A Quarter-Mile of Oak

One of the places that I've always wanted to visit is the Oak Alley Plantation, a property in Louisiana with beautiful rows of oak trees that are over 300 years old. It's absolutely breathtaking, and what was even more special was that the day that we were there, there was a bride and groom all dressed up and getting photos taken. I couldn't imagine a more beautiful backdrop for the couple.

We started the day with chicory coffee in the house and warm croissants from the bakery that the owners bring every morning. The croissants were wrapped in tin foil so that they stayed warm until you unwrapped them to eat.

Our first stop of the day was Oak Alley Plantation. We walked the grounds for a little before heading inside the house for a tour. We stopped in each room and it was so nice to hear about how the first owners used the house. I could practically see the polite and charming dinner parties held in the dining room.There was even a large fan in the middle of the table that was on a pulley system. It would be swayed hard enough to create a cool Louisiana breeze, but soft enough to not blow out the candles on the table.

On the dining room table you can notice the silverware is upside down. This is Creole style and as an event coordinator, these little details make me smile! On the bed in the bedroom is a pineapple, the symbol of hospitality. Being a hospitality student, I definitely had to take a photo of it. Upon arriving, guests would be given a pineapple in their room as a welcome present. Being that travel took so much longer back in the 1800s, guests would stay longer than just a week. If the hosts ever felt that the guests were over-staying their welcome, they would give the guests a second pineapple as a symbol of "It's time to go."

Our tour guide was the prettiest southern girl with an enchanting smile and the loveliest accent. In Florida we have southern accents, but hers was so elegant with just the right kind of twang. By the end of the tour she told us about the mint juleps that they make. It was pretty much a given that we were going to sip on some mint juleps while strolling the cascading oaks and the garden cemetery. I love bourbon, so I definitely enjoyed it, but it also tasted like a day in the 1800s on the grounds of a plantation.

Down the road is Laura Plantation, smaller, but with bigger history. All of the family documents and paperwork were found in France, and even the handwritten memoir of a women born on the plantation (Laura) was discovered. The story of the house and the family was preserved just as well as the house was. I find that with plantations, the houses seem so grand and large from the outside, but once you are inside, the rooms seem quaint and homey.

We ended the night by stopping by Coop's Place, a bar and restaurant highly recommended by many locals. We ordered fried jalapenos stuffed with crab, as well as rabbit and sausage jumbalaya accompanied by Abita beers. For dessert we went to Cafe Du Monde for some beignets and black chicory coffee. The beignets were deliciously sweet, the powdered sugar melted in my mouth like every doughnut should!