Louisiana & Florida

9/30/22

We decided to set out on an adventure to the biggest city in Louisiana. New Orleans, and subsequently to Santa Rosa, Florida.

We arrived there more or less after 7 hours. I got used to these long distances, after all I have been here for some time already and me and my host family have been on many trips (you can read about them in my earlier posts).

We stayed at a beautiful hotel and the next day we went to a World War II. museum. It was very interesting to see the WWII. from a different perspective. I noticed many times that the Czech Republic was mentioned there. I even saw a map with my home city on it :). It was very patriotic and at the end there was a short 4D movie that was dubbed by Tom Hanks. It was very moving. I must say that I enjoyed this exposition a lot.

After the museum we decided to walk through the beautiful streets of New Orleans. I saw the famous Bourbon street that is the heart of the city after the Sun sets. New Orleans is famous for its bizarre cuisine. As it is very close to the Gulf of Mexico, seafood is very popular down there. I even heard they serve crocodile meat there. There is also the famous New Orleans “gumbo” that was very good as Neall said.


The next day we had a brunch at a very fancy restaurant. I ordered my favorite food - lasagna and made a bet with the head cheff that I will be able to eat it all. I was successful. This very filling meal gave me enough energy for the rest of the day. The next stop was the New Orleans Museum of Art. We got there by a trolley (btw the street railway system in New Orleans is the oldest in the whole world - 1835). I liked the art pieces inside, however the true beauty was outside. The sculpture garden that went around the whole Roman-styled building was magnificent. The originality of the artworks there blew my mind. The weather that day was perfect too.  After this experience we took the trolley back to the centre of the city and left the kids at the hotel. Afterwards me and my host parents went out again to see the outskirts of the city. Our first stop was the “Tree of Life”. It is basically just a big ol’ tree. Then we walked around the Tulane university campus. It was one of the most beautiful parks that I have ever seen. It was very large and in the very middle of it was a local golf course. After all this walking we saw the university itself and then took the trolley back to the hotel. While on the trolley you could see beautiful mansions and the further you get from the city centre the bigger they are.


It was already pretty late but I wanted to see the Bourbon street at night. So we all got together and walked there. Let me tell you, Bourbon street during the night is pretty wild. Not only is every single person drunk or high, most of them are not even clothed 😂. There is this tradition where you buy these colorful beads and wear them as a necklace. Then when you see a pretty lady you throw her the necklace and she has to show you her … upper body. And my experience wouldn’t be complete without this. Thankfully I got to experience everything. After not such a long time we went back to the hotel because of course it was not appropriate to be there with children.

That was the last day in New Orleans. The next morning we bought some beignets, which is a typical pastry from that area and then we left the city. After crossing a very long bridge over the salty ocean water we headed east. During the next 4 hour drive I read my book, listened to some music and relaxed. After all we walked more than 20km/12.5m during the stay there. At last we arrived to a city called Santa Rosa. 

10/3/22

Santa Rosa is a city on the coast of Florida. We stayed there in one of our friend’s house. In total there were like 15 children if not more. The house was packed, however we had so much fun during the next few days that I can’t even explain.

We arrived there some time after lunch so we unpacked our bags and went directly to the beach. After a short walk I saw the beautiful azzure blue color of the ocean. It was unbelievable. We enjoyed the beach, played spike ball and volleyball and towards the evening we went back in the house. That evening me and the older guys got together and went to Seaside, a city that is very popular in that area. We had some food talked to some girls, got their snap and we headed back.

The next day was pretty much the same, we improved in spike ball, got darker and and enjoyed the once again amazing water. That evening we went to Seaside again and had a lot of fun. There was a beach party so we spent some time there until it got busted by the police of course we didn't have to worry about anything because we didn't do anything.

During the following two days we spent most of the time on the beach. Every day after bathing in the salty water we spent some time in the pool. During the evenings we had a lot of fun playing madden on playstation and bullying the younger kids :). I remember a conversation I had with one man I met on the beach, he knew German so I came up to him and introduced myself. We had a wonderful time and I realized how small the world really is when you have connections. That wasn’t the only moment like that. One time we were riding an uber back to the house when we left Seaside and again me and this driver talked about a lot of things and that made me realize how lucky I am to experience all of this.

The last evening we were there we had a bonfire. The man who set it up payed attention to every little detail and even drew in the sand “Welcome” & “Fall break 2022.” We made s’mores, danced to the music and enjoyed the beautiful beach sunset. There was a lot of people watching the sun setting but once it was over we had the whole beach to ourselves (+one other family haha)

The next morning we left and drove back to Wynne. Thank you everyone for making this so fun <3,

Ondrej

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