New Orleans:
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| Jackson Square |
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| Bourbon Street |
New Orleans means jazz music to me. So this was a wonderful stop to continue our
musical journey! Naturally we headed to
the French Quarter where we saw the Louis Armstrong Park and the Musical
Legends Park.
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| Pete Fountain |
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| Al Hirt |
We enjoyed the famous Hurricane drink at Pat O’Brien’s while
listening to the dueling pianists. And,
because we really wanted to make sure we got the best from our trip to
Preservation Hall, we booked VIP tickets online so that we didn’t have to wait
in line and were assured a seat. We got
the bench right next to the pianist, my new “bud” Lawrence Cotton who is 91
years old! What a fabulous treat to hear
this group perform.
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| Pat O'Brien's dueling pianists |
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| Preservation Hall |
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| My seat next to the piano! |
Of course, no trip to New Orleans is complete without
experiencing the food. So we enjoyed a
Sunday Jazz Brunch at the Court of Two Sisters and 2 trips for beignets! Tip:
It’s not necessary to go to Café du Monde, there are other places that are
just as good and no lines! Morning Call
is one I frequented before and on this trip we went to the New Orleans Coffee
& Beignet Co. which was close to our Airbnb (maybe too close).
Thanks to Michelle for her suggestion to visit the Historic New Orleans
Collection! We really enjoyed
the exhibitions here.
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There was a Streetcar Named
Desire, by Joseph Woodson “Pop” Whitesell
The Desire streetcar route served shopping areas along
Royal and Canal Streets as well as bars on Bourbon St.
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We took at walking tour that included the Lafayette Cemetery
and Garden District. It seems we have a
real affinity to cemeteries!
The homes in the Garden District were lovely, especially
since many were decorated for the holidays.
We saw homes of various celebrities, including John Goodman’s. There was an Eggnog Party beginning at one of the
homes and it was fun watching the ladies in their finest attire parading into
the house.
We did not stay in the French Quarter so we had the
opportunity to see more of the city, including the colorful shot-gun houses –
quite different from the Garden District houses!
Lafayette / St. Martinville:
We made one more stop in Louisiana before heading back to
the Houston area. We wanted to learn
more about Cajun culture, so we stayed in Lafayette. They have a wonderful Acadian Culture Center
there which provided us with an overview.
But we wanted to really get into the heart of Acadiana. Once again Michelle steered us in the right
direction, toward St. Martinville. Situated
on Bayou Teche, this Historic District provides a full day of discovery!
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| Bayou Teche |
After we parked the car, we strolled over to
see the bayou and the “Evangeline Oak” made famous by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. In his poem Evangeline, Longfellow immortalized the tragedy of the Acadian
exile from Nova Scotia in 1755. This oak
marks the legendary meeting place of Emmeline Labiche and Louis Arceneaux, the
counterparts of Evangeline and Gabriel.
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| Evangeline Oak |
We learned about the descendants of the area at The
Museum of the Acadian Memorial.
The Memorial building features a beautiful mural depicting the arrival
of Acadians into Louisiana from 1764-1788 and includes audio which tells the
stories of those first arrivals.
Next door, the museum offers beautiful displays including
the history of the slavery trade and the descendants from Senegal. These fun-loving people especially enjoyed making
and wearing elaborate Mardi Gras costumes.
We admired the detail in this beautiful Acadian Odyssey Quilt portraying the journey of ten
families between 1794-1809.
The highlight was a tour by the docent James. He took us around the historic district and
then entertained us with the history of the Church of St. Martin de Tours. We learned about the architecture of the
church, the many saints and the church bells.
Visiting St. Martinville and Lafayette really gave us a deeper
understanding of our neighbors!
Looking forward to returning to Texas to see family and friends.
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| Houston |