Hi everyone, Gulliver here, reporting from Natchez on the Mississippi River, in Mississippi. Jamie and Pam are having a bit of a break here, just poking around this historic town and readying themselves for a week in New Orleans.
While, like you, I've been reading their blog daily and have enjoyed their postings on the food, music and culture of the US, I have to be honest with you and say they have missed out on telling you all about the best bits (well, in my opinion). I mean the houses. They're terrific here. Well worth standing in front of, spending endless hours just admiring the garden and lawn. It's what we gnomes like to do, and do best. And so here's my tour of assorted Louisiana houses (and sometimes you might even spot me doing what I love best: standing in front of houses).
To kick off our tour of Louisiana houses, Jamie has done another one of his little pan shots, taken at a 're-created historic village' in Lafayette. The good thing about this village is that all the houses are the real deal, dismantled at their original sites, plank by plank, then re-erected at the village. There's about a dozen buildings here, the oldest is from the 1820s, and if you ask me, the whole setting is a bit cute, but the houses are fascinating. But I'll let Jamie do his pan shot thing now, and then I'll show you some photos.
In another town in Acadiana, Opelousas, they've done the same 'historic village' thing with genuine old houses. This is the original doctor's house in Opelousas, where patients came to visit for well over 100 years (no, the doctor wasn't that old, it was a tag-team father-and-son thing).
One plant which really thrives in this area is the cycad known as the Japanese sago palm. Haven't seen a a sick one yet, all are very lush, green and healthy.
Not all houses are crisply painted in white, with neatly trimmed hedges. There's a lot of shabby chic in the region, too.
I should get danger money standing under this old joint in New Iberia. One good strong gust of wind, or the next hurricane, and whammo!
In another town in Acadiana, Opelousas, they've done the same 'historic village' thing with genuine old houses. This is the original doctor's house in Opelousas, where patients came to visit for well over 100 years (no, the doctor wasn't that old, it was a tag-team father-and-son thing).
The nice thing about these old historic houses is that they haven't overly 'tarted them up'. They proudly show off their signs of age.
Now, let's move onto houses outside the historic villages, the ones in the various towns of the district. Here's a smattering of some of the best photos taken by Pam.
One plant which really thrives in this area is the cycad known as the Japanese sago palm. Haven't seen a a sick one yet, all are very lush, green and healthy.
Nice shutters.
Not all houses are crisply painted in white, with neatly trimmed hedges. There's a lot of shabby chic in the region, too.
I should get danger money standing under this old joint in New Iberia. One good strong gust of wind, or the next hurricane, and whammo!
And so that concludes my update on the best bits. Jamie has done another pan shot from the banks of the Mississippi, but he has asked me to correct one misleading impression he created in the commentary. He thought the riverboats took tourists on trips to plantations, but this one doesn't (it must be another town where that happens). Clearly the boy needs a rest. The next time you'll hear from him will be New Orleans, where his bon temps will no doubt be rouleting along once more.
Cheerio! Gulliver.
I'm more than a little envious of your road trip, although we just got back from a two-week jaunt to England and I don't think I'd have your stamina. I've been blogging about it too, if you want to see myriads of pictures of old churches and cathedrals!
ReplyDeleteOooh, my WV is "scones". Yum.
And please tell how you did that map at the top of your posts. I would have liked one for our trip, but maybe next time.
ReplyDeleteHi Gulliver,
ReplyDeleteSo thoughtful of Pam & Jamie to take you along to this country of Giants (seems so from the food servings).
How does it feel to be a Lilliput for a change?
I shared this blog with my daughter. She was roaring with laughter especially at the fishing one.
Good going, keep it up
Sue and Shivangni, thanks for your comments.
ReplyDeleteSue, the map is something I update using Photoshop, then save it as a jpeg. I then delete the old version of the map and upload the new one into a window which I added in the 'add a gadget' thing in Blogger. The original map is something I filched off Google Images, of course.
Oh, too much work for me. Guess I won't be stealing that idea. It seems like it would be a good Blogger app, doesn't it?
ReplyDelete