My husband is a “tour skeptic,” but he came away saying how much he liked this tour. “That guy knew how to tell stories,” he said. (I think seeing the Mannings' family estate put it over the top for my Giants-football fan husband.)
New Orleans has such an interesting history and we never would have known it just by randomly walking around looking at the outside of (admittedly beautiful) buildings. Our 2-hour architecture walking tour with James on a November Sunday morning took us around the main part of the Garden District, starting with interesting (and rather ghoulish) Lafayette Cemetery. James told us so many fascinating nuggets about old New Orleans—all the formative influences on the city from both its people (the natives, French, the Acadians, the Spanish, Italians, Irish, Africans, etc) and world events such as the Louisiana Purchase, the Civil War, the Great Depression, Katrina, etc). He also had all sorts of interesting info and gossip about what’s going on with the Garden District estates these days, from new celebrity home owners to recent mansion sales and renovations. Along the way, he gave us the scoop on the “garden “aspects (flowering trees and gorgeous shrubs) we saw, too.
James dropped us off at the marvelous Commander’s Palace restaurant, where we had made reservations for what turned out to be one of our highlight meals of the year. The highly creative Creole food & drinks, the excellent service, the festive atmosphere with the wandering jazz brunch band = super special.
Odpowiedź od gospodarza
Nov 2019
James is so proud of this review! We agree that although anyone can walk through the Garden District and admire the stunning architecture and natural beauty, you can't beat a good walking tour with a great storyteller for really getting at the true spirit of this jewel. I am so happy that you gave us a few hours of your vacation and that James did not disappoint. We are looking forward to walking and talking with you next time you are here.
Libby