a church...

 in Barbados.
You can still see evidence of the fires :(

They commemorate people's memories in such beautiful ways. tomorrow, i'll post photos from the cemetery.

this place really stuck with me.

people fear cemeteries...

i don't know why- i never did. My Grandfather passed away, God Rest his Soul, when I was 8 years old so I've spend a LOT of time in cemeteries. I think people fear the unknown, when the fear they should have is living an unfulfilled life.

The photo above was shot in Barbados, is completely untouched, and there's a lot of creepy colorful glares on it.

It's also one of the oldest tombs in the cemetery we'd visited.

happy halloween!

(me)

was there every any doubt?

happy halloween!!

thanks for tuning into my october: supernatural travel month!

please send me your comments or questions or criticisms! all welcome <3

love me,

the globetrotting gamine

out, damned spot, out i say!

according to popular beliefs...
a black cat crossing your path is bad luck.
i don't believe it-
because i had good luck the whole day of this photo shoot!

thanks for posing, meow-meow!

love me,
the globetrotting gamine

Ghost Photography- Orbs?

what do you think? are the orbs caused

in my consecutive pictures shown here paranormal...

or normal? no time like the month of october

to figure this one out.

your thoughts and comments will be greaaaaatly appreciated!

a professional in the paranormals'

opinion would be awesome, too!

thank you

loving life in salem

how beautiful was salem- i am so sorry i can't stop talking about it. that's why i gave it a rest for a few days!

as an avid traveller, i am always supremely thankful to God and the Universe that i get the chance to experience beautiful places, cultures, people, etc.

life can't get any better.

i beg you to visit and explore everything you can when you get there- if you're a major history buff like i am, you will not be diappointed.

though if you are anything like me, you will probably want to sit right outside the area of the gallows and cry.

now, on to my manuscript- i'll be writing about new people and situations in salem. i will definitely let you know when it gets published ;)

much love,
the globetrotting gamine

new orleans- 3

just in case you got bored with the first two :)

hope you like my videos!!

new orleans- 2

love love love

new orleans

is my ultimate happy place...

well, among them anyway <3!!

loooooooove
me,
the globetrotting gamine

new orleans- 1

i take a lot of mini-videos

so that i can upload them easily.

shot 1 of 3 mini-vids

of our spectacular time in new orleans.

it was on my bucket list

of places to see

and experiences to experience

and i am so thankful that i had experienced

it

before i turned 30.

yeesh!!

sorry about the quality- it's a little older

for a video!!

love me,

the globetrotting gamine

a writer in salem

as a writer, i was so excited to go see nataniel hawthorne's house...
it had been moved to the property on which the house of seven gables stands.

um- can we say awesome?

there are so many stories attached to the house of seven gables that it would be best for you to go there and hear them for yourself.

i won't say much just in case  you will make the journey there...it's a lot more interesting when you're standing in it (you can't take photos inside) and experiencing it for yourself.

my travel besties and i had an awesome time there- we probably could have spend the entire day exploring the grounds more intricately...

oh, and be careful going up the secret staircase ;)

you definitely need about 2 and a half to three days to see everything on your Salem to-do list.

if you have any stories, i would love to hear.
i'll post 'em.

love me,
the globetrotting gamine

love equals salem

upon arriving in Salem, I was in love. Well, maybe a little before arriving... :)

if you've known me since I was tiny, you would know that visiting Salem, MA was on my bucket list- in the top 5!

Cobblestone streets and such a rich history, albeit sad really pulls you in.
Love love love.

We met people that were incredibly smart and inspiring, and super-friendly.

Um, the food? The bookstores? Everything?

I would move to Salem in a heartbeat.

So thank you, universe- for bringing me to Salem!! I will happily go again at your request.

love me,
the globetrotting gamine

marie laveau

house of famed voo doo queen, marie laveau

taken from wikipedia:

Marie Laveau (September 10, 1794 – June 16, 1881) was a Louisiana Creole practitioner of Voudou renowned in New Orleans. She was born free in New Orleans.

Her daughter Marie Laveau II (1827 — c. 1895) also practiced Voudou, and accounts often confuse the two. She and her mother had great influence over their multiracial following. “In 1874 as many as twelve thousand spectators, both black and white, swarmed to the shores of Lake Pontchartrain to catch a glimpse of Marie Laveau II performing her legendary rites on St. John's Eve (June 23–24).”

Marie I was believed to have been born free in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, about 1794, the daughter of a white planter and a free Creole woman of color. On August 4, 1819, she married Jacques (or Santiago, in other records) Paris, a free person of color who had emigrated from Haiti.[1] Their marriage certificate is preserved in Saint Louis Cathedral in New Orleans. The marriage mass was performed by Father Antonio de Sedella, the Capuchin priest known as Pere Antoine.[2] Jacques Paris died in 1820 under unexplained circumstances. He was part of a large Haitian immigration to New Orleans in 1809 after the Haitian Revolution of 1804. New immigrants consisted of French-speaking white planters and thousands of slaves as well as free people of color. Those with African ancestry helped revive Voodoo and other African-based cultural practices in the New Orleans community, and the Creole of color community increased markedly.




