Louisiana Plantations

We heard there were plantations nearby and took a ride to see what we could find.  There are eight plantations near New Orleans that offer tours, and we stopped at two of them.


Our first stop was Oak Alley Plantation, and this quarter mile alley of Virginia Live Oaks leading to the plantation house was just beautiful.  The oaks are over 300 years old and were actually here long before the plantation house.


The flowers were so colorful, and the sugar kettle looked right at home here.


This is looking toward the back of the house, and these are some of the younger oaks..


The guides looked like real Southern Bells.  The plantation owners must have loved their olive oil because they imported it in these huge jars.


This southern gentleman could really make the place come alive with his stories.


The big flat thing hanging over the table was a fan tied to a rope that a slave pulled to cool the guests at dinner.


The master bedroom.


This intricately carved cradle was in the master bedroom.


A  look down Oak Alley from the veranda off the master bedroom.


It would be nice to sit on this veranda and sip a mint julep while watching the ships glide down the Mississippi River.


Did you see the movie Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte?  This is the actual staircase that the head rolled down!  They filmed it here!  


Another look at Oak Alley Plantation as seen from the river bank.


This is Laura: A Creole Plantation, and it’s not like Oak Alley Plantation at all.


Although they were just as wealthy, the Creole’s tried to keep their plantation houses low key.  They had their big, fancy houses in New Orleans.


These furnishings are not original to the house, but they are in the style of a Creole Plantation.


The back of Laura Plantation house is rather plain.


These are the slave quarters.  This building housed two families of slaves and, even after they were freed, some lived here until 1979.

So that’s it for our visit to New Orleans. Now we’ll be winding our way north, towards home.