Gorgeous Plantations in New Orleans

Plantations in New Orleans? Which to choose? If you only have one day – where to go? In Louisiana, there are 12 plantations, and Oak Alley Plantation would definitely be one of the most photographed. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to make it to all 12 of them, I only got to 2, and I had wanted to see at least a couple more. There doesn’t seem to be an end to how many things I keep adding to my bucket list…

It’s neverending…

Choosing a plantation in New Orleans wasn’t that hard. For some weird reason I had some ticks going on I just had to visit Oak Alley Plantation, I don’t know why. When I arrived it all felt so familiar. Well, I am an eager advocate for reincarnation, so who knows, maybe I’ve been here before?

That’s what I thought… but oh, well, oh, no!

Instead, it turned out the movie “Interview with a Vampire” also has scenes from this plantation.

Was there no ending to how much media has affected/is affecting me??

The reason I chose Whitney Plantation of all the other plantations in New Orleans was probably that I was interested in their slave exhibition. Or maybe it was because it was a combined tour to both Oak Alley and Whitney the same day, and I jumped on it. It could’ve been so simple, or I might have been brainwashed… Don’t know… Don’t care… I was there…

Oak Alley Plantation

Oak Alley Plantation, whose original name was Bon Séjour plantation, was founded by Aime, a rich French guy, who had bought the grounds to cultivate sugar cane. Aime soon became famous as the “King of Sugar” and one of the richest in the south. It took 3 years to build the main house, completely built by slaves, and let me just say Wow! The main house is still today, almost 200 years later amazingly beautiful.

Today Oak Alley Plantation is owned by the Oak Alley Foundation, and it’s open for tourists. Even if you choose to not buy the ticket to enter the main house, it’s a beautiful area for just walking around. I entered the house since an entrance ticket to the house was included in my tour, and I should recommend you do that. While you’re there.

The oaks outside are incredibly big and beautiful, and I was so fascinated by these lovely oaks wherever I walked in New Orleans. Their roots, their branches. Such incredibly beautiful beings, and yes, I say beings, because they are after all alive! On the tour inside the main house, we stepped out on the balcony to gaze out over the famous oak alley. The staff knew their oaks well, and informed us exactly how old they were and why they were planted, and in whose honour.

oak alley plantation slave quarters — *Slave quarters*

Whitney Plantation

On Whitney Plantation I got annoyed. You were not allowed to walk around by yourself, as on Oak Alley, but were forced to walk around with a guide. This makes me uncomfortable – that’s just me – and the slave exhibition on the Whitney Plantation was very moving and I didn’t feel comfortable feeling all the emotions of this exhibition with random people around. I felt like crying at any given moment, but who the frack is bawling in groups? No, I don’t think so!

The main house wasn’t at all as grand and well kept as Oak Alley, but the most important thing here was the slave exhibition. After tall. Taking part of the human destinies was moving.

In the beginning, the guide promised we would have 30 minutes by ourselves alone after the tour.

The guide was probably the most talkative person I ever met, and I’ve met a few! Even for an American, she was annoyingly talkative! This was insanity! She kept rambling well past time – 45 minutes past time! That meant we didn’t have any alone time and when she finally shut up we were already late for the bus. And then as if that wasn’t enough she had the audacity to ask for a good review on TripAdvisor.

Ehhh? No?

whitney plantation slave house bed — *A slave bed… which was probably shared by several…*

whitney plantation slave quarters house inside — *In the small cabin, there was, apart from the bed, a spinning wheel and a chair. Things kept from those days. Everyone didn’t necessarily have them in their quarters…*

whitney plantation slave prison cells — *When one was misbehaving one could end up in one of these! These were not original from Whitney, but came from another plantation. These were however typical from that time.*

whitney plantation slave quarters — *Slave quarters*

whitney plantation bell — *Food, work and sleep bell!*

That was something I noticed about the US – everyone seemed totally fixated with good digital reviews. Every guide I had was in the end pushing for great reviews. Every restaurant and hotel too.

But no, in this case, if you promise one thing in the beginning but miss out on keeping your promise because you are just rambling like a complete lunatic, simply because you love the sound of your own voice – then I won’t give you a great review. No matter how knowledgeable you are. Stick to your schedule, human!

Have you visited Oak Alley Plantation? What’s your opinion? Please leave a comment.