The following day, we left early around 9:30 in the morning to see the 'Oak Alley Plantation'. The first time I saw it was on a show on TV and now to see it for real, I was super excited.
Firstly, the name itself transports you to the world of novels, and in reality too, it looks like a dream. While driving on the way to the plantation, the front side of the mansion can be seen from behind the iron gate - and it's a breathtaking view. The mansion stands perfectly in the center of a row of giant oak trees on both the sides, it almost seems like looking through the lens of trees.
It feels so surreal as if the house was actually a painting. The view was out of this world, with the river right outside the gate and the way lined with massive trees. Because of these incredible views, the plantation has featured in many magazines, commercials, TV shows, music videos (Beyonce's 'Deja Vu') and numerous movies (Primary Colors, Interview with the vampire).
We were there in time, parked our car and went to the ticket booth to get the tickets. Got the tour tickets for 11:30, meanwhile we clicked some amazing pictures and then, went to the big house. As we were waiting for the tour to begin, it started raining and that made the experience even better.
Our tickets to the Plantation
The tour guide opened the door of the house and it felt like she was welcoming guests inside for a dinner party. She was dressed in a gown resembling the outfits worn in 19th century by women. We were ushered in to the living room and the guide gave us a brief introduction about the house and its owners. And took us around the house while explaining how a particular room was used.
Some of the things were pretty interesting like in those times kitchen was not a part of the house due to frequent fires and even the dining table & chairs were way shorter than normal as people used to be much shorter in height than today. The view from the balcony on the second floor was again beyond words. And it took us almost 30 minutes to tour the whole house, though some parts were closed off from the public.
By the time we came out, the rain had stopped and everything looked so fresh. We clicked some pictures with the guide and tried the famous 'mint julep'. The plantation was so picturesque, we just couldn't stop clicking and enjoying the beautiful surroundings. We also got to see the slave quarters, sugar kettles and the Stewart gardens and from there went straight to the restaurant (originally it was the quarter house built for tenant workers). And once again, it was time to try some more of creole-cajun cuisine and we ordered 'french quarter crepes' (the special of the day) and 'seafood gumbo'.
The 15-minute wait for the food seemed like forever and we took almost no time in finishing it when it finally came. The food was heavenly - crepes were filled with cheese and the seafood gumbo with mimosa was all one could ask for. Extremely satisfied with the overall visit, we went to the souvenir shop to buy some stuff and hurried to the car, as it had started raining again.
Plantation on the cover of National Geographic magazine
Firstly, the name itself transports you to the world of novels, and in reality too, it looks like a dream. While driving on the way to the plantation, the front side of the mansion can be seen from behind the iron gate - and it's a breathtaking view. The mansion stands perfectly in the center of a row of giant oak trees on both the sides, it almost seems like looking through the lens of trees.
It feels so surreal as if the house was actually a painting. The view was out of this world, with the river right outside the gate and the way lined with massive trees. Because of these incredible views, the plantation has featured in many magazines, commercials, TV shows, music videos (Beyonce's 'Deja Vu') and numerous movies (Primary Colors, Interview with the vampire).
We were there in time, parked our car and went to the ticket booth to get the tickets. Got the tour tickets for 11:30, meanwhile we clicked some amazing pictures and then, went to the big house. As we were waiting for the tour to begin, it started raining and that made the experience even better.
The tour guide opened the door of the house and it felt like she was welcoming guests inside for a dinner party. She was dressed in a gown resembling the outfits worn in 19th century by women. We were ushered in to the living room and the guide gave us a brief introduction about the house and its owners. And took us around the house while explaining how a particular room was used.
Some of the things were pretty interesting like in those times kitchen was not a part of the house due to frequent fires and even the dining table & chairs were way shorter than normal as people used to be much shorter in height than today. The view from the balcony on the second floor was again beyond words. And it took us almost 30 minutes to tour the whole house, though some parts were closed off from the public.
By the time we came out, the rain had stopped and everything looked so fresh. We clicked some pictures with the guide and tried the famous 'mint julep'. The plantation was so picturesque, we just couldn't stop clicking and enjoying the beautiful surroundings. We also got to see the slave quarters, sugar kettles and the Stewart gardens and from there went straight to the restaurant (originally it was the quarter house built for tenant workers). And once again, it was time to try some more of creole-cajun cuisine and we ordered 'french quarter crepes' (the special of the day) and 'seafood gumbo'.
The 15-minute wait for the food seemed like forever and we took almost no time in finishing it when it finally came. The food was heavenly - crepes were filled with cheese and the seafood gumbo with mimosa was all one could ask for. Extremely satisfied with the overall visit, we went to the souvenir shop to buy some stuff and hurried to the car, as it had started raining again.
