A more than unusual year is ending, and we have decided between Christmas and New Year’s Eve to take a road trip to our neighboring state of Louisiana (more precisely, to New Orleans). On the one hand, we want to get to know the city better; on the other hand, we always wanted to see alligators in the wild.
OAK ALLEY PLANTATION
When one thinks of Louisiana, the monumental films set in stately Southern mansions inevitably come to mind. And not without reason, because numerous film adaptations have been made here. Oak Alley Plantation is no exception. For example, parts of the film “Interview with a Vampire” with Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise were shot here.
Oak Alley Plantation was founded in 1836 by Jacques & Celina Roman. (our teenager was thrilled that the lady’s name was the same as hers and spelled the same way…). It was a sugar cane plantation with about 100 enslaved people working in the sugar cane fields. The mansion and the slave barracks can be visited. Unfortunately, it is not officially allowed to take pictures inside the buildings, but the Live Oak trees, which are about 200 years old and form the famous avenue, are almost enough as a photo motif.
NEW ORLEANS
NOLA = New Orleans –
the colorful city on the Mississippi!
If you like the morbid charm of cities like Venice, Palermo, or the old quarters of Paris, you will love New Orleans. Landmarks are the old buildings with the squiggly balconies, the historic streetcars, and of course, the paddle wheel steamers on the Mississippi.
In the French Quarter, the most famous district of the city – and here especially in the famous Bourbon Street – you can not only stroll from one bar to the next (yes, NOLA is known for the fact that you can consume alcohol here on the open street – which is also abundantly done primarily by tourists) but also visit countless art galleries, antique stores, and restaurants with the local Creole or Cajun cuisine.
The morning, before the hustle and bustle of the day start, is the best time for a stroll through the old district from around 1850. Then breakfast at the French Market – a flea market from when merchant ships and passenger steamers still docked in the port of New Orleans. Jackson Square is home to street art. Normally, countless painters, small artists, fortune tellers, and jazz musicians cavort here. Still, it is correspondingly quiet since it is winter and thanks to Corona (which, by the way, is not taken very seriously here). However, it becomes loud and colorful in the evening, especially on Bourbon Street and Rue Royal. Each bar advertises different loud music for guests, and one would not like to imagine the hustle and bustle in the tourist-crowded summer or at Mardi Grass (the famous carnival here from a colorful mixture of carnival in Venezia, carnival in Rio, jazz bands, and loud, weird colorful characters of all kinds).
Unfortunately, due to seasonal reasons, it was not possible for us to go on one of the jazz cruises on the Mississippi steamboat or to attend a concert in the old Preservation Hall. But postponed is not canceled…
Of course, New Orleans has more to offer, but we limited ourselves to the essential historical sights. So, get a ticket and take the Historic Streetcar to the Garden District. Here, the stately Southern mansions are strung together like pearls. One is more beautiful and more extensive than the other.
And, of course, a visit to the cemeteries – called Cities of the Death – was not to be missed. Ghosts, smugglers, vampires, and voodoo play a significant role here. But that’s not everyone’s cup of tea, so we’ll leave that out here…
SWAMP TOUR
And because we loved watching Tom Sawyer as kids, we naturally wanted to see the bayou – that is, the swampland – up close, too, and maybe pick out a little green pet….
So off to the National Park, booked a tour, and off into the swamps – alligator watching.
Our boat chugs quietly through the “channels,” past smugglers’ huts, huge eagle nests (yes, a few bald eagles live here), mini wild boars, various bird creatures, and of course, turtles.
And yeah, there they sit comfortably in the sun. Some nice alligators! And our captain tells stories from the times when he was still allowed to feed the gators with marshmallows, and his little daughter could play with the gators. But, of course, this is now prohibited by the Nature Conservancy, as is hunting and fishing in the preserve.
To the delight of our little daughter, the good man then takes a baby alligator out of the box to cuddle and take photos. One year old is approx. 30cm long, still yellow-brown striped animal. At the age of about two years, the little ones are released into the wild to ensure the continued existence of the population.
Unfortunately, four days are not enough if you calculate about 7.5 hours of driving. But because we are already so far east… we have to go to Mississippi to refuel! Then we can tick off one more state on our list. A little more time, and we would have made a detour to Alabama. But as already mentioned… Postponed is not canceled!
