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New Orleans – Jackson Square & More

We started off our morning with a phenomenal breakfast of frittatas and freshly baked croissants, along with coffee, orange juice, and teas of all varieties at B&W Courtyards Bed & Breakfast. I regret not taking a picture of the beautiful spread! Then we went to explore Jackson Square.

Statue of Andrew Jackson

The history of Jackson Square is absolutely fascinating. It was originally known, in the 18th century, as Place d’Armes to the French and Plaza de Armas to the Spanish. It was renamed Jackson Square to honor Andrew Jackson, the hero of the Battle of New Orleans. It was designed by architect Louis Pilie. Jackson Square is surrounded by the St. Louis Cathedral, the Presbytere, the Cabildo, and the Pontalba Apartments. For over half a century Jackson Square has been the site of an open-air market home to
fortune tellers, musicians, magicians, carriage rides, street performers, and local artists that display and sell their work on the square’s iron fence. The square is open 7 days a week from 8am-7pm during daylight savings time and 8am-6pm during the winter.

  • Street Performer

The St. Louis Cathedral is breathtakingly beautiful. People have worshiped here since 1727. The church bell still rings every quarter hour. The cathedral is open to the public from 8:30am-4:00pm with mass daily at 12:05pm. The best times to go inside are the least busy times: 8:30am-10am and 2pm-4pm. There are no formal tours given for individuals but it’s an astonishing place to see.

The Cabildo was built under Spanish rule between 1795 and 1799. It was used as the center of New Orleans government until 1853 when it became the headquarters of the Louisiana Supreme Court. This was where the monumental case of Plessy v. Ferguson originated in 1892. In 1908, it became the Louisiana State Museum. It is open Tuesday-Sunday from 10am-4:30pm. Ticket prices are as follows: Adults- $9, students, senior citizens, and active military- $7, and children 6 and under are free.

The Presbytere was built in 1791 to match the Cabildo. It was originally called Casa Curial or “Ecclesiastical House.” It was build on the presbytere (site of residence) of the Capuchin Monks. It was used for commercial purposes until 1834 when it became a courthouse. Since 1911 it has been a part of the Louisiana State Museum. It is open Tuesday-Sunday from 10am-4:30pm. Ticket prices are as follows: Adults- $6, students, senior citizens, and active military- $5, and children 6 and under are free.

The Pontalba Apartments were built in 1850 by the Baroness Micaela Almonester de Pontalba. The Baroness Pontalba married a cousin in 1811 and moved to France. Her father-in-law was furious that he could not get his hands on her inheritance so he shot her in the chest, point-blank, four times… and she survived. She came back to New Orleans in the 1840’s and used her inheritance to build 16 townhomes or rowhouses that were surrounded by wrought iron lace balconies overlooking Jackson Square. If you look at the balconies closely, you’ll notice A’s and P’s in them for Almonester and Pontalba. These townhomes cost her $300,000 to build, equally about $9 million today. In 1935, the townhomes were converted into 50 apartments – studio, 1 bedroom, and 2 bedroom. These apartments most often remain in a family for decades meaning there is an extremely long waiting list. A 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartments costs $2,920 and a 534 square foot studio apartment costs $782. The ground floor houses museums, shops, and many different things to explore.

When we went, New Orleans was celebrating the Tri-Centennial – 300 year anniversary.

This statue of a butcher is my mom’s absolute favorite! She stops by and sees him every single time we are in New Orleans.

  • We were then starving again and headed back to Marigny for some lunch.
  • The mural above was one of the most beautiful I had ever seen.
  • Snug Harbor is where some of the best jazz is performed.
  • Pictured above is a wrought iron balcony which New Orleans is famous for.
  • There are lemon trees just growing in the sidewalks! The lemons are huge and smell incredible! I could not believe that it was a real lemon tree!

We decided on breakfast for lunch at Cake Cafe & Bakery across the street from our B&B. I had a breakfast sandwich and my mom had literally the greatest biscuits and gravy I will probably ever try in my lifetime. They’re made with Andouille Sausage and I truly cannot compare them to anything else I’ve ever tried. Just trust me, and order them for yourself when you’re in NOLA. You will not regret it!

We then stumbled into an antique shop and found the most unique journals. They are each hand-made with soft paper and some were embedded with stones. Each has a unique design and the symbols on the cover each have a specific meaning. They’re incredibly beautiful and a few years after this first trip we actually met the woman that makes these and she is a wonderful human being. I try to stock up on more of her journals each time I’m in New Orleans. You can even spot them at the French Market sometimes!