[edit] CareerAfter Paris's death Marie Laveau became a hairdresser who catered to wealthy white families. She took a lover, Christophe (Louis Christophe Dumesnil de) Glapion, with whom she lived in a common-law marriage until his death in 1835. They were reported to have had 15 children including Marie Laveau II, born c. 1827, who sometimes used the surname "Paris" after her mother's first husband.[3]



Very little is known with any certainty about the life of Marie Laveau. Her surviving daughter had the same name and is called Marie Laveau II by some historians. Scholars believe that the mother was more powerful while the daughter arranged more elaborate public events (including inviting attendees to St. John's Eve rituals on Bayou St. John). They received varying amounts of financial support. It is not known which (if not both) had done more to establish the voodoo queen reputation.[4]



Of Laveau's magical career there is little that can be substantiated. She was said to have had a snake she named Zombi after an African god. Oral traditions suggested that the occult part of her magic mixed Roman Catholic beliefs, including saints, with African spirits and religious concepts. Some scholars believe that her feared magical powers of divination were actually based on her network of informants which she developed while working as a hairdresser in households of the prominent. As she visited her clients (mostly white) she listened closely to their gossip. Some assert that she ran her own brothel and cultivated informants in that way as well. She appeared to excel at obtaining inside information on her wealthy patrons by instilling fear in their servants whom she either paid or "cured" of mysterious ailments.[4]

On June 16, 1881 the New Orleans newspapers announced that Marie Laveau had been beheaded in the top tower of her own home. This is noteworthy if only because people claimed to have seen her in town after her supposed demise. Again, some claimed that one of her daughters also named Marie (many of the daughters had Marie within their names due to Catholic naming practices) assumed her name and carried on her magical practice, taking over as the queen soon before or after the first Marie's death.

According to official New Orleans vital records, a certain Marie Glapion Lavau died on June 15, 1881, aged 98.[5] The different spelling of the last name as well as the age at death may result from the casual 19th Century approach to spelling as well as conflicting accounts of Laveau's birth.

Marie Laveau was reportedly buried in Saint Louis Cemetery #1 in New Orleans in the Glapion family crypt (see External Links below for clickable tomb map.) This fact is in dispute, according to Robert Tallant, a journalist who has used her as a character in historical novels.[6] The tomb continues to attract visitors who draw three "x"s (XXX) on its side, in the hopes that Laveau's spirit will grant them a wish. Some self-styled researchers claim that Laveau is buried in other tombs, but they may be confusing the resting places of other voodoo priestesses of New Orleans.

Although some references to Marie Laveau in popular culture refer to her as a "witch", she is properly described as a 'Voodoo priestess'.

The French Quarter hotel The Historic French Market Inn has a bar named the 'Marie Laveau Lounge' on Decatur Street.


(above all taken from wikipedia- my story tomorrow!)

salem signs

be careful!

this is my parking spot!!

love me,

the globetrotting gamine

salem signs

salem views

what a sad time in history...
i wish humans were more compassionate.

inside Witch House/Corwin House

what do you get when you cross

history buffs with travel?

in a word- trouble.

we loved the people

at the Witch House...

they let us wander around

and snap our fun pics...

above are photos of official documents from the 1690s.

cool door that we would like in our homes...

looks like intruders won't ever enter through it!

i don't know what she found..

unless it was gum?

maybe she wanted to measure how tall

the fireplace was?

we both want one.

the fireplace...not the gum!!

salem, we love thee.

love me,

the globetrotting gamine

ps- if anyone at the witch house needs me to volunteer there

or write about them...

please let me know!

booga booga

who believes in voo doo?

salem visions 2

upon arriving in salem, i have to say...
it was always a goal of mine to go there- though i think i may need a writing fellowship there. anywhere upwards from 3 days would suffice...maybe.

i would love to live in salem. the little town just called to me...
though when we passed the gallows, i really wanted to sit down and cry. and no, i didn't even want to walk in. (pictures on that soon)

so we did not do the complete touristy thing-- we did not go to the wax museum. we did not see the role plays...though it's not the season and i'm sure we'll go back again to do all the things we missed.

Salem Visions

this is what we saw upon arrival to Salem.

more specifically, what i was able to see having popped

some dramamine on the bus ride over.

i am a very, very bad backseat driver.

all in all, i've discovered that salem would be the perfect place

for me to live

had i a choice ;)

in 1692

(above are photos of the burial sites of some persecuted,

and the area where they were condemned in Salem)

in 1692

(excerpts taken from Salem Brochure, 2011 guide and map)

"in 1692, Salem and Colonial New England were gripped by a hysteria that captured the world's attention and now symbolizes the tragic consequences of intolerance and injustice. A few girls accused hundreds of witchcraft--of persecuting them, causing bodily harm and pain. The legal system of the time, which allowed spectral evidence, made it impossible for the accused to defend themselves against innuendo, fear, and a rush to judgement. Over the course of ten months, friends were pitted against friends, upright citizens ostracized and twenty innocent men and women were put to death...

"A fear gripped Salem in 1692 that was so powerful it led to accusations and condemnations. This chapter of history s so significant it is taught in schools around the world. To learn more about the Salem Witch Trials, visit Salem.org

For information on the Salem Award for Social Justice, an organization that keeps alive the lessons of the Trials of 1692 visit www.SalemAward.org"

Visiting Salem taught me a lot of things that i was fortunate enough to see--the way people are liable to go along with one person's hysteria is disgusting. When are we going to follow the teaching, let he who is without sin cast the first stone?

love me,

the globetrotting gamine