Big Easy ~ and it was

 

We have left the 'Big Easy' after a 10 day visit and are headed south and the Gulf, for warmer weather, some kayaking and maybe just sitting down on the sand. This post will be more photo, less history....New Orleans, or as a local ~ Naw-lins is better known than many of the spots we have toured, therefore I have less to say. As many of you know I adore churches, art and nature...so I found some of that here. I'll include a few "not to miss" activities as well.

 

We stayed across the river in the Bayou Segenette State Park, and took the ferry from Algiers - 3 min crossing and it is FREE, drops you near the FQ, so it was perfect for u.. Using the ferry gave me such joy and recall of the fond memories of growing up with the Puget Sound ferry system. There is a small parking lot that charges $5/day M-F, a bit more on the weekends but it was so worth not having to drive across and attempt to find parking, as there are quite a few pedestrian only and one-way narrow streets. The state park had nice large spots, free Wi-Fi and laundry...it also gives you an idea of the dike system that protects much of the area, as a dike lurks nearby on the access road to the RV parking.

 

This short video is of the Natchez tour boat leaving the harbor just as we docked.
  

 

Another beautiful church, St. Louis Cathedral, which you can see from the ferry as you cross the Mississippi...and the state museum has buildings on either side.

 

One of the wings is dedicated to Katrina ... included in the display was the piano owned by Fats Domino - shown here at his home

and here, cleaned and displayed as it was found.

 

And there is Mardi Gras...who hasn't heard of MG? Second floor of the museum is devoted to this with collections of invitations, dance cards, costumes and all the paraphernalia is a part of the celebration.

 

  

 

 

Friends suggested doing a few things while in New Orleans....eat at Muriel's -

 

Check that...it was elegant, delicious and swanky! We hit the oft mentioned Café Dumont for the beignet experience...check ! We found a great lunch at El Gato Negro, near the French Market...some of the best Mexican ever! Homemade tortillas, salsa and the fish tacos - the bomb!



It was suggested we drive across the "causeway" of Lake Pontchartrain .... now I truly dislike bridges, mostly high bridges, or bridges that have grating. The irony is that I live in a town with lots of bridges...I hold my breath and just drive across...but this bridge is 24 miles long and at times one can not see land, it is like driving across the ocean. I counted down the

 

mile markers as we crossed and was extremely happy to hit land and drive around for the return.

 

National World War II Museum was an unexpected treat...the 4D experience of the movie "Beyond All Boundaries" was unique. The buildings and exhibits are remarkable, the WWII veterans sharing they experiences and the interactive maps and displays makes for a full day.

 

I wanted a souvenir of our trip here...I found this at the Flea Market - Jennies - with instructions for both good and evil. Isn't she beautiful? A voodoo doll...<grinning>

 

 

New Orleans is a lovely city, with many historical buildings, feisty historical figures, great food and music.

 

This sign, found on a garage door gave me a moment of humor and the knowledge that someone has a sense of humor about their neighborhood. 

 



 

Next up, our Swamp Tour in Patterson, LA.

~Ciao

Touring the Big 'RED STICK'

We spent just a couple of days in the Baton Rouge area...don't miss the Louisiana State Museum...it's both informative and beautiful. It's also located very close to the state capitol buildings and downtown BR. The first floor is in a historical layout, covering the state as a whole.



 

                    Calaboose slave door (jail) Fairview Plantation below.     

<and from Huey Long's home an interior door.

As part of the state history of slavery, is this collection of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" book covers.                                   

 
 

 

 

John James Audubon,

 ^ the naturalist, 

spent time drawing some 167 birds while living on a plantation in the 1820's.

Upstairs, the 2nd floor is designed to inform you on the 5 distinctive cultural districts that make up Louisiana. It's more about the food, the arts, the music, and the social aspects of  each cultural section of Louisiana. Mardi Gras is well represented, as is the music scene.  Pete Fountain's clarinet is just one of the many instruments you will see here.

 

Not far from the museum is the beautiful and massive St. Joseph Cathedral. I am not a catholic, but I love the architectural of old churches and am always a willing photographer once on the grounds. Both inside and out I am, one of those gawkers, and will sit down to take in the beauty, peace and grandness that each holds.

 

 

 On our way out the front door, I happen to turn around and looked up ^ where I saw these organ pipes. That made me want to attend a service here, just to hear the sound of the organ, especially during this holiday season.

My fascination with all things southern began with first reading 'Gone with the Wind' as a young teen, living in the PNW. Like most teens, I lived in my head much of the time and was enamored with the romantic side of well-to-do life of the "southern belle" (the realities of the harshness of that life were not recognized until much later)...which answers the question about 'why' touring yet another plantation. This one is state owned/operated and there is a small fee to do so, but frankly, just the 28 acres of gardens would have been tour enough...go in the spring when all of it would be in bloom. We did see camellia, roses, gardenias in bloom - spring would have been a more desirable time for the massive hydrangea, magnolias, roses and other shrubs that form the gardens. The house has been restored to it's 1850's origins.

