So we recently went to New Orleans, Louisiana, and had a blast. There was a lot we did and a lot we didn’t get to. Instead of just posts filled with pictures, I wanted to break up some of the things we did, much like posts in the past; then you will get a few more with picture spam, lol. I want to note that the two tours I will be talking about in this post are not affiliated, and if you want more info on either, please ask. However, I combined them into one because these posts are going to be rather brief, and they are related in content.

First

The Historic Voodoo Museum and Tour. So we started with the museum itself, which is pretty cool. It was founded many decades back by an actual practitioner of voodoo. The tour itself also started in the museum. The museum was highly focused on breaking down some of the myths of voodoo, the differences between voodoo and hoodoo, and also the correlation between voodoo and Catholicism. Many enslaved people would hide their voodoo beliefs behind various saints, and to this day, there are those who practice both.

After the museum, there was a brief walk around parts of the city and a lot on Marie Laveau but also the history of New Orleans. There was a brief stop at Jackson Park, Marie Laveau’s house, and Congo Square. The history to me was rather interesting. New Orleans is unique in many ways, some I knew about, some I did not, and the way it shaped the city is fascinating. Things like enslaved people being allowed to work for themselves on Sunday were among the facts I hadn’t heard before. I could spend multiple blog posts breaking down their history, but Congo Square’s existence, among other things, is part of that unique history.

The museum and tour were good for really understanding voodoo as a religion rather than a creepy set-piece in pop culture. And as I said, the tour gave really decent background information on why New Orleans is the way it is and the role its history played in that.

Second

Witches Brew Adult Only Tour. We did the adult-only mostly to avoid getting stuck with a large group and because we were curious about what information could not be shared with kids. The tour gave some information on why New Orleans is thought to be so haunted, how the vampire myths came to be, and the role that voodoo and pirates played in a lot of what happened.

Once again, a lot of historical information, including the fact that twice New Orleans was basically destroyed by fire. The fact that yellow fever was such a massive problem that it would wipe out significant portions of the population at various points. Slavery and even modern struggles like Katrina and how that has made New Orleans a kind of tragic place. That, of course, means believers see it as haunted.

I can’t say how much the information varied with the age-restricted tour, she did specifically highlight a few parts that weren’t safe for kids, but stuff she didn’t highlight as being “adult-only” was still pretty brutal. We did stop at a bar on the tour that had a unique, tasty, but dangerous drink related to the tour. I would still recommend the adult-only, even if the bar part does not appeal to you, again just to have a smaller group, and because the one we took was late enough, it had started to cool down… kind of.

If you want the even later adult-only tour, the one at night, book early.

The spooky aspect of both of these appeals to me because even as a skeptic, I get a bit of thrill from that. However, the part I really liked, and why I would recommend both, was the history.

Also, ending in Congo Square underneath what is believed to be a 500+-year-old tree was just amazing in and of itself.

Hope you enjoy these posts and the follow-up pictures. The trip was a blast, and even if you don’t like the things we did, I still recommend going there. There is a lot to do in NOLA.