Later that night we went on a Haunted History tour. Mind you, I was terrified. It was dark.. I didn’t know anyone.. and New Orleans has an eerie feeling at night, like you’re surrounded by the souls of thousands and aren’t able to see them. We did a five-in-one tour which included vampires, witches, ghosts, voodoo, and unsolved mysteries. I won’t spoil it for you, but we learned so many incredible things about the history and legends of New Orleans. I highly recommend this tour! You can buy tickets online through hauntedhistorytours.com or at Boutique Du Vampyre. Each tour meets in front of Reverend Zombie’s Voodoo Shop (which is really cool to check out while you’re waiting).

That’s all for now folks! Stay tuned for Day 4, as our trip was coming to a close.

Signing out, Lilly.

Road Trip to New Orleans – Day 2

You may not know my mom, but trust me when I tell you that I very quickly realized vacationing with her is exhausting! (I say this in the most loving way possible). She makes you stay out so long your legs are screaming in protest and wakes you up long before the sun even has a chance to peek over the horizon. She does this because she can’t bear to miss or waste a single second of the day. In New Orleans, I don’t blame her!

We started off our early morning rushing to Cafe Du Monde, even though they are open 24/7. We waited in line for over an hour and it was absolutely freezing! Cafe Du Monde is an outdoor cafe with tables and chairs cramped so close together you barely have room to walk to find a seat. In the winter, when the bitter wind is too much to handle, they let down the “walls” which are just made of tarp-like material to block the wind. It is still really cold, but without the wind slamming you from all directions, it is magical when you finally get to go inside and sit within the “walls.”

The traditional thing to order is Beignets (pronounced ben-yays)- dense powdered-sugar-covered French donuts and Cafe Au Lait (pronounced kah-fay oh-lay)- chicory coffee with steamed, frothy milk. The combination is the stuff of dreams, so absolutely perfect. The Beignets are thick and delicious, covered in so much powdered sugar you truly wonder if one could go into a diabetic coma and the Cafe Au Lait is so warm and smooth it melts you from your frozen nose to your icy fingertips. I will admit, we sat there for much too long after we were done eating, just enjoying our coffee and each other’s company.

Much to my chagrin, my mom was too excited to explore to allow me to sit any longer. So, we checked out of our hotel and went to Boutique Du Vampyre because in my earlier post, I might have mentioned how I’m the tiniest bit obsessed with all things vampire, witch, etc. They say that the people who purchase props for television, bought the diaries that the cast of The Vampire Diaries used, at this exact shop. (Yes, I’m a nerd. Don’t judge me). This is one of very few exclusively vampire shops in the entire world.

It was then time to check-in to our bed and breakfast, which would be our home for the next 4 days. I mentioned in an earlier post that I was super nervous about this. I had never stayed in a bed and breakfast and had absolutely no idea what to expect. What we encountered on that fateful day has turned into a lifelong friendship with the most amazing people I have ever met. We checked into B&W Courtyards in Marigny. We initially chose them because they offered free breakfast and non-metered parking (which is rare in New Orleans). Their B&B is in the most perfect location. It is within a fifteen minute walking distance to literally everything you could want to see and everywhere you could want to go for your first time in NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana).

The owners ~ Tom and Dana ~ are truly spectacular people. They immediately make you feel like home and make you wish you never had to leave. They will tell you everything you want to know about the city, help you plan your day, tell you all the events going on that you might find interesting, and will even draw you paths on a map of the best routes to take to get there. We stayed in the Mardi Gras suite, which was phenomenal!

Tom makes the most mouth-watering breakfasts I’ve ever had in my life (and they are included in your nightly rental so no additional breakfast charges)! There is a hot tub in the back courtyard that is available to use until 10PM with wine glasses and towels ready. Tom keeps a fridge near the front door stocked with locally brewed beer and glass soda bottles. It’s an honor system where you take a drink and put money in a small dish on top of the fridge. He then uses that money to buy cat food to feed the beautiful stray cats that lounge around in the sunshine out front. The “vegetation” is like nothing else. I could have sat in the courtyard for hours just taking it all in! We will honestly never stay anywhere else when we go to New Orleans.

  • B&W Courtyards
  • B&W Courtyards
  • Bathrobe Selfies
  • Courtyard
  • Koi Pond
  • Courtyard
  • Courtyard Selfies
  • Local Beer
  • Mardi Gras Suite

  • Mardi Gras Suite

  • Mardi Gras Suite

  • Mardi Gras Suite

  • Mardi Gras Suite
  • Sweet Potato Waffles Loaded with Fruit

After checking in and unpacking we realized we were starving! We ate at an amazing little cafe right across the street from the B&B, called Cake Cafe & Bakery. It’s far enough away from the French Quarter that there aren’t as many tourists and it has a really chill atmosphere and super reasonable prices. The food there is indescribable – so insanely good! For our late lunch we had beef stew with rice, made-from-scratch bread, and strawberry/blueberry croissants for dessert!

