Friday, January 7, 2011

Promised Tour




The visits with our family in Louisiana,
almost always
include a trip into Natchitoches, a nearby town.

So grab a blanket &
hop on and take the promised tour!
~
Front Street is lined with shops, eateries &
the oldest general store in Louisiana.


I snapped a few shots inside Kaffie's while shopping.
Just imagine all those hard to find things (you can find them here)!
You can visit them on line Old Hardware Store.


This attic space is above the entrance.
Check out the old bicycles along with the shiny red wagons!
(love the little red fire truck & covered wagon)

The old cotton scale can be seen as you top the stairs.


Santa was busy at work,
 over by the old rope drawn elevator.


Upstairs was home to beautiful Christmas decorations for purchase.
I adore this old cabinet,
 filled with pine branches & decorations.
sorry I had to soften the edges, but the ladies did not sign a consent to have their pics taken :)


Let's head on down Front Street

The bank in the background is one of my favorites.
The combination of paint colors are beautiful.
The setting sun made the glow in the windows.
An old wagon was loaded with mums for Thanksgiving.
I've taken pictures at Thanksgiving & Christmas
 during our visits this year.

~let's do a little Christmas window shopping~

The picture below was taken the day after Christmas.
window looks a little naked ~ wouldn't you say?

Saved the best window for last!
It was late in the evening, my husband and I were
 strolling along front street, window shopping
and look who was people watching from the book store.
The architecture of all the old buildings is enough in itself.



Oops! Don't believe I've even mentioned these
beautiful buildings along the brick front street
are overlooking Cane River.

and starting Thanksgiving
 the town & river are adorned with lights & displays

Natchitoches has its abundance of
 beautiful churches in the downtown area.
The Catholic church below, being only one of them.

The day after Christmas my husband and I
spent a quiet evening in Natchitoches
at the Church Street Inn in the downtown area.
This was the view out our window.
The Catholic Church can be seen
 on the other side of the courtyard.






Saturday Nights are for fireworks!
Every Saturday night after Thanksgiving,
down by the river,
 just bring your lawn chair or blanket and
you might even like to have a funnel cake,
 hot chocolate or try a little boudin.

But, you can't leave town without getting a
Meat Pie from the World famous
Lasyone's.

