hunts. I took the time to download some photos, and to begin writing this blog entry.
Before we knew it, it was time to pile into the car again and head back to the French Quarter for the Ghost Hunts. I had chosen the Petite Theatre for my advanced hunt and it was really cool. It had the old charm that you would expect of any theatre. The steps creaked as you walked up them, the seats groaned as you sat in them and the atmosphere screamed "old haunted theatre". I didn't manage to come up with anything paranormal, but I did have a great conversation with the theatre spokesperson regarding the history of the theatre and area.
When the investigation came to an end, we made our way through the crowded Saturday night streets to join everyone at a local watering hole, Flannigan's. Ryan, Sergey, and surprisingly Ryan's brother Jordan were there and mingling with the Field Trippers. There was a new feeling of relaxation and ease coming from Ryan and Sergey. They seemed to be enjoying themselves just as much as the Field Trippers, if not more. The laughter continued into the wee hours, and then everyone said their good nights and headed off to get a few hours sleep.
This brings me to the present moment. It's literally the crack of dawn and I am just making my way to bed. This feels somewhat reminiscent of my early 20's, except even then I was in bed before 5 am lol. The day was just full of fun, knowledge and surprises. I really can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store.
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