May 17, 2009 Dansk tekst til venstre English text on the right Dagens baghave: Backyard of the Day: Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana AKA Lake Lawn Metairie Cemetery Metairie Cemetery is located at 5100 Pontchartrain Boulevard in Metairie, New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana   Med torden og regnbyger hele natten havde vi ikke de store forventninger til vejret i dag, men det holdt heldigvis liiiiige længe nok til, at vi kunne komme på Metairie Kirkegård i formiddags. Det blev til mange, mange billeder... for dem af jer, der ikke nåede at få nok i går! With thunder and rainshowers throughout the night, we didn't have high expectations for today's weather, but it stayed dry juuuust long enough for us to visit Metairie Cemetery this morning. We got lots and lots of pictures... for those of you who didn't get enough yesterday!     En del af Wallys familie er begravet her på Metairie Kirkegård, men det meste af grunden til, at vi er så betaget af den er, at den utvivlsomt er den mest maleriske storby-kirkegård, vi nogensinde har set. Quite a few of Wally's relatives are buried here in Metairie Cemetery, but mostly the reason why we are so in love with it, is that undoubtedly this is the most picturesque urban cemetery we've ever seen.

Metairie Kirkegård var oprindelig en væddeløbsbane, Metairie Race Course, som blev grundlagt i 1838. Det siges, at en mand ved navn Charles Howard, som var kommet til New Orleans fra Maryland, blev nægtet medlemsskab i væddeløbsbanens eksklusive "Louisiana Jockey Club", og at han tog hævn ved at købe hele væddeløbsbanen og gøre den til kirkegård. Hvorom alting er, åbnede Metairie Kirkegård i 1872, og i dag følger mange af kirkegårdsstierne den gamle væddeløbsbanes ovale form. Metairie Cemetery was originally a horse racing track, the Metairie Race Course, which was established in 1838. A story is told that a man by the name of Charles Howard, who had come to New Orleans from Maryland, was refused membership into the racetrack's exclusive "Louisiana Jockey Club", and that he took revenge by buying the entire racetrack and turning it into a cemetery. Whether or not this story is accurate, Metairie Cemetery opened here in 1872, and even today many of the cemetery paths follow the oval shape of the old racetrack.         Den fantastiske gravsten i midten af dette gravsted, som bærer den afdødes portræt indhugget i stenen, tilhører Maria Francesca "Mary" Saltarelli, den italienske konfektmager og handelsmand Giovanni "John" Ghisalbertis første hustru. Hun var født den 15. september, 1852, i Genoa, Italien, og døde i New Orleans den 22. december, 1902. John Ghisalberti giftede sig syv år senere med en godt tredive år yngre kvinde ved navn Rosetta. Han døde i 1919. The amazing gravestone in the middle of this gravesite, which bears the portrait of the deceased chiseled into the stone itself, belongs to Maria Francesca "Mary" Saltarelli, who was the first wife of Italian confectioner and merchant Giovanni "John" Ghisalberti. She was born on September 15, 1852, in Genoa, Italy, and died in New Orleans on December 22, 1902. Seven years later John Ghisalberti married a woman named Rosetta, more than thirty years his junior. He died in 1919.

Det første, jeg tænkte, da jeg så denne engel, var at den ligner min veninde Dorethe.... The first thing I thought when I saw this angel was it looks like my friend Dorethe....

Der er ikke mange danske navne her... Men kan I se Jensen? There aren't many Danish names here...But do you see Jensen?         Som på Saint Louis kirkegårdene er jorden i Metairie Kirkegård fuld af muslingeskaller... Som følge af oversvømmelser, vel? As in the Saint Louis Cemeteries, the soil in Metairie Cemetery is full of sea shells... I assume, a result of floodings?

Det er New Orleans... Der er Mardi Gras perler overalt. This is New Orleans... Mardi Gras beads are everywhere.