I haven't even taken you on the tour of the beautiful homes.
~maybe another day~
Don't forget this is the little town
 where Steel Magnolias was filmed.
I am in no way compensated for advertising this
wonderful vacation spot.

~~~

I will leave you with a piece of the puzzle.
This little building stands on St. Denis street,
right off of Front Street.

 Holds a little
Place of my Heart

It housed my very own
Karen's Chocolate Delight
A candy/gift shop
back in the 90's.

Its looks have changed.
I hope to share my scrapbook with you soon
and show you pictures & memorabila
from those days.

We're bracing for a winter storm
a way down here in the south!

I cooked a pot of soup today
 and plan to cook
a pot of gumbo tomorrow.

We're wishing for snow!


23 comments:

Julie Harward said...

Such a gorgeous place...I want to go there! So many places to visit and so little money! LOL

Jackie said...

Yep!Y'all are gonna get snow! I saw that you may get 2 to 4 inches where you live!Have fun! We are gonna get a wintry mix of sleet and snow.

The pictures of Natchitoches were gorgeous, and not just because I'm a Louisianian!

Walk In Truth said...

Oh, I wish I were there! I love old buildings. What a wonderful trip, and you captured it so perfectly in the photos.

God bless you

Anonymous said...

What an enchanting place! You have made me long to visit there. Hope you have a nice weekend with just the right amount of snow to enjoy the soup and gumbo and a cozy nap by the fire!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful place and photos dear Karen!
Have a nice weekend, Zondra Art

PAINTORDIG.blogspot.com said...

Louisiana will always be a part of me,I miss it terribly.Wonderful photos.

Teresa@1800 Farmhouse Rd said...

I want to go there!! I have my bags packed already waiting for the next time you go, so all I have to do is load up. lol How Beautiful!! I am ready for this snow, as long as we don't get ice, and lose power for days. Of coarse, there is nothing I can do to control any of it, is there? And yes, I am ready to go antiquing soon! I already know what I want. I went window shopping the other day, and I have several things picked out. Can't wait.

Lori said...

I love Natchitoches! I enjoy every time you post pictures. I have been to weddings in the church and of course Lasyone's. Also been to the lights, need to go again. I wonder how many of your readers know what or how to pronounce boudin!

Rose said...

Karen, thank you for stopping by my blog. It's always wonderful to meet a sister in Christ and a fellow Mississippian. I too am looking forward to getting to know you.
Thank you for sharing the beautiful photos. It has been ages since I have been there and it brings back fond memories.
Have a blessed day.

Debbie said...

Karen, this is wonderful, and it would be a place that I would love to visit. It's EXACTLY the type of little town that I love. I'm going to google it to see just where it's located. Maybe in the future, it can be part of a vacation adventure.

My favorite shot is the wagon with the mums.

Vintagesouthernlife said...

Oh my what a wonderful tour. I would love to go! The buildings are just beautiful and the unique little stores look like such fun!

Have a good week-end,
Annette

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

Thanks Karen for stopping by today. I am feeling much better. Tomorrow it is back to school.

I haven't been to Natchitoches in FOREVER! I must have been high school the last time I was there. Great pictures you've posted here.

Hope you are having a great weekend. Tammy

Amanda said...

Charming!

Melanie said...

Those photos are amazing! I would love to go there. I have never been, and it is on my 'must do' list. Looks like so much fun.

Blessings,
Melanie

Nikki (Sarah) said...

what a perfect and quaint town. I would love to go there. And your shots were perfect.

Elizabeth Dianne said...

This was truly delightful, Karen. What I wouldn't give to take some pictures of those beautiful churches. Guess I'm gonna have to make a trip down there.

Always thinking of you,
Love,
Dianne

Susan Nowell @ My Place to Yours said...

Oh, Karen, I'm so glad you stopped by my blog earlier -- so I could find yours! This post brings back so many wonderful memories. We lived in Pineville, LA from 1995-2001. My youngest daughter attended The Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts in Natchitoches, so we were in town there often! In fact, we moved to TN while she completed her senior year (it was a residential high school) then returned to Natchitoches for graduation week, staying at the fabulous Maison Louisiane B&B and hosting our family's graduation celebration there. Some day I'd like to return with my husband for a vacation - and a "fix" of meat pies! We can make a mean gumbo, but we haven't quite perfected the meat pies...

Thanks for the memories. I'll be following and hope to hear more about the shop you had in LA.

Kathleen said...

Looks like a great place to visit. Looking forward to your scrapbook posts, Kathleen.

Janettessage.blogspot.com said...

Oh thanks so much...I feel like I got to go this year!!! I had the best bread pudding there. We have pictures of the benches with us as newly weds, then four of our kids and then just the two of us last year this time. The spiral staircase is also one of our favorite picture spots.
Oh I want to jump in my car right now and go...but by far, Christmas time is the best time to visit...but I haven't visited in the spring, so maybe I will try then.
Thanks...so enjoyed...your photography skills are just great!!!

Shelly Wildman said...

WOW! What great photos. Makes me want to visit.

Moore's said...

Karen, what beautiful photos!!! Of course, I love Natchitoches!! You did an amazing tour!!!

FrouFrouBritches said...

GORGEOUS PHOTOS! I have always wanted to go there, especially during Christmas. I hear they have a great Christmas festival of sorts? It looks wonderful!

Tonya said...

Oh, sooo pretty there! I hope I can travel someday and see other places around the US with my kids and husband. How FUN that you owned a chocolate shop!! That is wonderful!! And gumbo?! You made me want to cook some! I'm gonna have to fish out some okra at the grocery store and surprise my husband! He LOVES gumbo! Thanks for sharing, and thank you for following me at my blog! :)