Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Natchez Night and Day

Resuming my review of my Southern Tour...

I arrived in Natchez, Mississippi early evening on Labor Day, September 6, 2010. There were few open establishments, but one of them was easy walking distance from my room (in an American Best, a fine, inexpensive chain). The restaurant was kind enough to stay open a bit late for me, and it is responsible for kicking off my love of Mexican food, which I had not previously known about! The restaurant's name is La Fiesta Grande, and it was the second of two of a small chain in Natchez:




The meal you see was recommended by the waitress, along with some alterations to fit my dietary tastes and needs -- an out of this world steak, yummy vegetables, and a scrumptious guacamole salad, along with tortilla chips. Too much for me to finish!

In the morning, I had breakfast at one of the recommended spots -- The Castle Restaurant at Dunleith -- and received a wonderful surprise -- a free tour of the grounds! It was only supposed to be a 25-minute tour, but my guide took me around for close to two hours, describing each area in detail!

Here are some pictures of my experience:





And here is a link to the house's website:

http://www.dunleith.com/home.html

I followed this experience by having a buggy tour of the city, seeing various historical buildings throughout the city. Little things stick out from this tour, like the dual staircases to entrances, one for the ladies, and one for the men:



I ended my time in Natchez on a more somber note, visiting Forks of the Road, where slaves were sold. I had visited the Nationa Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati in 2009, and learned about the site, and the stop in Natchez provided continuity between trips:


The irony to this site in Natchez -- in my mind, anyway -- comes from something I learned in a brief stop at the Visitor's Center, where I watched a movie about thie city, and learned that several minority groups -- Blacks, Women, Jews -- contributed much to the development of the Natchez culture.

Natchez is full of history and attractive architecture. Again, I had learned about the city in an Allan Sherman song, as I described earlier. From the food to the sites, I am glad I visited.

1 comment:

  1. Hey Eric! This is good stuff. I like what I've read so far!

    ReplyDelete