A few days sampling New Orleans

We had two full days in New Orleans and i didn’t take half as many photos as i thought I would mainly due to the museums and shops not allowing any photographs. So then, New Orleans…. I’m still undecided about the place. Parts of it were fantastic, other parts were dirty, loud and a bit meh. Didn’t matter where you went though, Jazz rang out

First things first we had booked a tour of the Saint Louis Number one cemetery. Apparently the only way you can visit any of the cemeteries in New Orleans is if you book a tour. Our tour guide ( who had family in the cemetery) was very informative and the tour lasted around 45 minutes. Definitely one to do if you ever visit. Lots of history on the Cemetery and the city including some famous names who have set their plots aside for the future – The pyramid below belongs to, and is waiting to receive Nicholas Cage!

After that we explored Armstrong Park and generally wandered the French Quarter. We visited the Museum of Death. I wasn’t impressed, far too ghoulish, macabre and voyeuristic for me. Deb on the other hand loved it ( she’s always been an odd un). No photos were allowed to be taken inside so i cant show you what it was about but essentially loads of stuff on serial killers, lots of photos of crime scenes, dismembered bodies etc, stuff about how people have been killed in the name of justice throughout the years, cannibalism, embalming etc etc – I’m sure you get the picture. The only thing that really peaked my interest was some stuff about Charles Manson and the infamous Sharon Tate murders … though even that was tainted with sensationalism with photographs of Tate etc murdered and lying covered in blood.

More wandering the French Quarter was followed by a visit to The Sazerac House and the museum of the cocktail. It was free to enter and included a few free cocktails based around Sazerac Rye and Cognac. It was an interesting visit and a nice little museum with the added bonus of the taster drinks.

We wandered Frenchman Street (scruffy), Ate Beignets at the Cafe Du Monde ( tasty!), visited voodoo shops wandered Bourbon street (loud and brash) and eventually returned to the hotel to chill out by the pool for a few hours. That evening we had a lovely Italian meal and then back to the hotel for a few beers.

The following day was more of the same. Wandering the French Quarter and the French Market. Listening to Street singers and Saxophonists. Buying Voodoo stuff, I found a shop selling BAPE and couldn’t resist another pair of trainers 😀 We ate more Beignets at the Cafe du Monde ( they reallly are fantastic)

We finished the day in a New Orleans pub eating Gumbo and drinking German style beers brewed on site. Oh and we had our first ice cream of the holiday 😀

Breaux Bridge to New Orleans

Today we leave our cabin at Breaux Bridge and head to the Mardi Gras capital of the world, New Orleans. It’s about 130 miles but we have a few stops along the way and will hopefully get to drive the river road alongside the great Mississippi river.

Our first stop of the day was Whitney Plantation. An old slave plantation with a museum. This was going to prove difficult for me as we arrived at the half way point of the Forest v Arsenal match. Normally i would have just caught up via text but this was the last home game of the season and a win would see us stay in the premier league for another year. So, tentatively, i walked around the museum with my phone pressed up against my ear listening to the game. It has to be said that as my mind was elsewhere i didn’t really get much out of the museum and could quite happily have sat in the car whilst deb went in. What i did see was interesting enough though. Not as good as the Rosedown plantation we visited a few days ago because, i think, it was more of a museum than a grand house.

Next up, and only a mile or so down the road was a place I’d wanted to visit since we first started planning this trip. Unfortunately in the time between planning and us actually visiting the area, Evergreen Plantation has closed to the general public and is now used for research purposes. Evergreen Plantation is probably better known nowadays as “Candyland” from the Tarantino film Django Unchained. It looks very unkempt now and you are not allowed to go inside but we were still able to get a few photos from the roadside so i was happy.

The road along the Mississippi was disappointing. As a road it was better than the freeway and it took us through some small towns and housing / trailer park estates but due to the Levee you couldn’t actually see the river. We were soon back on the freeway and heading into the sprawling metropolis of New Orleans. It’s by far the biggest city we have visited on this trip and it was odd being back on 6 and 8 lane highways snaking above the city. We passed the New Orleans Super Dome ( home of the Saints) and made our way to the French Quarter where our hotel was.

