Baton Rouge and Nottoway Plantation

Wednesday 15th

Overnight we tied up to the jetty at Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana. We woke to a lovely day with clear skies and little wind. After breakfast we caught the Hop on Hop Off shuttle for a lap of the city centre, listening to the commentary and deciding where we wanted to go back to. Once we had done the loop we hopped off one bus and onto another to do the tour out to Nottoway Plantation. This is one of the largest antebellum plantation houses in the south and was built by John Randolph in 1858. In these early years the Plantation covered 6200 acres and the owner at the time had 155 African American slaves to work the sugarcane.

Nottoway sits 200 feet behind the Mississippi River Levee. We were originally suppose to stop here on the boat but with the river so high our landing jetty was totally covered by water, so we bussed from Baton Rouge. The home is surrounded by oaks, magnolias, pecan and olive trees. Our guide, dressed in period costume gave us a great commentary about the history of the house and its inhabitants. Many of the rooms still have the original furniture and decor. It is a very well preserved example of a Plantation home.

After returning to Baton Rouge and our Boat, we grabbed a quick lunch and then headed back out to catch the Hop On Hop Off bus again to the State Capital Building where we took the elevator to the 27th floor (P-Would you believe the lift had an operator to press the buttons! Long time since I have seen that – Oh that’s rite It’s a government building – some things are the same around the world!!) for a wonderful view over the river and the city. After descending we decided to walk back to the boat. It was a lovely afternoon and we really enjoyed the walk. The city centre is full of government buildings and banks, very few shops, just a few cafes, supermarkets and bars. We made our way through a few blocks and then walked down to the levee bank along the bank back to the boat.

Another very interesting day.