Louisiana Trip

It was warm in the night and the a/c went off in the early hours. But we were up and showered ready for tea - Earl Grey at 8.30. Then we walked across to the dining room in the old house at nine. We began with strawberries that were followed by French toast topped with chopped caramelised pecans and maple syrup and crispy bacon. It was served with OJ and freshly brewed coffee. The owner Mrs. Brown came and chatted to us about the house, but also about the wildlife in the area including wolves, bears and cougars, but they aren't that common. After breakfast we were given a tour of the property that included various outhouses -the milk house, the tack room and amazingly a beautiful old carriage. At last we saw some red cardinals at the bird table and there are swallows nesting in the eaves of the front porch.



We left shortly and drove down to the lovely Afton Villa Garden. The Victorian Gothic house was burned to the ground in the early 1960s which is a huge shame as it must have been an amazing mansion. Now they have planted a pretty herbaceous garden in the little that remains of the house and tend the formal gardens that once adorned the house. These are spectacular when the azaleas are at their best, but that was over when we were there. Nevertheless there are glimpses of it's former glory.



Now we would go and visit the Butler Greenwood house that started like the Cottage, but has grown in a different way with a wide front porch and filled in back porch. It sports a gable end in the mid front of the building and a double row of Victorian cast iron urns form an avenue from the front steps. We rang the bell and then sat on the rockers at the front, watching birds until the guide was free and came to take us round. We had our own personal tour, that was very interesting and then spent some time wandering around the garden, seeing the summerhouse and some of the old out buildings that are now used for the b&b guests.


As it was so hot, we decided it was time for a drink, so headed into St. Francisville and Birdman books. The coffee was good and afterwards we walked down to the TIC again for PCs and a look at their little exhibition. On the way we called in at a couple of so called antique shops, but they weren't up to much. We found some good PCs and then went to the Post Office for stamps. We could post the already written PCs straight away, with others to follow.
Back at the Cottage, A sat outside bird watching and I put my feet up. The other guests for tonight have arrived. At 6pm we got ready and then drove down to the Myrtles, another b&b plantation house where they have a very pleasant restaurant. A had scampi and I the mahi mahi, with a glass of La Crema Chardonnay.
Back at the Cottage the news is all about the killing of Osama bin Laden in his compound in Pakistan by US Navy seals.
Our room is the Morrell Feltus Trimble room Rex1980 ( king of Mardi Gras). The dog is called Tara.


Cottage Plantation
Afton Villa Gardens
Butler Greenwood Plantation
The Myrtles
Birdman Books and Cafe
St Francisville

Louisiana Trip

Today we got up and checked out. We had found a place for breakfast in St. Francisville, Birdman Books and Coffee, so headed up the road with the help of Garmin who took us to the door. This lovely cafe is in the centre of St. Francisville and we were seated by ten - porridge followed by eggs with bacon and coffee and OJ. We sat by shelves with beautifully carved birds, made by the father of the owner. We enjoyed our stay, but had to move on to see some of the Plantation Houses.



We stopped by the TIC and got some information from the lady, then drove down to Oakley House, where John Audubon spent several months as a tutor to the daughter of the owners. He spent the afternoons in the woods collecting birds to sketch and paint. His assistant painted the backgrounds, apparently. This red brick house had louvred verandas to encourage cooling breezes around the upper floors. They had a 'punka' over the dining table. This was a copy of those found in India. In the garden there were ducks, including Indian runners and geese with goslings and a turkey.



After Oakley we drove up the road to Rosedown Plantation with its oak allee. It has wide porches and high ceilinged rooms. Richly furnished this house was renovated by a Standard Oil heiress who spent 10 million dollars on it in the 1980s before it was handed over to the Government of Louisiana. After the house we looked around the extensive gardens and eventually reached the end of the oak allee and looked down the drive to the house. We had seen butterflies and birds all along the way, including swallowtails, lizards, woodpeckers, jays.




We left Rosedown and drove to Cottage Plantation where we are staying tonight. We were shown our room and given the low down on procedures for breakfast tomorrow. The room is amazing with a bed about five feet off the ground - they give us small stools to step up onto to get into bed. Then we left again and drove back to St. Francisville to make a walk through the historical area where we saw some interesting house styles from a couple of centuries ago.

We had pizza for tea before returning to Cottage Plantation for a stroll around the garden with a Labrador dog before retiring. In the gloom we spotted some deer, but so did the dog who went off chasing them. They got as far as the trees then stopped as the dog lost interest.

Birdman Books and Cafe
Oakley House
Rosedown Plantation
St Francisville
Cottage Plantation