Our hotel in the French Quarter of New Orleans was the Best Western French Quarter. It is well placed for exploring and more importantly had secure parking. on checking into our room with a view ( according to the website and booking) we found out that the view was a view of a brick wall. Not happy we went back to reception and kicked up a fuss ( well, when i say “we”, i actually mean Deb, i just stood there looking sheepish lol). The upshot was a a free upgrade to a suite 5 metres from the pool …. result !!

That evening we wandered the streets of the French Quarter and ended up eating dinner at the … err …. different ..Vampire Cafe. The cutlery was gold ( Vampires don’t like silver remember” and the menu and cocktails were “themed”. A little too themed imo. I had gator to start ( different – think a fatty chicken, glad i tried it but wont rush back lol) followed by Duck. Duck should be served pink but this was unpalatably raw unfortunately. Suppose the Vampires like it bloody, not so much me though.

Whilst we were inside eating the heavens absolutely opened and gave a great thunder and lightening show. Fortunately we finished our meal just at the right time and managed to make it back to the hotel relatively dry. An early night followed ready to explore the city more in the morning.

Swamps, Bayous, Gators and Cars in Breaux Bridge

Today we have mainly been deliberating over wether it’s better to be killed by Gators or Hillbillies as we headed out on a Cajun Swamp tour …. and it was AMAZING.

The day started with a breakfast of Walmart pastries on the sunny veranda before driving out to Champagnes Swamp Tours which was about 9 miles outside of Breaux Bridge.

The Swamp tour was another big ticket on the bucket list. We have done similar things in Florida and the Keys before but the Cajun swamps felt like the daddy of the tours and we weren’t disappointed. The scenery was amazing as we glided along the water through Cypress Swamp trees and the masses of vegetation growing around them.

I took loads of video which i’ll eventually get around to editing and posting in full but here are a couple of snippets of some of the snappy wildlife we encountered.

Alongside the Gators we saw Blue Herons, Wood Ducks, Turtles, Ospreys, Ahingas and loads of birds i cannot remember the names of. We were out in the swamps and Bayou for about an hour and a half and the boatman/ guide was very good and informative. It was certainly worth every penny of the $25 each we paid. HIGHLY recommended if you are ever in the area.

As we came away from the Swamp Tour we noticed a few vintage and classic American cars parked up and a few people wearing similar t shirts. We took a few photographs, thought nothing of it and headed back into Breaux Bridge to get a drink and explore more.

As we arrived back in town we noticed a few more cars and that the t shirts everyone was wearing all said Cruisin Cajun Country. Deb stopped an elderly couple wearing the T shirts and asked what was happening, It turned out that the Car club were doing a tour of the area which would culminate in cruise and car meet in the centre of New Iberia, a town about 20 miles away. That was our evening sorted. We had a drink and a bite to eat and headed back to Cabin to chill out for the afternoon.

I’ll add a new blog post about the evenings car cruise later on but if you want to see some of the cool cars on display you can have a sneak peek on our facebook page

Natchez to Breaux Bridge

Not a great deal to tell you about today and not many pictures as we mostly took videos.
After a lovely breakfast at the Concord Quarters B&B we loaded the car up and headed out on the road to Breaux Bridge.

Our first, and only stop was the Rosedown Historic house and Plantation in St Francisville. Originally built in 1835 by one of the richest families in America at the time, the Turnbull’s it’s a fascinating look at an old Louisiana house and the history of slavery and cotton farming. I’ve taken loads of videos of the house and grounds which i plan to edit when i get back so i’ll do a proper blog post on our visit when i get back.
In the mean time, have a few more photos.

After a good few hours spent at Rosewood we continued on our journey to Breaux Bridge and the Teche Bayou. The journey was an uneventful one along pretty freeways and through a few smaller town and we soon found ourselves arriving at out home for the next couple of nights, The Bayou Cabins.