Built in 1834, the owners actually planted the live oak allee in the 1820's in anticipation of the house to come. The photo below is from the carriage drive, approaching the house.

 The entrance into the front hallway is beautiful - the walls are covered in a hand-made/hand-painted linen paper, depicting a French countryside theme. It is the original wall covering, and 90% of the furnishings are original to the home time period.

 This photo (below)  is of the butler's pantry, where slaves brought in prepared food to plate for meals and served in the dining room just beyond.

This is the children's room, complete with toys that were discovered in the attic during the restoration of 1956 - 1964.

 Four unmarried granddaughters of the original home owners lived out their lives here. The house was never updated with modern conveniences, like running water, heat, indoor toilets or a kitchen.

The last, Miss Nina, died in 1955 and used this 1850 created indoor shower by her grandfather. Rain water was collected and piped into the large overhead container, the rope pull dispensed the water into a tub (the one here was put in during restoration in 1956). This "shower room" was added to the master bedroom (right) when the addition to the house was done in the 1850's.

Miss Nina and her sisters cooked in the kitchen house out back (right) and used oil lamps and utensils, shown below.

>The stairs go up to the slave qtrs. and down to the butler's kitchen>
both steep and narrow.

Now to the "historic" formal gardens of the plantation.  Mrs. Turnbull began to design them in the planting of those live oaks back in the 1820's. Working each day on the design, acquisition, planting and upkeep; with meticulous notes and journals, her records were used to renovate and restore the gardens in the late 1950's to the original design. Three summerhouses, like the one in the photo below grace the gardens. One had climbing pink roses covering one side of it.

Hydrangeas line the walkways, pecan, magnolia and camellia trees cover the grounds. In the more formal areas, hedges line the walkways...it really is lovely to stroll through and admire, even in December.

Rosedown did have a doctor-in-residence after  a son died of yellow fever in 1843. There is no family cemetery or church on the property...those are in nearby St. Francisville, a few miles down the road.

 

Lastly, we didn't tour this building as we discovered it just the day before we left...the Old State Capitol Building which is now the Political History Museum. Looks inviting.

~ Ciao

 

 



and in other news....Natchitoches...huh?

Why have we never heard of Natchitoches, LA?....(pronounced nack-a-tish)

 

Are we the only people in America who didn't know this gem was here. Known for the Christmas Festival of Lights - which we stumbled upon was just beginning to come to life, the city park and river-walk, along the Cane River, in the historic district is beautiful, quiet and just steps away from the many shops, cafes and historic colonial era homes that line the shore.

 

 A short walk from downtown you can see this Prudhomme Rouquier house which belongs to the family that also owned the Oakland Plantation just a few miles away - now Cane River Creole National Historic Park. Est. in 1821 it continued to be occupied by the Prudhomme family until 1998, at which time it was turned over to the NPS

 

(the live oak trees above were planted in 1826 to direct the wind into the house for cooling.)

and is now the Cane River Creole NHP.

 





 The plantation is almost completely intact as it appeared in the mid 1850's with just one or two changes. The cook's cabin was moved, in the 1930's  to another part of the property for use as a hunter's lodge; and the main house has been restored back to the 1960's era - considered the end of the "sharecropping era".

 

This 3 sash window section, is not only in-line with the front gate, but the 2 lower sections move up to allow for an additional 'entry/exit' into the main house. One on each side of the front door provided additional air flow during warmer months.

The 3,000 bottle garden below, begun prior to the Civil War, was both an early method of recycling of used French wine bottles and  a method  of replacing the box hedges that lined each segment of the garden.

 

After the Civil War, plantations created their own farm stores for supplies; both for the owners use, but also for their sharecroppers.

 Tokens like these were used to pay the sharecroppers, hence forcing them to also spend them in the plantation 'store'.

 

If you happen to find yourself in Natchitoches like us...do yourself a huge favor and to Lasyones for one of their famous, hand-made meat pies. (They also have a crawfish pie, for those who are meat-free.) It could become an addiction...

 

 

 

Before I take you further down the road...just a whimsical last note on plantation life. Ever wonder where the phrase "shoo fly" came from?  Pre-Civil War house dining rooms were equipped with a wooden panel bolted to the ceiling, and a young slave sitting on the floor would swing it back-forth, thus creating a breeze to "shoo flies away"from the dining guests.

 

 

A short walk down main street one will find the

re-created Ft. St. Jean Baptiste

Built to stop the expansion of the Spanish from Texas, it served as a trade center first for the tobacco crops and then later cotton.

At the fort, which is pretty much self-guided, there are roving "en-actors", dressed in period costumes, who will answer questions about the creation of, and function of the fort during it's usage. Mike asked the young man with the long gun about it's workings and he was more than happy to explain and demonstrate how to prime, load and fire the rifle. Had I known we would get a live demo I would have taken a video of it...so wish I had that now.

Walking back to the forts visitor's center this is the view from along the water's edge.

 

I have compiled a slide show attached to the blog should you wish to see more of Natchitoches, Oakland Plantation and Fort St. Jean Baptiste.

 

~ Ciao