Dette opulente gravsted tilhører Kaptajn Salvatore Pizzati, født i Palermo i 1839. Han var en velhavende skibsejer, der havde tilnavnet "Havenes Gamle Sicilianske Ulv," og havde tjent meget af sin formue ved at sejle frugt ind fra Sydamerika. Skønt han var rig, havde kaptajnen ry for at være hårdhjertet, og han sendte gerne nonnerne fra det lokale børnehjem fra døren med bare småpenge, når de kom rundt med indsamlingsbøssen. En dag påtog Moder Francesca Cabrini sig selv at besøge kaptajnen, og hun overtalte ham til at besøge børnehjemmet samme aften. Da kaptajnen så alle de små sovende piger, nogle der lå sammenklemt to til én seng, blev han så rørt, at han begyndte at græde, og sagde til Moder Cabrini, - Hvorfor kom De ikke før og åbnede mine øjne for dette overfyldte paradis af engle? Og derefter sendte han hende straks ud for at finde en arkitekt og et stykke land, så han kunne betale for bygningen af et fint stort børnehjem, der blev færdigt kort efter år 1900. Salvatore Pizzati døde i 1915, og det siges at hans yndlings gyngestol kom med ham i graven. This opulent tomb belongs to Captain Salvatore Pizzati, born in Palermo in 1839. He was a well-to-do ship owner, who was also called "The Old Sicilian Wolf of the Seas," and had made much of his fortune by sailing in fruit from South America. Although he was rich, the captain had a reputation of being hard-hearted, and he would send the nuns from the local orphanage away with just spare change, when they came around to collect money. One day Mother Francesca Cabrini took it upon herself to visit the captain, and she talked him into visiting the orphanage that same evening. When the captain saw all the little sleeping girls, some of them crowded together in one bed, it touched his heart, and he began to weep, and said to Mother Cabrini, - Why did you not come sooner to open my eyes to this crowded paradise of cherubs? And he then sent her right out to find an architect and a piece of land, so he could pay for the construction of a grand new orphanage, which was finished shortly after the year 1900. Salvatore Pizzati died in 1915, and they say that his favorite rocking chair was interred along with him.

Inden vi nåede ned i New Orleans' French Quarter, hvor vi ville have sjasket rundt hele eftermiddagen, hvis det havde været vejr til det, regnede det ned i spandevis, og vi blev der kun længe nok til at få en portion jambalaya indenbords. Det er god regnvejsmad! Before we made it down to New Orleans' French Quarter, where we would have whiled away the rest of the day, had the weather cooperated, it started to rain down buckets of water, and we only stayed long enough to have some jambalaya. Good rainy day food!     Regnen fortsatte resten af dagen, og det varede ikke længe, inden April havde fået fjernsyn nok for i dag. Hun var lige begyndt at brokke sig lidt, da vi hørte orkestermusik udenfor campingvognen, og da vi så efter, fandt vi ud af, at der var en parade på vej direkte ned forbi os. April åbnede døren til campingvognen, satte sig til rette på vaskekurven, og havde fin udsigt til al festivitasen. Traditionen tro kastede de Mardi Gras perlekæder til tilskuerne, og April endte med omkring tredive, fordi hun sad og tronede, hvor alle kunne se hende. Sikke underholdning! The rain continued the rest of the day, and it wasn't too long before April was tired of watching television. She had just started complaining a little when we heard band music outside the camper, and when we checked it out, we saw that there was a parade underway, heading straight for us. April opened the camper door, settled down on the laundry basket, and had a great view of the festivities. True to tradition they threw Mardi Gras pearls to the spectators, and April ended up with about thirty necklaces, because she was perched up high. Such entertainment!

Camping Information We're camping at the French Quarter RV Resort just north of the French Quarter in New Orleans. It is pricy, but it is also within walking distance of the French Quarter. For $69 per night we have full hook-ups as well as many amenities. This RV park is very much in the city, it is near I-10, and it is not quiet. Facilities: Full hookups Some sites with screened-in gazebos Outdoor kitchen with TV may be rented with any site Outdoor bar area Computer lounge Swimming pool and jacuzzi Laundry room Fitness room Very nice restrooms Golfcart-shuttle service to the French Quarter visitors' center. Security gated and office open 24 hours. Leashed dogs welcome. More Louisiana Travel Information Here YESTERDAY TOMORROW