We stayed in the Bayou Museum Cabin which was built in 1848 using Cypress wood from the nearby swamps and mud and moss from the nearby Bayou Teche (river). Our first thoughts on arriving were, well let’s say, mixed. Lot of bugs, the cabin, with its walls of mud and moss felt dark and dingy and it was, it has to be said, a little creepy. On settling in, cracking open a beer and chilling out it was actually fine and a lovely place to experience the Bayou and explore the area from

Dinner this evening consisted of salad, pastries and beers on the veranda and an evening of chilling out and watching rubbish American TV 😀

A drive along the Natchez Trace

Today has been a morning spent on a Bayou and swamp tour, the afternoon chilling at our cabin by the Bayou Teche and this evening we are off to New Iberia for a car cruise … so it’s the perfect time to catch up on the blog.

Wednesday 17th May. We left Clarksdale after a breakfast of pastries on the veranda … even managed to get a little video of me on the veranda, on a rocking chair playing the blues badly in the home of the blues.

After a quick walk over the railway lines to take a photo for my soon to be released album “Dave does the Blues” 😀 we were on our way, heading further south towards Natchez, our home for the evening.

First stop was the birthplace of Muddy Waters, Rolling Fork. Now it has to be said that something in both of our heads new this place for something other than Muddy Waters but we couldn’t put our finger on why we had heard of it before. On entering the town it was very evident how we knew it. 6 weeks ago the town of Rolling Fork was featured on the BBC News when a tornado flew through the centre of it leaving devastation in it’s wake. It left us cold when we realised why we knew it and i’ve got to say, I don’ t think i’ve ever seen anything like it before in my life. Blocks and blocks of housing destroyed and reduced to rubble, trees uprooted, families left without a home etc.

Got to say the devastation was heart breaking to see. I felt a little voyeuristic filming as we drove through but it’s a sight that will stay with me for a long long time having never seen anything like this first hand before.
You can read more here


After the shock of Rolling Fork the stop at Leland was a little more lighthearted. It’s the birthplace of Jim Henson and features the Kermit the Frog museum ( obviously) It was only a little place but worth the dollar tip to take a look around.

Back in the car and off to Vicksburg next. An unexpected gem at the bottom of Mississippi. Lots and lots of history regarding the American Civil war here but it was more of a coffee stop and a wander rather than a historical stop for us. We got our first proper sight of the Mississippi river and a paddle steamer and spent a pleasant hour wandering.

After leaving Vicksburg it was onto the final 30 miles of todays driving along the historical Natchez Trace. It was a lovely winding road through forest and fields and over rivers. Much nicer than the freeway and we took a couple of detours along smaller roads. Eventually we ended up in Natchez itself and the Concord Quarters Bed and Breakfast … which really was a gem with the nicest hosts you could have imagined.

We checked in to the B&B and were given a tour of the building and told it’s history by Debbie, the owner and then it was off into Natchez itself to explore and find food. We ate at the Magnolia Grill down by the Mississippi River. It was ok, a little bit fishy for my liking but i think we are going to find that more and more the further down south we get. After dinner we got some goodies from the local petrol station and headed back to sit on the veranda and have a couple bottles of beer .. a perfect end to a pretty good day

A day of Legends in Clarksdale Mississippi

“I went down to the crossroads and got down on my knees”, Sang blue icon Robert Johnson in his nod to the bluesman selling his soul to the devil on the crossroads of highway 61 and 49 in Clarksdale Mississippi. Well, I went down myself, but Legba was nowhere to be seen so i’m still a fair to middling guitarist lol.

Today it was a day of exploring Clarksdale, home of the Mississippi Delta Blues. after a breakfast of Pastries on the veranda of our shack we headed off to the infamous cross roads where legend has it that Robert Johnson sold his eternal soul to the devil in exchange for mastering the blues guitar. Ever since i was introduced to Johnson via Peter Greens Fleetwood Mac i’ve always been fascinated by his short life ( he was the original member of the 27 club) so this was a big tick on the bucket list.

