A week in Louisiana

Did you know the word Antebellum means, "before the war?"  As in the Civil War?  I had never had a reason to look it up, until I found myself hanging out in St. Francisville, LA for a week of work.  During the day, I followed a film crew around as they shot a movie and I produced the behind the scenes video coverage.  After wrap, I found myself visiting the local plantations in search of understanding.  Let's face it, most of the ones I visited, sit on gorgeous, well manicured properties.  And a few of them claim to be haunted (I'm looking at you, Myrtles Plantation!).  But the whole time I was there, I felt awkward and uncomfortable about their historical ill treatment of the African American population.  And seriously, why was everyone so insistent on dressing up and talking about life on the plantations as if the Civil War had never happened?  To further my education, I decided to spend the night at the Nottoway Plantation on the other side of Baton Rouge.  What I found was a 5-star hotel with no electricity.  So if I had been curious of what life would be like living on a farm in Louisiana at the turn of the century, I had in fact found it.  Thankfully, the bar hooked us up with delicious bourbon and my neighbors, who shared my porch had extra beer on hand.  We made a little drinking party of it, as we batted away mosquitoes and watched the American Queen paddleboat leave the port and continue it's journey down the Mississippi River.  Would I go back to stay a the Nottoway?  Probably not.  The cottage I stayed in was nice, but there wasn't much of an apology for the fact that we were without electricity, whatever happened to that famous Southern Hospitality?  

From Nottoway, I went to Avery Island to visit it Tabasco Factory (which was a lot of fun...I have a soft spot for factory tours) and Lafayette, where I visited the Acadian Village to get a better understanding of the Creole settlers.   Finally, after a week of working and wandering (and somewhere in the middle of it all, I spent 2 days in New Orleans) I finally headed back home to Santa Fe.

Here are my recommendations should you find yourself in the neighborhood....

St. Francisville

The Francis: This seems to be the one place to go for nightlife.  The food is delicious (albeit a bit heavy) and the bar has plenty of beer on tap.

Magnolia Cafe: All the locals well send you to this delicious place for breakfast or lunch.  And it's worth it, the food was yummy and the hospitality was spot on.

Tucker's Seafood: Zachary, LA (about 15 mins away) is a total hoot.  The cook that works there was wearing flip-flops, while the ladies that worked the counter would only tell you the secret ingredient in their cocktail sauce if you managed to guess it.  The cafe has a silkscreening shop in front part of the store...which I'm unsure actually falls under OSHA regulations...but what do I know?  A hustle is a hustle...and their food was not only good, it was a great deal.

Grandmother's Buttons: This is the cutest clothing and jewelry shop in town.  The store is in a refurbished bank, and the vault holds a collection of vintage buttons.  Totally worthy of a quick visit. 

Lafayette, LA (about 2 hours from St. Francisville)

Avery Island and the Tabasco Factory : Although, this is pretty well done self-guided tour, I feel as though the location itself is more the highlight of the visit vs the actual factory.  I left wondering if I could get a job working for Tabasco, so I could move to the island.

Acadian Village: I knew nothing about the Acadians and found this tour to be interesting, but not quite as informative as I had hoped.  I liked that there were many preserved building from the area.

Baton Rouge

Acme Oyster House: This is pretty much a local sports bar, not far from campus, extremely low-key and crowded.  But the grilled oysters are delicious and although my dinner companion was on a NO CARB diet, he couldn't help himself when it came to trying a sampler of Southern delicacies.  

Idyllwild, California

It's funny, for years I've thought I had been to Idyllwild.  In fact, I had told people that it was a city I thoroughly enjoyed.  So when my dear friends, Brian and Becky, invited a group of us for a weekend away, I jumped at the chance to go back.  The only problem, was that while I was driving there, I had that crazy realization that I was about to enter uncharted territory.  I had been mistaken, I've never been to Idyllwild.  All those visions of a quaint Main Street found in a sweet mountain town, were from a different town, and for the life of me, I don't really remember where that town was...but it wasn't Idyllwild, which is a lovely place to stay for the weekend.  And the town mayor is a dog...seriously.

A long layover in London

20 years ago, back when I was a student at the University of Swansea, Wales, I would spend my weekends hopping on trains, visiting cities, towns and villages all over the British countryside.  My favorite place to getaway was London.  I could spend hours visiting museums, enjoying a dim sum lunch in Chinatown, shopping at the flea markets, catching a show at night, then meeting my friends at the clubs.  London is deeply rooted in my earliest happy travel memories.   Whenever I get the chance to pop by, even if it is just for a very long layover (14 hours!), I make a point to visit a tourist spot that I haven't been to before, get a good meal (or two), load up on Cadburys, and then take a wander down memory lane.  I love to visit all of those crazy places where my friends and I used to play when we were poor, broke University kids just looking for a fun weekend away from our studies.

I heard Hogswort isn't so far from London, so I thought  I'd just pop over there for an hour or two.  

A few of the flowers and messages left outside the gates of Parliament after the March 22 attack. 

I spy with my eye London's Eye.

Back in Madrid

I don't know if it is because I mostly fly American Airlines, and therefore often take flights with Iberia that have long layovers in Madrid.  Whatever the reason, I don't really mind.  The airport has easy access to the city, so there is no reason why you can't take the opportunity to do a little shopping, see a few sites, and enjoy some delicious food.  And that is exactly what I did over my most recent 9 hour layover.  As this is probably my 6th or 7th time in the city, I know my favorite place to visit is the Prado, where I normal end up spending a few hours then wandering to a bar to get tapas in the neighborhood.  But this time I tried a new strategy, I opted to visit places I've never been to before.   So I did a tiny bit of research and found some shops, restaurants, and one tourist spot that I wanted to see.   First up, the Mercado de San Fernando, what used to be a local farmer's market that had fallen on some economic hardships, has been taken over in the past few years by young restauranteurs who wanted to try out their ideas.  What came out of it, is the perfect place to try local wines, port, vermouth, tapas, and sample all sorts of Spanish cuisines.  I didn't see many tourists here, it was mostly families enjoying a nice Sunday afternoon out in their neighborhood.   So I stopped and snacked and drank at a few of the stands, then wandered the neighborhood to check out the graffiti.  

Next up was the concept store, El Paracaidista, where everything could be purchased online or using a QR code.  Some of the inventory was available for pickup in store, others would be shipped directly to your home.  Shopping has never been so easy, or so fashionable.  The store had a bar and two restaurants.  I ended up popping by the rooftop restaurant, Parq for cocktails and lunch (Spanish influenced Japanese food.  Try the Salmon with Apple Sauce, really delicious).  

Last stop, was the Temple of DeBod, which is an Egyptian temple that had been removed from Egypt and donated to the city of Madrid in the 70s.  It's in a park not far from the palace, and is a lovely spot to walk around and enjoy a touch of nature in the bustling city.  

I think I had a perfect day in Madrid, not bad for a 9 hour layover.

I loved seeing all of the neighborhood families, popping by the different stands for some lunch or an afternoon drink.  The Mercado de San Fernando was situated in the perfect neighborhood to enjoy a stroll and a quiet Sunday afternoon.

Fresh seafood and even a sushi bar can be found at the Mercado de San Fernando.  

A candle display at El Paracaidista, the store had many wonderful nooks with interesting displays.  

A living room set up at El Paracaidista, check out that bar...and that wallpaper with the matching pillows and lampshades...okay the lampshades are a little much.  

The Templo de DeBod is apparently one of the most Instagrammed sites in Madrid, so of course I had to check it out.

Graffiti found near Mercado de San Fernando.