Tag Archives: louisiana
12 Must-See Festivals in the US
We LOVE a festival! Tag the word “fest” on the end of anything and we’re there!Here are 12 of the wildest, wackiest, over-the-top or just plain fabulous celebrations that we’ve seen! CONTINUE READING >>
Food for Thought: How Food Enhances Travel
An old adage says that you don’t really know someone until you walk a mile in their shoes. We believe it is just as true that you don’t really know a place until you eat a plate of its food.There is so much more to visiting a destination than seeing the sights. We try to immerse… CONTINUE READING >>
A Renewed Faith in Humanity From a Simple Gesture
Have you ever found the PERFECT Birthday Card? The absolute ONLY one that will make the receiver’s day?We had been carting this card around with us for quite some time – months. That’s what we do, when we find the ideal card for one of our family or friends we buy it, no matter how long it may be until the occasion that it celebrates. This one was perfect for our oldest, The notoriously carrot-hating Piglet.
Flash forward to a sunny, wildly windy day in Lafayette, Louisiana, a parade of dogs and a birthday card for our eldest to be mailed. What a pretty picture. And it was, until I noticed that the card was no longer in my coat pocket… CONTINUE READING >>
A Town Standing on Stilts
There is something about driving to the very tip of a place, the end of the line, land’s end, that we can’t resist. It’s kind of like climbing a mountain for us, we do it because it’s there. In Louisiana that point where State Highway 1 hits the water is Grand Isle.Building a road across this expanse of wetland took extensive… CONTINUE READING >>
How to Do Mardi Gras Without Being Asked to Lift Your Shirt!
Don’t get us wrong – we LOVE New Orleans. But the thought of wading into a Big Easy Mardi Gras is something better left to young whippersnappers. We’re taking the rural route and are live-blogging the wonderful goings-on in Cajun Country – and we’re going to hit ‘em all!Courir de Mardi Gras This rural Mardi Gras celebration involves costumed men dancing on horseback, begging for gumbo ingredients and chicken chasing!
La Grande Boucherie des Cajuns A tradition older than Mardi Gras, is a communal hog butcher and meat fest.
King Cake A cake with a small plastic baby inside.
Fais do-do See what Cajuns do once the kids go… CONTINUE READING >>
Mardi Gras Chicken Chasing
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Chicken chasing, colorful costumes and dancing on horseback? It’s Courir de Mardi Gras in Church Point! You’ve gotta watch the video to believe it…it’s, well, just watch… CONTINUE READING >>
Mardi Gras Dog Parade in Lafayette, LA!
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Lafayette’s Krewe des Chiens Annual Dog Parade is geared toward children, but brings out the dog lover in all of us. Vibrantly costumed fur babies proudly trot… CONTINUE READING >>
Six Places That Will Scare the Snot Out of You
A church decorated with bones, a turn-of-the-century torture chamber, ghost lights in the-middle-of-nowhere Texas, a Voodoo Queen’s grave and a REALLY haunted hotel are among the scariest things we’ve seen out on the road. Click in if you dare… CONTINUE READING >>When Hurricanes Blow
Our daughter, Decibel, spent a whopping twenty minutes at the college of her choice, Tulane University. She never attended a single class. It has to be the shortest college career in history.There was a storm a brewin‘. And it was a whopper.
On a beautiful August day, Decibel landed in New Orleans ready to take on the world. She was especially giddy since she had been chosen from the pool of incoming freshman in the Musical Theater program to sing at orientation — a high honor indeed. Not to mention instant… CONTINUE READING >>
A Real Cajun Fais do-do!
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“Fais do-do” is Cajun baby talk for “go to sleep” and once the kiddies are all tucked sweetly in bed, Mamma and Daddy have the chance to “pass a good time.” We kicked off the Friday before Mardi Gras at a… CONTINUE READING >>
Southern Comfort Zone
Traveling up the Mississippi River from New Orleans on the Great River Road, we encountered the epitome of the Old South. All along the river north to Baton Rouge, Plantation Country lives on in well preserved splendor. Cotton was not king down here, unlike the plantations throughout the rest of The South, these gave us some… CONTINUE READING >>Spooky New Orleans
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New Orleans is filled legends and lore. Even the architecture reveals romance and mystery. One of the city’s most storied citizens… CONTINUE READING >>
French Quarter Pounder
Mention New Orleans and most folks conjure up visions of Mardi Gras, jazz bands, Bourbon Street or maybe even the world champion Saints, but we think of food. Crazy good food.An incredibly diverse, yet unique style cooking has developed through the combination of several cultures down here at the bottom of The Mississippi River. Elements of French, Spanish, Caribbean, Cajun, German and Italian cuisine are all represented in what has come to be known as Creole.
Several of Creole’s signature dishes are very similar to typical Cajun recipes and can share the same names and ingredients. Most start with “the holy trinity” of Louisiana cooking, bell pepper, onion, and celery. The names jambalaya… CONTINUE READING >>
On Fire! Bananas Foster
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The waiter brought a cart up to the table under the hanging wisteria and began setting things aflame, always one of our favorite pastimes. For more on New Orleans food: http://www.gypsynester.com/nola.htm
The Big Easy Street Theater
Every visitor with a soul develops a soft spot for New Orleans. The charm, history, music, food and mischief that define The Big Easy make it impossible not to be captivated.As we always do, we began the day at Cafe Du Monde. Megadoses of sugar, grease and caffeine — what more could we need to fuel the day’s explorations? Beignets devoured and coffee swilled, we proceeded to take on the town.
Admittedly, some of the French Quarter’s appeal isn’t as … CONTINUE READING >>
Street Music of New Orleans
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I spotted Beuscherl and without the slightest idea what it might be, I ordered it. Our waitress asked, “You do understand that this is heart and lungs of baby… CONTINUE READING >>
Egrets of Avery Island, Louisiana
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In the 1890s, just before taking over as president of Tabasco from his father, E.A. “Mr. Ned” McIlhenny started this refuge in an effort to save the snowy egrets. From just eight… CONTINUE READING >>
Do Alligators Like Tabasco?
For a long time roads weren’t an option in South Louisiana. This was some wild country back in the day, not Bourbon Street wild, but wilderness wild. The incredibly wet, squishy ground made bayous the only reasonable routes for transportation and Bayou Teche was the Superhighway. Following The Teche, we set out to discover the real… CONTINUE READING >>Tabasco Factory on Avery Island, Louisiana
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Every bottle of Tabasco sauce that has ever been made came from this little island. A massive salt… CONTINUE READING >>
Let Us Run This Bayou
In Louisiana, the area south of I-10 and west of New Orleans is a “whole ‘nudder t’ing.” Over the years we’ve made periodic pilgrimages and would be hard-pressed to come up with a part of this great country that we are more fond of. Through hardship and isolation, a society singular to this region has developed with its own food, music and unique language. We love spending time in amongst it allThe main factor in the… CONTINUE READING >>
Atchafalaya Swamp Tour in Louisiana
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At the western end of the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge of Interstate 10, an 18 mile run over Cyprus and gators, we met Ernest Couret and his little 16 ft swamp boat. After the usual “How y’all are?” greetings we climbed… CONTINUE READING >>
