Cities of the Dead

Since we were only in New Orleans for two days, we hopped on a bus one morning for a 2-hour city tour. It was a nice introduction to the different neighborhoods and it gave us a chance to see some of the areas still recovering from the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina. It also included a stop at one of the famous cemeteries.


We learned that many of the larger tombs contain several generations of the same families, and the families with money have some very elaborate tombs.


For those who don't have a family tomb there are many religious orders and social organizations that maintain larger tombs like this one above.


And then there's always a "hole in the wall" for those who don't have any other options or just prefer to be buried alone.


We saw that people leave all kinds of stuff in the urns besides flowers.


We also got a peek inside one old tomb that has fallen into disrepair, which shows how they stacked the bodies and then swept the remains to the back after they decomposed. All very creepy, yet strangely interesting! You can read more about it all here.