It was an hour drive from downtown New Orleans to Oak Alley Plantation. Our tour guide kept us entertained with interesting facts and personal stories such as the reason why bodies are buried above ground in New Orleans is to conserve space. Each family owns a “2 bedroom condo” in a cemetery where bodies are laid to rest and never disturbed for at least one year. When a new body needs to be buried, they take out an old coffin from the condo, remove what little is remaining of the last body, and put the new body in the coffin. He also mentioned that the Superdome is aerodynamic and was originally built for emergencies. The freestanding dome is made of styrofoam and can withstand wind and rain. The architect said that even if the dome fell, people inside would not get hurt because of the soft material.
When we reached the swamps, our tour guide described it as a primitive landscape with primitive creatures and a natural gas goldmine. Almost all of East Coast relies on the gas supply from the swamp. He also warned us to never leave your boat, never decide to just take a stroll, and never go hunting with Cajuns. Cajuns are cousins of the French, aka Creole. Creole means from mother land but born in the US. They are “aqua people”, living in the swamps. “Show a Cajun water and they will find you 3 meals and snacks.”
Oak Alley Plantation is called the “Grande Dame of the Great River Road,” a prime example of the South’s golden age. On the other side of the front door, a lady dressed in a poofy pink gown welcomed us to the historic home. She told us the story of Jacques and Celina: the marriage between a country boy and a city girl. Jacques bought Oak Alley in 1836 so he could live in the countryside and she could host her regular parties. Our guide took us into the dining room where a ceiling fan hung over a large oval table. A slave would stand in the corner holding the rope attached to the ceiling fan and pull to cool the room. “Fast enough to cool the room but not enough to blow out the candles.” We also learned the large size of silverware represented wealth because they were made of real silver. Salt was also a sign of wealth. Then there was the strange-looking spiral candle holder that could raise or lower the candlestick; it was used by the father to determine how long the daughter could meet with a suitor. If the father approved, he would raise the candlestick higher so the suitor could have more time.
The plantation also made mint syrup, commonly used in mint julep. That led to the story of how women in those days were not allowed to drink strong liqueurs, but Celina made sure her girls would have fun too. She soaked fresh fruit in rum or scotch, resulting in them taking in more alcohol than the men.
On the second floor we were told that Jacques and Celina didn’t have a happy ending. Eventually Oak Alley was abandoned and the floor tiles were broken when cattle broke in. Thankfully the house was restored to its former glory after Mr. and Mrs. Stewart purchased the home for less than half of its initial worth. To this day, the property remains in the care of the Stewart family. Afterwards we walked past a few reconstructed slave quarters and grabbed our box lunches provided by the tour. With a few minutes left before we had to leave, we checked out the gift shop where the cafe and ice cream parlor was located.
In the evening around 5pm, I accompanied my parents to the famed Bourbon street where we listened to a lively jazz band, saw a human dressed up as Bumblebee the Transformer, and bought a magnet as a souvenir. Then we walked along Decatour street where, to my delight, found Cafe Du Monde. I tried to convince myself that I shouldn’t eat dessert before dinner, but my dad saw the twinkle in my eye and encouraged me to loosen up and get the beignets. The cafe was surprisingly not crowded so we found seats right away. I ordered cafe au lait and the beignets, both were delicious. On the way back, we found a road leading to the Riverfront park and there we walked alongside the Mississippi river before returning to Canal Street. Around 9pm we walked to Geisha Sushi near the DoubleTree Hotel and winded down with seafood udon and sashimi.
The Swinging Hammock 