We drove out an hour or so to an area rich with history, the plantations of southern Louisianna.

Oak Alley Plantation a beautifully restored 19th century house , built in the Greek revival style.

The house was built by Jacques Roman & his wife Selina. The structure is built with mud bricks formed from the mud of the nearby Mississipi & baked onsite. The House took 2 yrs to build, all of the labour performed by the landowners slaves. ( Note Mr Yellow tee shirt far left. )

The dining room with its massive fan , a young slave would operate the fan whilst the diners ate. Some of the Roman families original china is displayed here.

The bedroom recreating a scene where there might have been a death, mirror covered with black gauze , so that the departing soul doesn't get stuck on this side.

The green ribbons denote Items from the original house , not reproductions.
Our guide told us many tales of the house & its occupants, including a time around 1900 when the abandoned house was invaded by cows , seeking shelter, they occupied the ground floor for 12 yrs!

In 1923 Andrew Stuart & his wife bought the house for nearly $50,000, they invested another $60,000 & lived in it for 40 + yrs..they are buried onsite, with their dogs Diane & Sandy & their cat Batman.

Oak Alley takes its name from the rows of Virginia Live oaks that flank the pathway, 28 in total.

The plantation supported the rich families & a total of at least 200 slaves over the years.

The massive cast iron dishes were used for Laundry , or when the sugar cane was harvested , as boiling pots to extract the sugar from the cane.
We watched an interesting video on modern sugar production.

These replica slave quarters , helped depict the appalling conditions the slaves lived under, how they suplimented their rations by keeping animals and planting small areas of crops.
Finally legislation & the chaos of civil war bringing an end to slavery, in turn forcing the plantations to fall into debt as they lost their free workforce.

A pub type lunch on site, as the heavens opened.

Just time for a change of clothes, we walked to the Natchez , just a few blocks away.

Our buffet style dinner , once again enjoyed to the sounds of  "The Dixie Dukes ".

The weather stayed dry for our 7 mile voyage , dispite a few rumbles of thunder.
( Is that a yellow tee shirt beside Ian ?)

Beautiful girlie & a beautiful pink sunset.

Before long we were headed back to the dock, having listened to stories & facts about the ship & the river, as well as the Jazz.

(Yep, Mr yellow tee shirt & his party were indeed next to us for most of the voyage, we might have attempted to chat , but it soon became obvious they were french !)

We headed back via the brightly lit gift shops, Hollie wanted to sit outside & read but its really humid & damp , meaning all the bugs are out tonight : (

Well goodnight dear reader...Until tomorrow xxxx