GARDENS & GUMBO: Baton Rouge, St. Francisville, and Home
- Connie Pearson
- 7 days ago
- 2 min read
On past trips, we've spent considerable time in Baton Rouge -- and I do recommend that you enjoy the sights and tastes in and around this vibrant city. TIP: It might be best to plan your trip for a time OTHER THAN a home football game weekend for Louisiana State University. Check the schedule here.
Here are some past posts about sites near Baton Rouge that you might want to read (again) and consider if you're planning a trip:
For this trip, we wanted to see something new, so we drove slightly north to explore the tiny town of St. Francisville and the Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site. Myrtles Plantation is also in St. Francisville, but we only had time to visit one. Rosedown was built in 1834-1835, and many of the original furnishings are still on view when you tour the home. At its peak, the plantation encompassed 3455 acres, much of which was used for growing cotton. Today 371 acres remain in addition to the main house, the formal gardens, and 13 buildings.
Strolling through the grounds was a great way to appreciate all of the landscaping, and the gift shop was an added bonus. I found a fun alligator necklace -- the kind of thing that would look perfectly at home in Louisiana but maybe not so much in Alabama. The film explaining the plantation's history is shown inside the gift shop building.
For lunch, we chose Magnolia Cafe. It adjoins a 1938 motor court previously called The Magnolia Village. Rooms are available to reserve for the night in what is now called 3v Tourist Courts. If you're there on weekends, don't be surprised if there is musical entertainment right out your front door on Fridays and Saturdays. You will be conveniently located for the cafe and for browsing the shops along Commerce Street and Ferdinand Street.
When we got back to Baton Rouge in the afternoon, we wanted our one last meal to be especially good. A local suggested Louisiana Lagniappe, and our meal there was excellent -- blackened redfish topped with crabmeat and Bananas Foster bread pudding for dessert.
During our drive home, we took a detour to visit our grandson Nathan in Starkville, MS where he is finishing his freshman year at Mississippi State University. Dare I mention that he made the President's List his first semester? :) The perfect end to our trip.
I hope I've enticed you to plan a visit to Louisiana. Maybe you can incorporate some of my suggestions into your itinerary.
#travel #food #RosedownPlantation #StFrancisvilleLA #MagnoliaCafeStFrancisvilleLA #LouisianaLagniappe #BatonRouge
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