Joan of Arc Parade and Twelfth Night

Based on a medieval tradition, Twelfth Night ends the 12 days of Christmas. In New Orleans, January 6th marks the beginning of the Mardi Gras season and an official permission slip to start eating the traditional King Cake. It’s also Joan of Arc’s birthday (1412-1431). Since 2009, the city has celebrated the date with a parade honoring the “Maid of Orleans” and NOLA’s ties to France.

St. Louis Cemetery #1 and Armstrong Park

I’ve spent most of my life in D.C., New York and L.A. That is to say, I’ve spent most of my life in tourist destinations, stuck in traffic behind someone with a map and sharing sidewalks with people looking up and pointing. New Orleans is yet another of these many destinations, a magical and historical place that attracts people from all over the world. Before I left the East Coast, I made a serious effort to enjoy the attractions people came from far and wide to see. I went to monuments and museums. Instead of seeing them through the eyes of a kid who’d “been there, done that” since my many elementary school field trips, I pretended I was from Nebraska and seeing it all for the first time.