From Shreveport, Natchitoches is seventy minutes away on I49 and we make fairly frequent day trips there because it's a lovely little escape. There is so much history there and much to see.
You can check the links at the end of this post for previous trips; I don't want to be overly redundant and post the same old pictures here.
We arrived around noon and lunch was in order.
We started out with lunch at Lasyone's; in my opinion, it's the best meat pie there is.
There are many imitations, but Lasyone's is my favorite.
I had my usual meat pie with a side of red beans and rice while Steve did the platter with salad bar, dirty rice, and vegetable.
We like to walk along Front Street and window shop; we have a few shops we always go to on each trip though. We never miss Kaffie-Frederick.
Where else can you get a key made, a cast iron skillet, rubber rain boots, copper weather vanes...
...tiny terrarium plants and cypress Santas, all under one roof?
We also like to visit Tres Bien Antiques on St. Denis. At present, I believe it's the only antique store in the Historic District; the one on Front Street (where The Book Merchant used to be) is closed. The fellow that runs Tres Bien has recently opened the H.A. Cook Guesthouse right next door. He graciously gave us a tour and all I could say as we went through it was "oh my gosh..." Simply gorgeous.
The guesthouse is available to rent and would be perfect for a group because there are three large bedrooms. Family reunions, wedding parties, or just a group visiting the Christmas festival would be perfectly comfortable here.
The website has many more pictures but here are a few that I took yesterday:
This is the living area:
And another view:
One bedroom:
And another:
Both of those bedrooms have a little alcove with a child's bed (and their own wall-mounted tv) and bath. The bedrooms all open onto a balcony overlooking St. Denis. The balcony has tables and chairs where you can sit and have coffee in the morning and watch the town wake up.
This is the third bedroom, also with a full bath.
The lovely, spacious kitchen:
And bar area which adjoins the living area - all very open.
The dining room:
There's even a huge laundry room:
The back balcony:
There's a downstairs courtyard with full kitchen as well. The condo is completely handicapped accessible; there is also off-street parking and you're within walking distance of everything you might want to do in historic downtown Natchitoches.
I could totally live there. Forever. It's beautiful.
It was too early for dinner so we headed down to Melrose to visit; I'd heard they had some storm damage recently was curious to see how things looked. The barn is still roped off and repairs upcoming but the Clementine murals in the Africa House look beautiful and I was glad to see them. My creative spirit is always infused after a trip to Melrose and to my mind there is no more beautiful spot along the Cane than Miss Cammie's plantation.
We returned to Front Street and hit the Pioneer Pub for a cold beverage (that's a Hay Ryed from Red River Brewing) and some fried alligator (my favorite!).
We always meet the nicest people there - either locals, employees, or tourists, and it's easy to spend the afternoon there.
Before we left, I had to stick my toes in the Cane River because you know the legend: once you dip your toes in the Cane you can never leave it. And I never want to.
There's just something about Natchitoches and the Cane that brings peace to my soul.
(If you want to see more of Natchitoches and of Melrose, there are several links below, as well as a post on Oakland Plantation.)
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The SIGIS Take a Trip Series:
Take a Trip to the 2012 Natchitoches Christmas Festival
Take a Trip to the 2012 Grand Cane Pioneer Day and Christmas Parade
Take a Trip to the 2012 Defenders of Liberty Air Show at BAFBTake a Trip to the 2012 Grand Cane Pioneer Day and Christmas Parade
Take a Springtime Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden, LA
Take a Trip to Logansport, Louisiana
Take a Trip to the Lock and Dam on Red River
Take a Trip to the 2012 Barkus and Meoux Parade
Take a Christmas Shopping Trip to Second Hand Rose in Minden
Take a Trip to the Fourth Annual Barksdale AFB Oktoberfest
Take a Trip to Grand Cane's Fifth Annual Pioneer Trade Day
Take a Trip to the 2011 Highland Jazz & Blues Festival
Take an Autumn Trip to Jefferson, Texas
Take a Fall Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to the 8th Air Force Museum at Barksdale Air Force Base
Take a Summertime Trip to Grand Cane
Take a Trip to Desoto Parish
Take a Summer Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Melrose Plantation
Take a Trip to Ed Lester Farms and a Random Antique Stop
Take a Trip to the Norton Art Gallery and the Masters of Cuban Art Exhibit
Take a Trip to Natchitoches to See the Christmas Lights
Take a Trip to the Third Annual BAFB Oktoberfest
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Oakland Plantation
2 comments:
Oh all the places I've been to in the south (which is just about every place), Natchitoches is by far my favorite. Just beautiful!
"Hay Ryed!" Heh! That's clever. Now I'm thirsty. Fun account, Pat.
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