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.