Alright, I've just posted the photos from the our days with the "family," I'm sorry that they're not in order... I'm a little tired tonight and it was going to take too much effort! We didn't have internet access for the past two nights, but we are now in the courtyard of our downtown hotel in New Orleans.
We stayed with some very distant cousins of Denise (5 great's-grandmother ago in common) both nights. The first was Sam, a lawyer in Shreveport. She and her husband, Mike, live in a beautiful house on the lake with horses and a great dog and a boat, which we took out on the lake that evening to see the cypress trees in the water. She made us a wonderful dinner... showed Denise her side of the family tree and we all discussed genealogy to our hearts' content!
The next morning we got up, rather slowly, and ate breakfast at Sam's. She took us down to Natchitoches (I'm sure that I spelled that wrong... It took me forever to learn how to pronounce it: Nakitish) to meet Bobby, the next cousin, who seems to be the patriarch of the whole town. Everyone is family there and they were delighted to meet their French cousin, her husband and their American translator (I wasn't left out of any conversations). Mimi, another cousin, met us for lunch at Merci Beaucoup, where we all tried the local specialties of gumbo and meat pies and jambalaya. Delicious!
That afternoon we went to the family plantation, Oakland, and received a private tour from the cousins (Sam's grandparents lived there when she was little, so she spent a lot of time there). We later saw the Montrose Plantation where Mimi's family is from (more or less). Upon our return, it was time to say goodbye to Sam and Mimi, but we were all sure to exchange numbers and information to keep the family intact!
Bobby took the three of us out to a fabulous dinner where we all tried alligator for the first time and again enjoyed the local dishes. He was a charming host and kept us all entertained with his stories of the local history and of his colorful life.
This morning we had a brief tour of the town, seeing the cathedral and the cemetery and a few stores, but quickly took off for South Louisiana and the Laura Plantation. We arrived just in time for the last tour and being the only guests, we received the tour in French. It has a fabulous history and those photos should be posted tomorrow (the cameras are all upstairs).
We arrived in New Orleans this evening at our great little hotel that is very quiet, despite being less than a block away from the noise of Bourbon Street. We were finally able to see the Mississippi up close (we have lots of Mississippi footage) and to see the city a little. We found an excellent restaurant for dinner (Banayo, I believe, was the name) and sat outside underneath a banana tree. We tried to find a good jazz club, but the noise of Bourbon Street and our exhaustion got the better of us and so we have returned to the hotel where I am now with Francois.
I apologize for the roughness of this post, I am quite tired (I think that we all are!) and I have French and English phrases running about ma tete. Beh, donc, it has a been a great few days here in the south and I am so impressed with the hospitality and the generosity of everyone here. And tomorrow! Las Vegas and the West! A whole new area of the country and a whole new aventure americaine!!
We stayed with some very distant cousins of Denise (5 great's-grandmother ago in common) both nights. The first was Sam, a lawyer in Shreveport. She and her husband, Mike, live in a beautiful house on the lake with horses and a great dog and a boat, which we took out on the lake that evening to see the cypress trees in the water. She made us a wonderful dinner... showed Denise her side of the family tree and we all discussed genealogy to our hearts' content!
The next morning we got up, rather slowly, and ate breakfast at Sam's. She took us down to Natchitoches (I'm sure that I spelled that wrong... It took me forever to learn how to pronounce it: Nakitish) to meet Bobby, the next cousin, who seems to be the patriarch of the whole town. Everyone is family there and they were delighted to meet their French cousin, her husband and their American translator (I wasn't left out of any conversations). Mimi, another cousin, met us for lunch at Merci Beaucoup, where we all tried the local specialties of gumbo and meat pies and jambalaya. Delicious!
That afternoon we went to the family plantation, Oakland, and received a private tour from the cousins (Sam's grandparents lived there when she was little, so she spent a lot of time there). We later saw the Montrose Plantation where Mimi's family is from (more or less). Upon our return, it was time to say goodbye to Sam and Mimi, but we were all sure to exchange numbers and information to keep the family intact!
Bobby took the three of us out to a fabulous dinner where we all tried alligator for the first time and again enjoyed the local dishes. He was a charming host and kept us all entertained with his stories of the local history and of his colorful life.
This morning we had a brief tour of the town, seeing the cathedral and the cemetery and a few stores, but quickly took off for South Louisiana and the Laura Plantation. We arrived just in time for the last tour and being the only guests, we received the tour in French. It has a fabulous history and those photos should be posted tomorrow (the cameras are all upstairs).
We arrived in New Orleans this evening at our great little hotel that is very quiet, despite being less than a block away from the noise of Bourbon Street. We were finally able to see the Mississippi up close (we have lots of Mississippi footage) and to see the city a little. We found an excellent restaurant for dinner (Banayo, I believe, was the name) and sat outside underneath a banana tree. We tried to find a good jazz club, but the noise of Bourbon Street and our exhaustion got the better of us and so we have returned to the hotel where I am now with Francois.
I apologize for the roughness of this post, I am quite tired (I think that we all are!) and I have French and English phrases running about ma tete. Beh, donc, it has a been a great few days here in the south and I am so impressed with the hospitality and the generosity of everyone here. And tomorrow! Las Vegas and the West! A whole new area of the country and a whole new aventure americaine!!
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Mack