  • Beef Stew
  • Strawberry & Blueberry Croissant

Once our bellies were full, we went exploring once more! To the French Market we went! This was no more than a twelve minute walk from the B&B. It is a free-standing market with a plethora of vendors in various categories of trades and foods. It is such a cool place! Be prepared to barter if you really want something, as the vendors will try to get you to buy their products. Don’t give low-ball offers. Simply offer a fair price and most of the time they will accept it.

Our favorite food vendor in the French Market was hands down – The Crepe Cart. They had vegan, gluten-free, savory, and sweet crepes. I cannot describe to you how delicious these are. I haven’t tried a single one I haven’t liked! Another super cool thing about them is they have a “Free Library” where you leave a book and take a book. I loved that concept to share the love of books with others at no cost.

  • Beignet Crepe
  • Free Library

After the French Market my mom insisted on going to Central Grocery to try one of their famous Muffulettas! They are so packed with olives that you have to love olives to enjoy this sandwich – which my mom does!

After all that walking we headed back to our beloved bed & breakfast and turned in for the night after recounting all of our adventures from that day! Stay tuned for Day 3!

Signing out, Lilly

Road Trip – Missouri to Louisiana

Our adventure began on a freezing Missouri evening after my mom and I had clocked out of work. We had our bags packed and our rental car loaded and were ecstatic to begin the adventure of a lifetime! We gave kisses to our loved ones and headed out on the open road for an eleven hour road trip to New Orleans, Louisiana. We set the GPS, made sure our snacks were within reach – especially the Goldfish (my addiction), and cranked up the music!

Because we are just spontaneous, we decided to take the scenic route, drive from Missouri to Alabama, and drive along the coast from Alabama to Louisiana (which turned it into a 15+ hour car ride). We are complete nerds and had to stop and take a picture with the Alabama sign. The best part was, at the exact moment we saw the state sign, Sweet Home Alabama started playing on the radio! The vegetation (as my mom calls anything green in nature) was astonishing!

 
  • My beautiful mom with the Alabama sign.
  • Me with “the vegetation!”

We took a quick pit stop in Gulf Shores, Alabama because we were craving the beach! However, we soon realized that a majority, if not all, of the beaches are private property and not accessible to the public. It hurt my heart that people keep it all to themselves and only live there a few weeks out of the year. To our luck though, an incredibly kind security guard allowed us a few seconds to just breathe the sea air. It was exactly what we needed to push through and continue on our journey refreshed.

Gulf Shores, Alabama

A few hours later (even though it felt like years), we arrived in New Orleans! It was 9:00PM and every inch of my body ached from being stuck in the car. We spent our first night at Sheraton Four Points – French Quarter hotel right on Bourbon Street. I had read articles that said everyone should stay on Bourbon Street at least once in their life, and I now completely agree with that! We had a balcony that was directly above Bourbon. The hotel was honestly the nicest I had ever stayed in. The complimentary coffee was Starbucks coffee, if that tells you anything. They also had complimentary earbuds on each nightstand in case the night life outside prevented you from sleeping. I had assumed that we would just pass out and explore in the morning. However, my mom had a different idea!

It was a bitterly cold evening, especially for New Orleans, and snowflakes were flurrying all around. Despite the cold, this made it feel absolutely magical, like anything was possible. The city was still decorated from Christmas, so there were wreaths adorning every possible space, huge red ribbons on each gas streetlamp, and Christmas lights as far as the eye could see. It was positively breathtaking.

  • Ready for Anything!
  • Four Points
    French Quarter
  • Bourbon St.
  • Gas Lanterns
  • Our Balcony Doors

We were absolutely starving and so cold it felt like every breeze was blowing through our very bones! We then smelled… PIZZA! Crescent City Pizza has some of the best – hands down – pizza I’ve ever had, whether it’s a tourist trap or not! It has become a tradition to stop and get a slice every time we are here. My mom’s favorite is chicken, bacon, & ranch pizza, and mine is cheeseburger pizza! The slices are literally the size of your face and only $5.00 each. We could barely even finish one slice, so it was definitely worth the price! The pizza filled our bellies but didn’t necessarily remove the chill from our bones. What does? Alcohol, my friends!

