We
had a lazy morning and started the day with a beer from the beer bucket we got
last night. I then contacted the concierge to book us on a tour of the oldest
still standing plantation house and a tour of the bayou.

After
lazing around we didn't have much time so needed to grab something to eat to
eat on the go. The concierge told me about a shop (Johnny's Po Boy) around the
corner that serves Po Boys which we wanted to try. These are sandwiches and are
called Po Boy because it's made of leftovers and was given to the slaves. The
shop was very busy and we were again cutting it fine on time so we ordered and
I went to get the tickets for the tour which was fortunately a 5 minute walk
around the corner. With tickets in hand I returned to Damien where we gave
ourselves a cut off time to make our way to the bus. With 1 minute to spare we
got our Po Boy and made our way to the bus. As we entered the bus the driver
told us not to eat on it. This was crushing as the smells coming out of the bag
were amazing. 

As
the bus got going Stefanie (our guide) started telling us about the history of
Louisiana. She was talking for ages and giving us many interesting facts but
there was just way too much to remember. One thing that did stand out was the
Spanish and French history of the region.

We
then took a walk around the plantation house which is the oldest still standing
in the region. The house was built as a working house and was therefore not
very opulent but I was still surprised at how few rooms were in the house and
that there were few communal rooms. On other interesting fact was that the male
children lived in a separate section of the house and were not able to interact
with their sisters.

After
the tour of the house we sat under a tree to enjoy our Po Boy and it was delicious and well
worth the wait!

From
the plantation we got back into the bus and headed for the bayou. We arrived a
little early so we enjoyed a beer while having a look around the turtles, ducks
and baby alligators. As a storm arrived we boarded the boat to go explore the
bayou. Within seconds (and a few marshmallows) we saw some alligators swimming
around the boat. The guide had the most amazing southern accent and he brought
his son with him to help out. He spoke about gator fish that live underwater
and feed on the alligator leftovers as well as other birds and fish that are
found in the area. It is amazing to think that people live next to these
predators. 

After
the tour we returned to New Orleans where we got a restaurant recommendation
from Stefanie so we made our way there to make a reservation. We decided not to
go back to the hotel and have a walk around instead so we made our way to
Blacksmith Shop which is the oldest continuous bar in the US for a few drinks
before returning to the restaurant for dinner. The food was great and we
decided to go drop our things at the hotel before heading to Frenchman Street.
At the hotel Damien and I both passed out after a long day and big meal killing
our plans to head out again. We both woke up at about 1 and decided to continue
sleeping.

New
Orleans is an incredibly interesting place and I will definitely have to be back
to explore it properly but for now this section of the trip has opened my eyes
to American tourism and made me want to explore it some more.