THE US LOUISIANA DESTINATIONS
Commander’s Palace, one of the city’s most famous restaurants. In the rabbit warren-like interior, there’s hand- embroidered wallpaper and twinkling chandeliers. My waiter explains that guests’ iced-water glasses are replaced after every course as a nod to the venue’s early days, when lack of air conditioning meant ice melted quickly in the sticky heat. Another tradition? Turtle soup. I’m swayed by my waiter’s offended sigh when I refuse, so I give in, and still feel guilty to this day. Turtle power propels me back to my lodgings, the beautiful International House Hotel. This boutique property, with its candlelit lobby and high-ceilinged rooms, is perfectly positioned: the bright lights of Canal Street, with its bead-draped souvenir shops and tourist-filled bars, are a five-minute walk away. It’s also close to the National WWII Museum. A recently completed £270 million renovation quadrupled its size, and a hotel and conference centre will open there in 2019. I then wander down to the mighty
Mississippi, where the Creole Queen bobs in the murky water, ready to set sail on one of its daily cruises. It will soon be joined by another ship, City of New Orleans, due to launch in October.
ASK THE EXPERT
Sandra Potter, founder, Frontier Travel “I love the diversity of Louisiana. For foodies, there’s a glorious combination of styles, although Cajun and Creole dominate. Culture is taken care of with the glorious plantation homes, as well as the architecture of New Orleans, and for musicians there’s the whole state: the jazz of New Orleans, zydeco music, blues and swamp pop. Music oozes from every pore!”
w BATON ROUGE I opt for a slower method of transport when it comes to exploring Louisiana’s lesser-known parts. By road, it takes around 90 minutes to get to Baton Rouge. There are regular guided
Lafayette is a small city, where drivers roll along blaring blues-based zydeco music from open windows
tours of the Louisiana State Capitol, a beautiful art deco-style building towering over the Mississippi, but we’ve been granted the chance to sneak in for a free-range exploration. It’s the tallest capitol building in the US. Construction supplies were delivered by rail, with the bricks, bronze, granite, limestone and iron filling 2,500 rail cars. It was Huey Pierce Long, 40th Governor of Louisiana, who
pushed for the building’s construction, but in 1935, shortly after its completion, he was shot dead here. On the first floor I can still touch the jagged hole left by the assassin’s bullet.
w LAFAYETTE My final destination is Lafayette. We drive along the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge, a spectacular structure over America’s largest swamp – if you have time, sign up for a boat tour. It’s a small city, where drivers roll along blaring blues-based zydeco music from open windows, and the unpretentious high street has a slightly confusing mix of businesses, including hot-dog restaurant chain Dat Dog, a science museum, the Wurst Biergarten bar and the Carpe Diem! gelateria. I head away from the town centre
TOP: Creole Queen
LEFT: US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center, at the National WWII Museum
and roam the beautiful grounds of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette – the only campus to contain an alligator-filled swamp. Lafayette is known as Hub City, and is the ideal base for explorations farther afield. The nearby town of Grand Coteau is home to the world’s oldest continually operating Sacred Heart school, along with the site of the only Vatican-certified miracle to take place in the US. In 1866 a nun was healed by an apparition of John Berchmans, a Jesuit. Her recovery led to his posthumous canonisation, and today there are guided tours of the nearby Shrine of St John Berchmans. I also love the quaint town of Arnaudville. At its heart is Bayou Teche Brewing. I sign up for one of the brewery’s regular organised cycle rides and spend three happy hours rolling past beautiful plantation-
5 July 2018
travelweekly.co.uk 59
PICTURE: NEWORLEANS PADDLEWHEELS/
BIGEASY.COM
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