We then walked the streets looking at the various blues murals on the walls and buildings and visited the Blues Museum where unfortunately no photography was allowed. The Museum itself was very good. Loads of artefacts from the First Bluesmen right up to the present day, loads of classic guitars to oggle over and a nice bit of history. Real shame i couldn’t take photos though.

After a coffee we headed off to Stovel Pikes which was the Plantation Muddy Waters lived, worked and was discovered in. His first recordings were done by the Library of Congress in the actual plantation fields after being discovered by a music historian. This was 1941 and within 2 years Muddy Waters had left the plantation to make his fortune in Chicago and the rest os history as they say. You couldn’t visit the plantation as it’s a working farm but there was a historical blues marker showing where his house was originally and it was great drive out into rural Mississippi.

Next on the agenda was a short 50 mile drive out to Greendale to try and find the final resting place of Robert Johnson. The actual place is, like his life, steeped in mystery and controversy however historians have named the Little Zion Missionary Baptist church near Money, Mississippi as the most likely of the three contested burial sites and this is where his gravestone lies. Johnson’s cause of death is also a mystery. The official death certificate says he died from syphilis, however the legend has it that he was poisoned by either the husband of a lover he had or the lover herself.

The drive back to Clarksdale was an interesting one with some random blues and history markers along the way and some huge storms to slow us down. One such history marker told the story of Emmett Till, a 14 year old black boy who in August 1955 visited the Bryant Grocery Store to buy candy. For some reason the store owner accused Emmett of flirting with her. He was found not guilty of this but that didn’t stop the husband kidnapping and murdering Emmett and dumping his body in the Yazoo river. The murder sparked the American Civil Rights movement.

That night we ate pizza in Clarksdale ( at the only restaurant that was open) and then headed back to The Shack Up Inn where a guitar blues workshop was having a jam. SO we got a few beers and sat in and listened. There were varying levels of skill on the guitar at show but it was great watching everyone feel the blues and make music in such a fantastic setting.

Memphis to Clarksdale and the Mississippi Delta

Having done all we could at Graceland it was time to wave goodbye to Memphis and the birthplace of Rock n Roll and say hello to the Mississippi Delate blues. We soon found ourselves out of the city and onto Highway 61, more commonly known as the Blues Highway. It was 80 miles of straight road. and i mean STRAIGHT. by the time we got to Clarksdale i’d forgotten how to turn a corner lol.

We stopped at the Gateway to The blues tourist information but only stopped to get some maps and some info. There was a museum attached but we were all museum’d out after the morning at Graceland.
We were soon heading into Clarksdale and heading towards our unique lodgings for the next couple of nights.

First stop was the local Walmart to stock up on some sweet goodies and a few beers. Once they were purchased it was off to the Shack up Inn, the rather cool and very bluesy motel we had chosen to stay at.

The Shack up Inn is hard to describe so i’ll point you in the direction of their website to read more …. The Shack Up Inn . The main building and gin bar looks more like a scene from American Pickers ( both inside and out) and the accommodation is a mixture of wooden shacks with tin roofs and Grain Bins. We had picked the Delta Shack and to be honest, we were a little apprehensive as the pictures on the website made it look very old and rustic. On check in we picked a guitar to borrow from the lobby and headed over the rail track to find the Delta. We were pleasantly surprised. As the website states, “It Ain’t no Ritz” but it is cool as a cool thing and perfect for plucking teh guitar on the veranda under the moonlight.

This evening we headed over to the Hopson Commissary for food, beer and live music. It’s one of those places that when you walk in wearing a “man bag” (i know, i should know better lol) everyone stops and stares but it also had bags of authentic character. We found a table, opened a tab at the bar and had a great evening listening to two fantastic guitar players and singers.

Dinner that evening consisted of Chilli, Rice, Mac and Cheese, Salad and Cornbread. You stuck $10 in a tip jar and helped yourself to what was on the table. It was simple, well cooked and very tasty.