On July 9, 2017 we did get off the America, for walking across the road, to Houmas House.
Entrance of Houmas House and Gardens
Gardens in Louisiana are very lush, due to the constant high humidity.
Houmas House is a 1775 Sugar Cane Plantation and sits on 38 acres.
One only wishes, this view could be possible!
Trees have grown too big and obstruct from every angle...
All the above makes you step back into a very romantic era of the past.
Mind you, there was hard labor too!
It took many servants for keeping the plantation + antebellum house in top shape.
Houmas House is a 1775 Sugar Cane Plantation and sits on 38 acres.
One only wishes, this view could be possible!
Trees have grown too big and obstruct from every angle...
All the above makes you step back into a very romantic era of the past.
Mind you, there was hard labor too!
It took many servants for keeping the plantation + antebellum house in top shape.
Loved this playful frog statue in the pond with fountain.
Just had to capture this old door handle or whatever it was.
Yes, Houmas House and Gardens allows visitors to experience the life of a wealthy Sugar Baron in the 1800s.
Since my photos are by far not comparable to the brochure, I show that FIRST!
It is so hard to capture the house with those HUGE live oak trees...
Houmas House: "THE SUGAR PALACE" Crown Jewel of Louisiana's River Road
Picture perfect view of Houmas House!
The Tour we did and enjoyed but for all the rest there was not enough time...
As you can clearly see in this google maps image, the Houmas House is right on the Mississippi so we just got off the boat after breakfast and walked across the road to the live oak lined alley, leading up to the house.Tour was great and we enjoyed it very much.
We only had one problem, there is not enough time in just 3 hours for covering it all, like visiting the gardens at your own leisure
This is what I mean... the Houmas House is almost hidden by those HUGE live oak trees!
For the perfect light one has to stay there an entire day also.
We had no choice.
Those giant live oak trees, with the Spanish moss hanging down, make you dwarf!
The Burnside Oak, with its history spanning centuries back to the Indians, is the most dominate oak of the front lawn of Houmas. The great Louisiana Live Oak, (Quercus virginiana), is believed to be well over 300 years old.
JOHN BURNSIDE (Houmas Owner 1858-1881)
Trying to give you an idea of the HUGE Live Oak Tree's size.
You see just a glimpse of Houmas House above the left of my left hand.
Husband Pieter is supporting this Old Live Oak tree... being scared that it would fall!
Stepping back and still not being able to capture the entire Live Oak!
Hurricanes have also done lots of damage as big limbs have broken off.
They try very hard to maintain the garden looking its best.
This is as far as I could step back, still not able to capture it entirely...
One has to be there in person, the tour of the House was a delight and educational too.
The gardens are great for strolling around.
Be aware that humidity in the afternoons can go up and also the chance of a thunderstorm.
We learned WHY Louisiana has such lush gardens!
Stay tuned for the next stop in Baton Rouge
Thanks for your visit!
Related links:
Aboard the America Cruising on the Mississippi River | previous post by me
Our Long Awaited Mississippi River Cruise | previous post by me
Our Long Awaited Mississippi River Cruise | previous post by me
The Roosevelt New Orleans with View of Mississippi and French Quarter + New Orleans Cooking School | previous post by me
7th North American Mushroom Conference at The Roosevelt in New Orleans | previous post by me
Wow!!! what a mansion!!
ReplyDeleteDearest Krishna,
DeleteIt is a beautiful antebellum home indeed!
Hugs,
Mariette
love n hugs for you..
DeleteFabulous mansion and gardens, love the frog statue in the pond too.
ReplyDeleteThose oak trees are massive and beautiful.
Have a nice weekend Mariette.
Dearest Sami,
DeleteDon't you love this historic mansion with its garden?
Hugs,
Mariette
Hello Mariette, Houmas House is a truly beautiful and elegant house. As you note, the South had its sugar industry, which was on a much larger scale than the maple sugar in the North. However, many people used maple sugar back then for the express reason that it was not made with slave labor.
ReplyDelete--Jim
Dearest Jim,
DeleteBack at the time these sugar plantations were operated, sugar was only a food for the wealthy class and not for the common man who fed on a rather simple fare.
The harvest of sugar cane has always been a very rough job and even till today, there is slave labor involved. Like on the border of Haiti and Dominican Republic where they use migrants to do this kind of job.
Most black slaves abandoned the Louisiana plantations during the Civil War, causing a steep decline in its production.
Both of us come from a country where beet sugar is the main consumption and that is not as grueling for harvesting!
Hugs,
Mariette
Liebe Mariette,
ReplyDeletedas ist ein Gedicht!
