We had a really fun and "oink" "oink" day. We left Daisy around 9:30 and drove to the Garden District. Oh my....so many lovely huge homes dating way back! It was a spectacular day and we first walked thru Lafayette Cemetery. These New Orleans cemeteries are so interesting with all the graves above ground We strolled around with Mark as my tour guide and giving me the facts on some of the homes that would be on a guided tour
(several tours going on for both homes and cemetery).
Just a few above ground grave sites in this large Lafayette cemetery
This is actress Sandra Bullock's home and it's a beauty, mostly hidden by high hedges.
There are only 3 of this design built in all of NO cause of the unique architecture and it's not conducive to hot weather. Sandra's adopted son, Louis was born in New Orleans. She seldom spends much time here but invites her friends to come and stay....there was a BMW from Beverly Hills parked out front?
I found a darling children's shop "Mignon" and enjoyed a little retail therapy fix. We also stopped at a cute coffee shop "Still Perkin'".
The highlight of our day was having lunch at Commander's Palace. Oh my.....over the top in ambiance (we were in the Garden Room), service and food + 25 cent martinis which is their specialty (3 flavors to choose from or the usual plain with gin or vodka). The martinis were flowing all around us. 3 is the limit and they are full size. I had one and it was excellent especially the price!!! I had their fish special and Mark had roast pork (all excellent) and then we shared their signature creole bread pudding souffle poked with warm whiskey cream sauce which was
"to die for" ! Do not miss this place if you're ever in the Big Easy!
Commander's Palace *****
"melt-in-your-mouth"
bread pudding souffle
The Houmas House
Then we were off on I-10 west towards Baton Rouge and the Houmas Plantation in Darrow, LA. What a beautiful place and interesting tour by Don, our docent. The home was built in 3 parts and originally covered 300,000 acres. Most of the land was sold during the depression to pay off the debts. There have been 14 owners and the current owner, Kevin Kelly (in his 60's) lives by himself in the house but happy to share it with the public!
It was a gem!!! Plus the grounds are beautiful with trees hundreds of years old. In fact this spring, a very huge tree fell during a storm - it was 450 years old!
There are 3 restaurants on the property and one of them "Latil's Landing" is one of the top 20 restaurants in the country (according to Don).
It was a delightful afternoon here at the plantation and would highly recommend this place, too.
So, it's back to NO, but first we have to pick up some po boy sandwiches (another "must eat" when here). The Parkway Bakery and Tavern has been around since 1911 and according to our friend, Jackie who lives here, "thee best place for a po boy". We were still stuffed from lunch, but this was our last chance as the Parkway is closed Tuesdays. So, we got 2 sandwiches to go (shrimp for me and roast beef for Mark) - they have 21 different choices of Po Boys
Back to Daisy and chowed down!!!! Excellent!
Big pig out day today!!!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!
Mark says I need my eyes checked - APPARENTLY!!!! I missed little Jack in this pic from last night. Guess I was focused on Maeve! Here he is down in the corner on the left....
A houseful of cuties
And 2 more cuties - my 2 great nieces - Kaylee and Leia all decked out for Halloween
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