Voodoo and the Psychic French Quarter

Anybody looking for a job?

Loved the sign. This location has been in business for many years. You can go in and buy tea or get a reading.

Another great sign.

No one was inside getting a reading but I liked the way it was open and inviting.

 

This was inside a psychic store. I like the display. 

I like going in this shop. I wonder around and look at everything. They have a very nice altar open to the public to add an offering.

I did not have a chance to go inside. Maybe next time.

This is not the best quality photo but she was hiding right inside the door of a shop and it was hard to get good lighting. I thought she was interesting and had to take a picure of her anyway.

I look at this sign and wonder why if the shop is called Eye on the Square they show a triangle? I guess because Eye of the Triangle sounds awful? But Eye of the Pyramid does not sound that bad. Gosh what do people do with out me!!

When I was downloading all the pictures to todays blog, this particular print would not load. All the others uploaded easily. Madam Laveau was balking. So she is the last photo but the most famous lady of all. Not sure how I feel about her being the name of a bar but I really do like the painting of her on the sign itself. The sign painter did a nice job.

Hope you are not tiring of my French Quarter picks. I will be taking a break tomorrow and doing a day of Faux Tarot but watch for Tuesday and Wednesday for the Artists. There are some amazing artists in New Orleans.

French Quarter Oddities

Very interesting window. This was in front of the Marie Laveau Voodoo Shop. I always go into this shop and look at everything. But an odd thing occured. While I was in the shop that heavy pit of my stomach feeling came back. I started not feeling very good in the shop. The exact same feeling I got while walking by the LaLaurie Mansion. These were the only two times in my four hours this happened. I never felt like this in Voodoo Authenica.

This was in the window of someone's home.

I don't even want to guess the reasoning behind this. As long as you didn't wake up in the middle of the night, think someone was breaking in and shoot her everything should work out just fine. Maybe they dress her up for all the holidays!! I would love to see her at Halloween.

This cracked me up. No one around and someone seemingly just walked right out of their shoes. Maybe into the next dimension?

A sneek peak into the window of someones home. I thought it was charming and creative. And you know how I like crows.

I don't know if this is a local gang or a statement. I still found it interesting.

I thought this was beautiful.

Shops in the Quarter have interesting windows. Funny enough as I watched people walking around, most tourist were to busy sucking down their alcoholic drinks and walking quickly down the sidewalks to notice what was going on around them. I am not sure where they were rushing off to but many seemed to be in their own little worlds. People really didn't stop and look at the windows or observe the beautiful signage. Some took pictures of the lovely homes, hotels and street musicians but not the little things around them. I like the the little things.

Some Fun on the French Quarter

I thought this was too cute!! The little boy found her mesmerizing!

Stoker heh?

He reminded me of ZZ Top. Oh my, maybe this is what they do in retirement!!

See Leprachans do exist!!

One of my favorites!! Who is reading who?

Doesn't Mis Cindy look exactly like her picture on her advertisement. Remarkable.

Marigny-What is not to love?

A very famous nightspot in Marigny. Has quite a history good and bad. You can Google the name and get a lot of information regarding the club.

This sign was hanging in the Spotted Cat window. From what I understand after reading about this club online I understand the meaning of it. I love the artist Simon Hardeveld that paints these signs. You see this artists work in shops all over town!!  I think his shop is right off Magazine on Jackson. One of these days I am going to go check out his shop and buy one of these signs.

I think this is art as well.

I had NO IDEA what Fair Folks and A Goat is exactly but how can you not laugh. The house is just beautiful. I was not sure if it was a shop or a home. I don't see an open sign anywhere so I did't dare go in. I went home and Googled the name and found out it was a shop! To bad you can't tell that from the sidewalk. They need an Open sign or something to invite you in!!

Even flyers become a piece of art.

This was another amazing window. The colors are just beautiful.

I am crazy about the store signs. I took pictures of hundreds of fabulous signs on the French Quarter as well. I have no idea why I have this fascination with the store signs of New Orleans but I do. I wonder if I am the only person who goes around taking pictures of them all. This happens to be one of my favorites.

