Arriving in New Orleans

Outer Journey 

Today around 3:15 we arrived in New Orleans, it was like nothing I’ve seen before I saw the vibrant graphite painted across a gloomy town due to the overcast and clouds. When first arriving in New Orleans the town seemed kind of dirty, there was rubbish everywhere and nothing seemed put together really. Arriving into the train station after exiting the train everything was chaos people were running around trying to get to their other destinations and trying to figure out a ride. Once our driver arrived to take us to our hotel everything seemed to calm down a bit. Our driver was very outgoing and flamboyant, he asked us many questions and told us all the good places to visit while we were here giving us great insights! The ride from the train station to the hotel was short and sweet we got into our rooms fairly quickly, it was so nice to be able to freshen up after the long and exhausting train ride. After freshening up we met in the lobby to go explore the city, at first it was fun and exciting then things took a turn for the worst. It started to sprinkle and cool off a bit as we were learning the city, luckily it was still just a sprinkle as we were getting ready to head to dinner. The city was so energetic and full of life it was amazing everything was colorful and lit up. The trains we took were rustic and unique. By the time we arrived at the restaurant my feet were soaked from the rain I was cold and extremely hungry, I was glad to finally be getting something to eat. The restaurant itself was lively there were tons of people laughing and having a good time enjoying their dinner. Our waitress was super helpful and gave the best recommendations, the food was amazing I didn’t have anything that wasn’t good. By the time we were finished with dinner it was downright pouring outside so much that we had to reschedule our ghost tour for Sunday. So, we started our journey back to the hotel in the pouring rain but even pouring rain couldn’t stop us from first stopping for some beignets which were so amazing! When we finally got back to the hotel we were soaking wet and exhausted but it was well worth it.  

Inner journey

By the time we got off the train today everyone seemed exhausted and over it which is expected after a nearly 17-hour train ride. I was extremely happy to finally get off the train even though it was nice and roomy I was ready to leave. The train station was crowded I was a little anxious to get our bags and figure out or transportation to our hotel, I think everyone was. Our driver to the hotel was extremely friendly you could see he was proud of his city and excited to share it with us I was glad that he was so friendly and welcoming. Just in the short ride from the train station to the hotel I noticed that this city moved extremely fast and even by just blinking you might miss something happening. I was very overwhelmed by the fast pace of the city, but I know I will adjust as the time goes on. The hotel was comforting, and I was glad to get settled in, on our way to explore the city I was overwhelmed by trying to memorize all the streets and directions of where we would be going in previous days. When we arrived at dinner I was also a little overwhelmed because there was so much going on and I was trying to soak everything in. I think after my first experience in New Orleans the biggest lesson I learned was that this is a very fast pace city and I need to make sure that I am always aware of my surroundings. Today I mostly felt overwhelmed with everything, but I think that will subside as time goes on, I am excited to see more of this amazing city!