Saturday, June 30, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Wednesday -- Laura Plantation, Chickie Wah Wahs
Drove out to Laura Plantation -- nearly got crushed by a semi, but thankfully made it there alive. Laura Plantation is was run by a Creole family. Because Laura wrote a memoir, we got a pretty detailed family history on the tour. Big takeaways -- the family was rich, had 200 slaves, and the stories that compose Brer Rabbit came from the slaves on this plantation. The tour was very memorable and our guide Rose was delightful.
Oak Alley was the next stop where we skipped the tour and went straight for the mint juleps. They were sweet -- mightily sweet -- but that didn't stop us from having two each. The food - chicken sausage gumbo for me was the best local food I've had yet.
Evening was Cafe Mingh -- Vietnamese Creole fusion followed by Chickie Wah Wah where we heard an amazing singer and pianist who played and sang ancient tunes -- Library of Congress artifacts ancient. Thank you Carolyn for the great picks.
Oak Alley was the next stop where we skipped the tour and went straight for the mint juleps. They were sweet -- mightily sweet -- but that didn't stop us from having two each. The food - chicken sausage gumbo for me was the best local food I've had yet.
Evening was Cafe Mingh -- Vietnamese Creole fusion followed by Chickie Wah Wah where we heard an amazing singer and pianist who played and sang ancient tunes -- Library of Congress artifacts ancient. Thank you Carolyn for the great picks.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Tuesday
Drove out to Slidell for a swamp tour conducted by Pearl River Ecotours. We loved our guide Wade who let us spend plenty of time with the alligators. He explained how the Spanish Moss was harvested back in the day for stuffing mattresses. Didn't know that horsehair was actually moss. At any rate, the moss is still plentiful in the bayou. We also saw an arrowroot plant -- guess what, the leaves are shaped like arrows. Elephant ears were pervasive in the swamp -- they were introduced as cultivated plants many years ago and are now invasive.
Wade showed us a house that was moved in its entirety a mile downstream and then deposited a la Dorothy.
One of the highlights was a mother sow and two wild piglets grazing on the river bank. The piglets had bronze striped fur -- very pretty.
Afterwards we went to a restaurant recommended by Wade - Speckled T. I had a roast beef poboy -- amazing.
Back in the French Quarter, hit Papier Plumier where I spent too much on a fountain pen, seal, and new fangled sealing wax.
We had been anticipating a night of music at the Maple Leaf Bar by the Rebirth Brass Band. According to a guy we met on the day of the Second Line, they have been playing every Tuesday night for 28 years. The show, scheduled for 10 pm, started at 11 We piled into the small music hall and the band -- three trumpets, sax, tuba, trombones, drums, and washboard were impossibly loud and cacaphonus in the tiny space. I tried very hard to take it in, but in the end my sore eardrums gave it up. At the most, we lasted 30 minutes before going home.
Wade showed us a house that was moved in its entirety a mile downstream and then deposited a la Dorothy.
One of the highlights was a mother sow and two wild piglets grazing on the river bank. The piglets had bronze striped fur -- very pretty.
Afterwards we went to a restaurant recommended by Wade - Speckled T. I had a roast beef poboy -- amazing.
Back in the French Quarter, hit Papier Plumier where I spent too much on a fountain pen, seal, and new fangled sealing wax.
We had been anticipating a night of music at the Maple Leaf Bar by the Rebirth Brass Band. According to a guy we met on the day of the Second Line, they have been playing every Tuesday night for 28 years. The show, scheduled for 10 pm, started at 11 We piled into the small music hall and the band -- three trumpets, sax, tuba, trombones, drums, and washboard were impossibly loud and cacaphonus in the tiny space. I tried very hard to take it in, but in the end my sore eardrums gave it up. At the most, we lasted 30 minutes before going home.
Monday, April 9, 2012
New Orleans
No pictures allowed at this private clothing optional swim club. We're relaxing after a day of sightseeing - National Park Service river tour, the sculpture garden, and the 9th ward. The Club has a pool and beautiful hot tub with bar and meal service. Very nice to have a place like this.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
New York -- Chinatown Bus
I'm on my way home from New York to Philadelphia on the Cjomatpwn Bus, New Century 2000 -- pick up at 120 E. Broadway. When I arrive, the police have parked in front o fthe bus and have taken the driver's license. Thirty minutes of discussion occur as the bus sits and waits. Our driver, the same on I had on the way to NY, has long gray hair and appears to be Pakistani or Indian -- South Asian at any rate. The I hear the police tell him that if he doesn't get a lawyer, and show up in court he will be arrested. I think, no way am I getting on that bus. Think about how uset the driver must have been, particularly at the prospect of arrest when you're working for a Chinese company and you are South Asian.
I took the 2:30 bus, knowing how rattled I would have been. The 2:30 bus was a riot -- the passengers were hustled on the bus with the ticket-taker screaming -- police, police -- while our bus was apparently being followed by the police car. She hopped on the bus and hearded the passsengers on the bus to avoid additional ticketing. So apparently the police are hassling New Century for parking the bus ona city street.
I took the 2:30 bus, knowing how rattled I would have been. The 2:30 bus was a riot -- the passengers were hustled on the bus with the ticket-taker screaming -- police, police -- while our bus was apparently being followed by the police car. She hopped on the bus and hearded the passsengers on the bus to avoid additional ticketing. So apparently the police are hassling New Century for parking the bus ona city street.
Monday, January 2, 2012
My Christmas Vacation
Count the visitors -- this has been an international vacation! I went to Japan (several times), Macedonia, Turkey, Czech Republic, and am hoping for a quick jaunt to Brazil before it's all over. And let's not forget Philadelphia and Brooklyn! It's been a busy week-and-a-half starting with the arrival of Yuki, Sei, Yigit, Max, and Milena on Christmas Eve. That's four countries if you include the U.S.
We started with a Christmas Eve celebration at our house with neighbors and honored guests.
Naoko took our guests to a gospel church on Christmas Day and they all came back filled with the love.
Later our guests (Sei, Yuki, Yigit, Milena) along with Max and Naoko, and me went to the Kubacki's annual Christmas party.
That following day we went to Dim Sum with the crew (Happy 26th Birthday my son). Yuki and Sei returned to New York and we went on to sponsor a Honduran tamale-fest brilliantly executed by Gabriel and Bella. In the middle of this party, Michika arrived from New York. She is on an around-the-world tour and stopped in Philly to get some respite from the hostel she had been staying in. Greg Lytle also arrived to help Naoko animate, as did Tex Kubacki.
We started with a Christmas Eve celebration at our house with neighbors and honored guests.
Naoko took our guests to a gospel church on Christmas Day and they all came back filled with the love.
Later our guests (Sei, Yuki, Yigit, Milena) along with Max and Naoko, and me went to the Kubacki's annual Christmas party.
That following day we went to Dim Sum with the crew (Happy 26th Birthday my son). Yuki and Sei returned to New York and we went on to sponsor a Honduran tamale-fest brilliantly executed by Gabriel and Bella. In the middle of this party, Michika arrived from New York. She is on an around-the-world tour and stopped in Philly to get some respite from the hostel she had been staying in. Greg Lytle also arrived to help Naoko animate, as did Tex Kubacki.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)