What can I say. I found the saying on the wall interesting and then all the artwork around it. I thought it was a fun shot.

Marigny Part Deux

More fabulous art on the store fronts. I didn't see this in the French Quarter. This area has a different feel to it. I rather liked it. There is also alot of gang graffitti around this area. 

It is hard to get a picture through a window but I liked the art and had to try.

Graffitti and Window Art in the Marigny District

Oh my gosh did I love this area off the beaten path of the French Quarter. I had actually gone here to pick up my Conventry Candles from a shop called Witchy Living (http://www.witchyliving.com/). Witchy Living is on 2109 Decatur St. and is a wonderful shop. Please make sure you visit if ever in New Orleans. Cairelle is fantastic and can answer any question you may have regarding her terrific merchandise. She carries a very nice variety of Coventry Candles too. (Which by the way are very cool.) So after picking up my order at Witchy Living I wondered off down the street to check out the area. We went into this fantastic antique store called The Junque Store (I think I am spelling it wrong) but the furniture in the shop was amazing and reasonble. As I looked around the street I started spotting all these amazing shops, graffitti and painted windows.

Wouldn't these make the best tarot cards?

How is this for one amazing painted fence. Fantastic.

I can't wait to show you more of Marigny. I think what I like so much about this area is it feels very real and rather edgy. I hear the crime is worse in this area than in the the French Quarter so maybe I would not want to be here when the sun goes down but I felt safe during the day. I wish I had more time to explore the area. Hopefully next time.

LaLaurie Mansion New Orleans

Once again I had the most wonderful time on the French Quarter. I was dropped off and left to myself. Me, my camera and four hours of joy and observation. Where I was originally dropped off the crowds were staggering. I am not big on crowds and thought that this excursion might be a bust, but as I walked further into the Quarter the crowds lessened and the time on the Quarter became pure joy. I had no map and no clue where I was going. I loved this and I just steered clear of Bourbon Street and looked for unique shots. I will be sharing many shots this week of my time in New Orleans.

I wanted to see the Lalaurie House but could not remember where it was on the French Quarter. I just thought I would know when I saw it. Oddly enough this was true. As I walked down the sidewalk I felt this strange heavy pit in my stomach. I had not felt this heavy feeling anywhere else but here. I looked up to see the sign LaLaurie Mansion. I was pretty pleased I had accidently found the mansion. As I walked up the sidewalk I came to the front door. I stopped at the door and of course the rod iron gate was locked but the front door was cracked open and I could see the beautiful staircase inside. I took some pictures and walked the corner. The curtains were opened and the room was filled with paint cans and renovation materials. The new owner is doing some major work on the home. I walked across the street to get a picture of all three stories of the mansion. As I stood there looking at the home trying to imagine the horror of what took place inside many years ago, this nice older man walked by and started talking to me about the mansion. He was telling me how Nick Cage just before loosing the home to not paying his taxes took all the chandeliers out of the mansion but was than ordered to put them all back. He basically stole the mansions lighting! No wonder he has such bad Karma these days. He went on to tell me about the new owner will be putting a lot of money into refurbishing. He then proceeded to point out Francis Ford Coppola's house across the street and his home is directly across the street from the LaLaurie. He then invited me to see his courtyard garden and showed me a portion of his home. It was such a treat!! After his little mini tour, he pointed me down the street to Brad Pitt's house and off I went.

Before I left this home I thought I would try one more time to walk down the sidewalk of this home. See what my gut felt like. It was fine once I got away from the house. But again the heavy pit resumed. Through out the time on the Quarter this pit happened one other time and that was in one of the Voodoo shops.

I wonder if the workers inside are experiencing any odd anomalies as they restore or change this home? I thought the ceiling of the entrance was really beautiful.

I don't like this sign for the mansion. It looks like it belongs in front of a Halloween Spook House not a Mansion with the history this one has. I wonder who thought that was a good idea.