Day Two of our New Orleans adventures began, as always, with me getting up way before anyone else was awake and drinking my coffee. This time I was in the living room, though, as the sun hadn't yet come up.
Coffee on the couch.
Incidentally, the lightbulbs in this house were THE WORST. Such a bright, glaring white that I refused to turn any of the lights on in the living room when I was in there. Instead I turned on the lights in the connecting dining room and entryway to light the living room. So bad.
Anyway.
This being Sunday, we were of course going to church. Some of my children had been asking when we could go to a Latin Mass again, which is not something readily available to us at home. In a big, very Catholic city like New Orleans, though? I was sure I would find one somewhere, and sure enough, 9:15 a.m. at old St. Patrick's church downtown was a Latin Mass.
Accordingly, I awakened the family in enough time to get us all downtown, find parking, and go to Mass.
This was a big church, old and beautiful, and full of veiled women, men in three-piece suits, and a LOT of kids. I am always uncomfortable taking photos inside a church, so I didn't get any of the altar. There are plenty online, if you're curious, but I did get this lovely photo of the morning sun coming in to light up Mary.
Our Lady of Light, indeed.
This was a long Latin Mass, and by the time we left church around 10:30 a.m., everyone was very ready for some food. Since we were downtown already, we went to the original Cafe du Monde on Jackson Square for cafe au lait and beignets.
Beignets are sort of like fried dough, Or a doughnut. Better than either of those, however, and always served with piles of powdered sugar on top. This makes them quite messy to eat, and I regretted not covering my black skirt with a napkin.
This looks vaguely galactic.
After that, we went across the square to the cathedral. This had been closed for weddings the afternoon before, so we hadn't had a chance to see it yet. The last Mass was just ending when we got there.
Another beautiful church. There are many in New Orleans.
Next we drove to Metairie, which is the suburb of New Orleans in which my mother grew up. The house she grew up in and that I visited so many times is still there, and is virtually unchanged on the outside, though no longer owned by my family.
We also went to my grandparents' grave in Metairie.
Cemeteries in New Orleans are very unique, thanks to the above-ground mausoleums necessitated by the high water table. The cemeteries look like little villages of tiny houses. They even have street signs so you can find your way around.
I didn't think to buy flowers for the permanent urn in front of our family mausoleum, but Poppy has had enough experience with found flowers that she immediately set about picking some of the small purple flowers all over the grass to make a bunch for the grave. I added some greenery from a nearby tree, and we had a tiny arrangement for the grave.
Small and unorthodox, but made with love.
The whole month of November in the Catholic church is dedicated to the souls of those who have died, and all are encouraged to visit cemeteries to pray for them. It was very special to bring my children to their great-grandparents' grave and pray for their souls there in this particular month.
Next, A. requested we go to the New Orleans Art Museum. He loves art museums, as does one of the boys, but rarely has the opportunity to visit them.
This is a relatively small museum, but they have a nice collection.
I was particularly amused by this giant, very realistic Hulk lunchbox in the modern art section.
A. took the one boy who also loves museums around, and I took the other three kids separately around the museum. This way, when those of us who were not as enthralled had finished, we could just go outside to the park by the museum to wait for the art lovers to finish.
Playing under the Spanish moss.
Everyone was thoroughly exhausted by that time, and we went back to the house for dinner. Also for Looney Tunes, as A. figured out how to get Youtube on one of the three smart TVs in the house.
That's a wrap on Day 2. Check back later for Day 3, in which we visit a plantation and the swamp.
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