Outer Journey 01-05-18

This morning was a long cold morning.  I awoke with my shin still hurting.  Resting did not help.  I am so thankful for the Uber.  We met at 7:45 at Jackson Square to begin our music tour.  The air was frigid, you could feel the cool breeze blowing off the Mississippi.  Again the wind felt like little prickles of ice blowing past my face.  My nose was running and eyes were watering.  Milton was our tour guide for the morning.  He had a Bluetooth speaker to play the different types of music he was going to teach us about.  Although I do like music I am unfamiliar with music history.  It is fascinating to know that there is so much history here in Louisianan.  I feel like it is its own little country.  My favorite portion of the music tour was learning about Harry Connick Jr., mostly because I was familiar with who he was.  Being able to peer inside Maison Bourbon where his dad introduced him to some of the best musicians around on the corner of Bourbon street was awesome.  I could picture a little boy sitting there absorbing and mastering his trade.

Maison Bourbon

Another one of my favorites of this tour was visiting the house that was from the song The House of the Rising Sun.  I think the things that I find the most interesting are the things that I can relate to.  The house does not look like it was a brothel house.  It blends in with the neighboring houses around it.  I stood there and try to imagine a time from the past where women and men would be standing on the balconies, laughing and carrying on while swishing back a drink.  I imagine the music to be loud and the air to be filled with cigar smoke.

The House of the Rising Sun

From there we journeyed on to St. Louis Cemetery Number 1.  It was a little eerie walking into the cemetery.  It is in the middle of town surrounded by streets and a brick wall.  There was a gate keeper waiting for us, in order to be able to get in you have to be a family member or be on a tour.  The way that the dead are buried and celebrated is an unfamiliar custom to me.