Road Trip!!!!!

Louisiana Lemonade ~ oh Yeah

So we left the Hotel and took a cab to the Airport to pick up the hire car. Once we had figured out how to meet up with the shuttle that takes you to the hire cars ....all good. Once again we encountered what seems to be the norm here ~ people telling us we have not paid. ~ sigh ~ we have indeed paid and thank god I am anal enough that I printed out copies of EVERYTHING. Now this lovely lady spoke so bloody fast and in a southern kind of ethnic accent I had zero hope of understanding her. So finally after I simply asked her to speak slowly after assuring her I was not stupid ~ it turns out you have to pay $700 and something dollars as a security deposit. Another thing we were not told. Seems to be quite a bit of these charges and extras and taxes everytime you turn around.
On the other had ~ we called into the Petrol station and grabbed some ciggies, 2 x 360 mil coke , 2 x 360 mil diet coke and a bottle of water. Total price ~ $17.60. Seriously!

Houmas House Louisiana Plantation

 Good news though ~ they included a GPS with the car so we sorted that out and I must acknowledge our friends M & M. They said their GPS set to the American lady sounds condescending and quite exasperated if you make a change. Absolutely true ~ she sounds pissed off basically and quite put out to have to tell you to turn a corner. We actually felt guilty making a wrong turn. We will search for the Australian Accented one tomorrow

We decided to take in a Southern Plantation so on advice from the Hotel we went to Houmas House. Its situated in Darrow Louisiana about an hour from New Orleans. WOW is all I can say. It was a beautiful place full of beautiful and interesting things. The gardens were lovely and we both enjoyed wandering around.They actually used this house in Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte. An old movie starring Bette Davis.Spent a few hours just taking it all in and I must admit to having a small Scarlett moment while standing on the porch looking down the entranceway........the Guide said that the owner, when he brought the Plantation , told all his slaves to come back the next day as free men and woman and he apparently employed them on the Cane Plantation. He also it seems liked to hold parties so became known as the The Sugar Prince of Louisiana.

Marie Antoinette's Actual Bedside clock

 I have been talking in a Southern Belle accent at Mr Fab today and I really cant print here what he called me while snorting with laughter as small children and sensitive souls may be reading.
An interesting note is Mr Fab and I were quite waspish with each other for the first part of the journey. We chatted about it and decided we were both nervous and unsure of what we are doing and where we are headed. Mr F said all he wanted was to see a map of where he was and where he was going!!!! So we decided to set a goal every night when we stop for the evening. This way we have a clear destination in mind and a set path to take. We can put in Points of Interest and stop along the way to enjoy some of the real America. Tonight we pulled up about 5pm and have settled into a nice hotel in Lafayette Louisiana. We will sort out tomorrows part of the adventure after a cuppa and a shower! The roads so far have been bloody brilliant and there are signs everywhere telling you which exit to take for food or lodgings or interesting things.

Internal Staircase

We are thinking maybe heading to Houston which is about 6 hours away and spending a few days there so we can have a look around. We will update when we have settled in!