Alles Liebe
Elsabeth
Liebe Elisabeth,
DeleteDanke und froh das es dir gefällt.
Lieber Gruß,
Mariette
I lived in Louisiana for many, many years so it is quite possible I visited Houmas House but honestly can't remember exactly. Those oaks trees are truly amazing!
ReplyDeleteDearest Tammy,
DeleteYeah, back in those days we didn't have an iPhone for making pictures to view later.
Certain things are being lost in memory because of it.
When comparing your region or e.g. Indonesia, Italy and The Netherlands where we lived, what a difference in trees all over the world.
Hugs,
Mariette
jeetje,wat en mooi huis met tuinen ,maar wat een giant van een boom zo mooi!
ReplyDeleteBeste Joan,
DeleteJa, daar sta je wel even bij stil, bijna versteld van zo'n kolos in hout!
Heel majestueus in het landschap en ook erg bijzonder.
Liefs,
Mariette
Cara Mariette, finalmente ho finito di sistemare il mio nuovo blog (che lavorata!) e finalmente ho tempo per venire a trovarti. Ma che bella vita intensa e quanti bellissimi posti hai visitato. Sicuramente la noia non la conosci... Magnifico post che fa venire voglia di vacanze...
ReplyDeleteUn abbraccio grandissimo e buon w.e., Lorena
Cara Lorena,
DeleteGrazie e lasciami sorridere perché entrambi non abbiamo mai conosciuto la noia!
Al contrario, tanti bei ricordi che che voglio mantenere cronaca... per tenere il lustro un po' di più.
Un abbraccio forte,
Mariette
It’s such a beautiful house surrounded by lush green. The place looks really well kept. At first, I thought the frog statue was a human :-) The huge oak tree looks majestic!
ReplyDeleteDearest Tamago,
DeleteThose gardens are so different from any other country we have visited and also the square house with its huge veranda all around is unique.
Well the frog statue was as tall as a human... Loved it!
Hugs,
Mariette
Hello dear Mariette!
ReplyDeleteThe Houma House is so beautiful and elegant!
Those oaks trees are amazing!
Like the pond and the preety frog statue!
Thank you for sharing!
Have a happy Sunday!Hugs!
Dimi...
Dearest Dimi,
DeleteDon't you love all those ingredients brought together; elegant house and beautiful gardens.
Happy remainder of the week and hugs,
Mariette
A biting place to visit and actually 3 hours is definitely not enough. The tree impresses with its size. Regards.
ReplyDeleteDearest Giga,
DeleteOh, one always loves to dwell longer at any beautiful place; you no doubt have had that too.
Those trees are unheard of in Europa or Asia.
As majestic as the house itself.
Hugs,
Mariette
Oh that old mansion is beautiful and I can not get over the size of that enormous tree!
ReplyDeleteDearest Janey,
DeleteIt sure was a visit for lots of amazements!
Pure beauty to be admired and I'm glad they manage the upkeep so far.
Hugs,
Mariette
Hello! I grew up on the Mississippi near St. Louis and will always ove the River. So glad you have been able to experience it farther down river and what an incredibly lovely mansion. Carl and I spent January in Winter Park Florida with friends. The blooming gardenias and the live oaks on the edge of their condo were unbelievable. Hard to return to the high desert, snow, cold, mountains ~~ but we live in a beautiful part of our country. Take care sweet Mariette!
ReplyDeleteDearest Helen,
DeleteOh, you bet you will always love the Mississippi River and I would love to explore it more to the north but the duration and also the cost of that cruise were not favorable.
Glad you got to spend time in Florida, it is wonderful to be surrounded by green in winter. We were there briefly from Christmas eve till New Year's Eve... but enjoyed it.
The sight of your area of course is breathtaking too but cold!
Stay well sweet lady and sending you hugs.
Mariette
Os jardins são fantásticos e aquela árvore é espectacular pela sua imponência.
ReplyDeleteUm abraço e boa semana.
Andarilhar
Dedais de Francisco e Idalisa
O prazer dos livros
Dearest Francisco Manuel,
DeleteSure the garden with its huge oak trees were spectacular and so was the mansion!
Hugs,
Mariette
The tree is great. It has watched people's histories in silence.
ReplyDeleteDearest RTC,
DeleteOh, if they only could tell their many stories...
Hugs,
Mariette
You and Pieter!Both of you look so happy! Yes, the garden has been well maintained with such a powerful huge tree!
ReplyDeleteDearest Tomoko,
DeleteYou bet both of us were happy for being there!
Just imagine all the hurricanes that happened in that region... it is still remarkable that those giants are standing.
Hugs,
Mariette