We wandered around until we found Pat O’ Brien’s and each had a legendary Hurricane. There was so much alcohol in them that I was literally tipsy after three tiny sips! The hurricanes were $9.00 each, which was a LOT to us, but it was definitely worth it to get to say that we tried them! One of the best things about Bourbon Street? No open container laws! So.. you can walk all around Bourbon St. with alcohol in hand. No restrictions requiring you to stay on the sidewalk in front of the bar you bought the drink from! (You can tell I’m from Missouri haha!) We walked back to our hotel with Hurricanes in hand when my mom was finally ready to turn in for the night.

  • Hurricanes @ Pat O’Brien’s
  • Crescent City Pizza Works
 

That was all in just Day 1! Stay tuned for the remainder of our adventures in this spectacular city!

Signing out,

Lilly

My First Vacation

All I’ve wanted to do my entire life is travel.. anywhere and everywhere! That’s pretty much the only thing I’ve ever been sure of in my life. My dream has always been to travel to as many places as humanly possible, meet new people, eat new foods, experience new adventures, and immerse myself into different cultures.

However, as stated in my previous post, medical assisting does not pay as well as I had initially hoped. This made travelling exceptionally difficult. Honestly, some months we were barely making ends meet and travelling was a distant thought. After five long years of budgeting and paying off debt, I was finally able to save $1,000 and take my first vacation!

I had never been on a vacation before. We weren’t able to travel as a family when I was growing up, after my parents got divorced, and I didn’t have the slightest clue on where to begin on actually taking a vacation! My mom and sister were planning on taking a trip to New York and ended up cancelling last minute. My mom was so heartbroken that the trip was cancelled and I thought, “Well, this is my shot to do something for my mom.” I took that shot! However, I absolutely did not have enough money to go to New York.

I wracked my brain about where I could take my mom with the little bit of money I had saved up. I’m not going to lie, I’m a total nerd when it comes to all things witch, vampire, ghost, and voodoo. So.. what better place to go than New Orleans? I had always wanted to go to New Orleans! It has nothing to do with The Vampire Diaries.. haha that was not at all convincing. I read all of the books before the show came out, and watched the entire show several times, along with the spin-offs, namely The Originals. 

My mom had never even heard of New Orleans and was pretty unsure about going there on vacation. Somehow, I managed to convince her! I spent days researching things to do, places to stay, and foods to eat! Our tentative vacation was planned over the dates that my mom and sister were supposed to have their vacation – December 26th – January 30th of 2017. We were planning it super short notice, about three weeks prior, and right before New Year’s so everything was already booked solid!

I found an opening at a bed & breakfast and booked it, after much hesitation. Not only had I never been on vacation, I had never stayed at a bed & breakfast. We booked a rental car and that was that! My mom was so excited to be able to go on a vacation and I was ecstatic to be going to New Orleans!

Oh the adventures we had! I can’t wait to tell you all about them!

Signing out,

Lilly

Why Medical Assisting?

When I was young, I wanted to be everything! I could never settle on just one career. I battled between an artist, writer, teacher, actress, photographer, doctor, and so many other options. Despite several failed attempts at different careers, I’m pleased to say that I still haven’t decided!

I started out as a housekeeper at a rural clinic and eventually worked my way up to a referral coordinator. An opportunity came up to apply for a medical assisting program and I thought, “Why not?” I applied and got accepted into a program that was geared towards the working class that can’t afford to quit their jobs to complete a Monday-Friday 8AM-5PM program. I completed and passed it and here we are! Trying my hand at yet another possibility: writing. My biggest fear has always been having regrets at the end of my life. I refuse to have regrets. So I will continue living a fearless life, breaking molds, and attempting every single item on my bucket list.

For those that are interested in becoming a medical assistant; it truly is a rewarding career. You learn how to run several aspects of a medical office including nursing, front desk, billing & coding, and laboratory. The biggest plus? No IVs!

Steps:

  • Apply for a medical assisting program. (I went to State Fair Community College – Clinton, MO campus for mine).
  • Here is the link to the school I attended: https://www.sfccmo.edu/academics-programs/areas-of-study/medical-assisting/
  • Complete a medical assisting program.
  • Take the CMA, CCMA, or RMA exam (there’s barely a difference between each).
  • Boom! You’re an MA!
  • You can also complete an Associate of Sciences – Medical Assisting if your potential school has that option.

Something to keep in mind though.. don’t choose medical assisting if you think, “I’ll do it because it’s easier than nursing.” It is in no way easier than nursing!

However, to be honest, the pay is not that great. In a city environment working for a big hospital, you can get anywhere from $12-16 per hour. In a small town like mine, the most you’ll get starting out is $9 per hour. Nonetheless, it gets your foot in the medical field and allows you to get some fantastic experiences!

Signing out, Lilly.