4 Days in New Orleans

In New Orleans, Art is Life.

Everywhere you look, from front porches to abandoned railroad stations to the hats on happy heads, inhabitants of this city seem to live by one local rule: if you hope to survive life’s cruelties and injustices, you must make art.

Be it beautiful and sacred or ridiculous and absurd, it matters not. It only matters that we create. That we resist. That we live.

Long-time Olio teacher and Death Historian, Jamie Warren, has been living in New Orleans and teasing an OlioTrip for the past few years. This June (just before the heat sets in) she is inviting us on a one-of-a-kind tour of what she argues is the most American city.

We’ve only got room for 12 in our Boutique BNB (pictured to the left) and this may very well only happen once. Hop on a plane Thursday morning and have a Beignet in hand by 2pm. We’ll see you in New Orleans! ⚜️🎷🦐

Trip Itinerary

[Subject to change as opportunities & events pop-up. We go with the local flow for guaranteed good times.]

Day 1 (June 6)

History, Architecture, & Ghosts

Arrive at the one-of-a-kind Bed and Breakfast, and meet our lovely host, Nicolina. Check-in time is flexible. If you arrive early we encourage you to take a walk around the amazing Bywater neighborhood. After you settle in, we will come together at 4:00pm for introductions, and arrange bike rentals. (NOLA is a great city for biking. If riding a bike isn’t your thing, don’t fret. Uber and Lyft are affordable.)

That evening, we will gather at an outdoor theater for the first Olio: An overview of the city’s history, with a special focus on its history of architecture and unique culture of beauty. As we spend these days together, exploring the city with more recognized historic districts than any other in the country, we will invite you to experience yourself in the now/then, the living past, and allow the ghosts to guide you where they will. We will then head to the French Quarter for a traditional New Orleans dinner.

Day 2 (June 7)

The Art of Survival

In the morning, after an optional outdoor yoga class (by donation)  we will gather for a communal breakfast at Emerald’s lovely outdoor kitchen (included). Then we will take a walk through the Bywater district, pausing to take in the street art, murals, and sculptures. Then we will head to Jamnola, an interactive, immersive museum dedicated to the artists and musicians of New Orleans, where we will be treated to a special guided tour by Jamnola founders. 

We will provide a guide and connections to the city’s diverse art museums, venues, street vendors, etc. and the afternoon will be yours to explore on your own or in small groups. That evening, we will meet back at Emerald for an Olio on the role of art in collective resistance.

Day 3 (June 8)

Music, Food, & Festival

On this day we will explore and honor what is arguably the city’s greatest contribution to American culture: music.

Then, we’ll gather for an Olio on New Orleans’ unique historical legacy of resilience by examining the city’s painful history of enslavement, and how this pain was transformed into something new, distinctly local, and undeniably vibrant: resistance through festival. After our Olio, we will visit the Backstreet Cultural Museum to learn about the Mardi Gras Indians.

For dinner, we will make and eat a Voodoo Stew with a Voodoo Priestess.

Day 4 (June 9)

New Orleans Decadence

Given that the last day of the trip is a Sunday, we will act accordingly; meaning, we will start drinking at breakfast, we will celebrate life with the Drag Queens of the Bywater, take a dip in the legendary Country Club pool, and if we are lucky, maybe we will catch a Second Line Parade before we part ways.

In other words, we will relax and enjoy being alive - something New Orlean natives seem particularly adept at doing.

Where we will be staying

Bywater Bed & Breakfast

We’ll be renting out a private Bed & Breakfast in a hidden garden nestled in the heart of New Orlean’s Bywater neighborhood.

About Your Professor

Jamie Warren has a Ph.D. in American History from Indiana University, and she is an Assistant Professor at BMCC-CUNY where she teaches American history, the history of women and gender, and women’s studies. Her research focuses on slavery in antebellum South with a particular focus on death, the body, and the philosophy of history.

Book Your Spot

If you book “Private Room for Two” you will be in a shared queen bed.

Fly in on Thursday morning and be home by Sunday evening.

4 days (June 6-9, 2024)

Limited to 12 people.

    • 3 nights lodging

    • 3 Breakfasts

    • 2 Lunches

    • 1 Dinner

    • 3 Olios

    • Soup Joumou Workshop

    • Private Concert by Local Musicians

    • Admission/Tickets to everywhere on the itinerary

    • Airfare

    • Transportation to and from the airport

    • Mandatory travel insurance

    • Incidental expenses