Initially, my post for today was going to be a distorted picture of Kansas City from the sky. It's a sweet picture that is very "modern artsy" and could really looks like a painting. But when previewing my New Orleans pictures to a couple of people, Erica and Pete independently identified this picture as one of their favorites, I decided that I couldn't argue with genius and changed my mind. In tweaking this photo for publishing, it became one of my favorites, too.
The church you see here is the St. Louis Cathedral. It's located in the French Quarter off of Jackson Square, not far from the banks of the Mississippi River. The Cathedral was built on the site of three previous churches, and was expanded and largely rebuilt in 1850; little of the original 1789 structure remains. The church is often used as the backdrop for newscasts and political speeches featuring the city. It is one of the few churches in the US that fronts a major public square, and represents the French Catholic origins of New Orleans. I was fortunate enough to get to attend mass in this historic place where saints and future saints have trod; hopefully some of their influence will rub off on me.
We all remember Katrina and the devastation it wreaked upon New Orleans in 2005. I wasn't fortunate enough to visit the town before the disaster, but I'm told that the French Quarter sustained significantly less damage than other areas of the city. While the Cathedral did have some damage, it fared much better than other parts of the city. This statute (according to wiki), did sustain some damage, but was restored to it's full glory in the recovery period since that awful September. (One note: I snapped this picture of when I was in NOLA for just one night in October.)
I thoroughly enjoyed my time in New Orleans. Despite what my approximately 200 photos will lead you to believe, I actually did attend the conference for which I was sent there, and didn't get to see much outside of the French Quarter. But I hope to return again someday in the near future and let the good times roll once again.
