Mississippi borders the Mississippis River, Tennessee, Alabama and Louisiana.

Louisiana Trip

April 2014

BATON ROUGE (POPULATION: 229,493)……THE STATE CAPITOL (French word meaning red stick, referring to a tall cypress tree, stripped of its bark and draped with freshly killed animals) One of the largest ports in our nation….has more beautiful antebellum homes and two major universities: LA State and Southern University. The old state capitol is a magnificent Gothic castle built in 1847. It was burned by the Union Army and repaired, serving as capitol until 1932. The new state capitol is the nation’s tallest capitol . It was built during Governor Huey Long’s administration….and it was the very place this controversial governor was assassinated.

NEW ORLEANS (POPULATION: 343,829) In 1803, Louisiana ownership passed from Spain to France and then to US via LA purchase, culminating in a clash of cultures. The Creoles were here before the city became part of the US, and it soon became very diverse with peoples from the Caribbean, the African-Americans, Irish, Haitans, Germans, Vietnamese, etc….creating a powerful cultural energy. The city became known as The Big Easy. The heart and soul of NOLA (as New Orleans is called) is the French Quarter (Vieux Carre) where you will find Jackson Square and Café du Monde (famous for its beignets ….doughnuts). Little damage was done in this area by Hurricane Katrina, although 80% of the city flooded and devastation can still be seen in many areas. Partying never ends in the French Quarter and The Saints Go Marching In forever. The roots of jazz originated here. Each night one of 5 or 6 bands perform jazz at Preservation Hall….inexpensive tickets/never a bad show/seats only 50, although limited reserve seats.

The Garden Section: Take the St. Charles Ave. Streetcar from Canal St. to the Garden District, a most beautiful area of fine old homes (preserved from the era of cotton and sugar empires) when antebellum plantations dominated the landscape. This is now considered the American section of town. Many famous celebrities have homes here: Sandra Bullock, Harry Connick, Jr. Matthew McConaughey, John Goodman, Nicolas Cage. Today new Orleans is a major US port. The natives refer to their four seasons as: Summer, Hurricane, Christmas, and Mardi Gras.

Our experience in New Orleans:

DAY 1: This was festival time, the traffic into NOLA was bumper-to-bumper (we were arriving from Biloxi, MS via car). Jim did a great job of finding the hotel. Before noon, we parked at the Westin….our destination ($18 to park per day) and set off for the French Quarter….a very busy day. This week-end was the annual Spring French Quarter festival….and it was jumping with 735,000 people, a bunch of crazy characters & mimes waltzing thruout, eternal blues music w/different groups ….and great food. We spent the day walking & enjoying the environment & weird people. We ate some shrimp po’boys in the Red Fish Grill and stood in line to go to Cafe du Monde f/beignets….sm. warm french doughnuts smothered in confec. sugar. Then back to the Westin for a show at Harrah’s, close by.

Day 2: Off to breakfast/brunch at the Ruby Slipper. We waited over an hour to get in & then almost another hour to get food. I thought it was worth the wait for my meal was great….eggs couchon (poached eggs over biscuits surrounded w/thinly cut pork debris & hollandaise. Jim had pancakes. Then we took a trip on the hop on/hop off double decker bus around the city…..later toured Riverwalk along the Mississippi River….and walked back to the booming French Quarter for more entertainment/ music and crazies. Later we stopped at an Italian café for a panino & soda.

Day 3: Made a reservation two weeks in advance to eat lunch at Commander’s Palace….. a highly rated restaurant nationally and best in NOLA….expensive but great. Jim and I each had a lunch special….gumbo soup, entrée was grilled speckled trout w/carmelized onions/red peppers on a bed of fluffed corn cous/cous/w/butter sauce….and the best bread pudding/whiskey sauce ever…worth its money….$124. The service was outstanding….full dress code for waiters and visitors. This restaurant is in the beautiful Garden section of NOLA. We took a trolley to St. Charles Place….and that was an experience for renovations were being done to the tracks so the trolleys were overfilled and transfers on the bus were necessary. After lunch we walked around the Garden section to see the lovely homes.

Day 4: Flight home.

Louisiana Photo Gallery

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