by Ann Terry Hill
Spring in the South is a great time to visit…Flowers in bloom, not too hot, everything fresh and alive.If it happens to be the week of the annual French Quarter Jazz Festival, it is more than anyone can ask for. This year was my first visit during the Festival, but I assure you I’m going back!
Music on every corner, and on 22 different stages, offered by big name artists performing for free. They just love what they do. You can listen to Ronnie Kole followed by Lillian Boutte all in one afternoon. If you have the stamina, you can go all day and night.Me, I had to break it up a little with some of that wonderful New Orleans cuisine!
Everyone should dine at ANTOINE’S at least once. Not quite the oldest restaurant in New Orleans but founded in 1840 and still run by the same family. It is old enough for me! Oyster’s Rockefeller were invented thereIt has seen the history of New Orleans through the Civil War, World Wars I & II, the Great Depression, epidemics and storms.People just keep coming back.Great service and great food; the recipe for success.www.Antoines.com .
You can’t turn around without some great place to eat and hear good music. Jackson Square, the center of it all, is surrounded by shops, artists showing their works, and eateries. THE CORNER, www.corneroysterhouse.com , just across from Jackson Square, features Sports, Spirits, Oyster Bar and Grill.The service is home spun and warm too. You can’t go wrong.
I’ve stayed in several hotels in New Orleans over the years, but Le Richelieu in the Quarter stands out to me.Frank S. Rochefort, the owner and still managing at 91, has taken great pains to preserve the history of the area, decorating to evoke the many different cultures which make up the history: French, Spanish, English and Italian, and others.
If you stay there, make a point of introducing yourself to Mr. Rochefort, he loves all his clients. (Paul McCartney, of Beattle’s fame,stayed there for 3 months during a New Orleans visit a few years ago.) But he isn’t the only famous one, or one of the many repeat visitors this great hotel has. www.lerichelieuhotel.com. A word to the wise, if you’re planning to stay there, book early---space is hard to get.
There’s so much to do in this city, you could spend a lifetime learning all the nooks and crannies. Best you contact The New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau for a list of events so you don’t miss your favorite. www.neworleanscvb.com
I was joined by a friend of mine in New Orleans for the rest of my trip. Drivingw est of New Orleans into the heart of the Cajun Country, we arrived in Lafayette , the heart of French Louisiana. Being hosted by The Staybridge Suites, right on a main artery and quick access to every place we wanted to go, we quickly found our way around.
Part of our mission was to visit St. Martinville, often called the center of the Arcadian world and see the statue and great Oak that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow made famous in his epic poem Evangeline. www.stmartinvilletravel.com. We accomplished this and I was a little chagrined to find that Wadsworth’s Evangeline was fiction, but inspired by a true story of dedicated love.
One of our main objects was to visit Avery Island, home of TABASCO, and interview Harold Osborne, fifth generation of the original McIlhenny family who founded the world famous sauce. We spent the day on Avery Island and came away totally infatuated with this great sauce and the people who make it.
Years ago upon returning from a visit to New Orleans I told my Dad I would return and when I did I was going to visit TABASCO! He was very excited about the prospect, but unfortunately did not live to witness my visit. When I told the people of TABASCO this was my only regret on the trip, they quickly reassured me that he knew—that’s why we had such great blue sky weather and such a wonderful day! I felt better. I will have a detailed feature story on TABASCO soon so keep checking back with www.travelsavvywest.com.
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