Spicy Cajun Country
USA: LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA:
By: Carole Terwilliger Meyers
Images courtesy of Louisiana Office of Tourism
Bittersweet music that gets your toes atappin'. Tasty food that will not be denied. A joyous culture that springs from a brutal past. This and much more are waiting to be discovered in this Southern outpost, located between Houston and New Orleans, and too often overlooked by travelers intent on getting somewhere else. Spending a day or two in the area provides the chance to absorb a bit of the surprise of this fascinating French-Canadian culture.
Lodging at the inexpensive Blue Moon Guest House & Saloon (www.bluemoonhostel.com) lets you experience living in an Acadian home that is more than 100 years old. It is a private hostel, and the owners are native Louisianians who can help with sightseeing questions, and live music is scheduled Wednesday through Sunday nights.
You'll want to visit the architecturally interesting St. John Cathedral, with its cemetery featuring above-ground burial chambers and a sprawling 450-year-old Live Oak tree. If you have kids in tow, take them to the hands-on Children's Museum of Acadiana where they can play off some of their excess energy. The Martin accordion factory, where Junior Martin makes finely-crafted diatonic "squeezeboxes" and sometimes gives impromptu demonstrations, is worth a go-see. And maybe, if you're lucky, you'll happen upon a back porch Zydeco music jam.
To more deeply grasp the area's bittersweet history, you need to look beneath the contemporary American culture and the landscape filled with fast-food outlets and car dealerships. Natives say that on the surface they are Americans, but underneath they're different. Find out why at the Jean Lafitte National Park Acadian Cultural Center (www.nps.gov/jela). A film and cultural exhibits tell the painful Acadian history in an easy-to-understand manner.
While here, don't miss chowing down some of the famous local cuisine, which includes such delights as jambalaya, gumbo, catfish, crawfish, dirty rice, pecan pie, and bread pudding. Several restaurant-dance halls dish up fabulous food along with a rollicking atmosphere. Prejean's Restaurant (www.prejeans.com) is famous for its 14-foot stuffed alligator, casual atmosphere, and live music. It's a must. So is Mulate's, where if you look like you need a lesson friendly locals will cut right in on the dance floor and teach you how to dance that Cajun two-step. Low-fat cooking hasn't caught on here. Dishes tend to be fat-heavy, but the locals don't worry about their cholesterol. One fellow laughed as he told me that "around here we dance it off and wash the rest down with a Lipitor."
And no one should leave here without taking a swamp tour in a high-speed boat. The exquisitely beautiful Atchafalaya river swamp is North America's largest and is among the top ten wilderness areas in the country. Family-owned Atchafalaya Experience offers a sensitive approach to what they call "Louisiana's answer to the Grand Canyon." Tours start off hold-on-to-your-hat fast, then slow down to view some of the area's plentiful wildlife, including alligators in season.
But don't get careless around those 'gators. A popular postcard here depicts a BIG smiling alligator with a dialogue balloon saying, "Send more tourists. The last ones were delicious."
More Information:
- Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission (800) 346-1958; www.lafayettetravel.com
- Who's Your Mama, Are You Catholic, and Can You Make a Roux?, by Marcelle Bienvenu (South Louisiana Publishing). Area cookbook.
