Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Baton Rouge is the Capital of Louisiana, situated on the Mississippi River.  We found it a clean city and very quiet - very little traffic mid morning on a Tuesday and very few pedestrians - in contrast to the freeways that surround it, pouring 6 lanes of traffic to and from....somewhere.  We have no problems finding a roomy carpark beside the river mid city, taking up 4 spaces for $20 all day.  One block away is the Visitor Centre where we are served coffee while being advised on the city sights.

We walk a few blocks to the Capital Building, an art deco 34 storey tower built by the then Governor Huey Long, who was a flamboyant character who got things done, perhaps sometimes in a shady way.  He got many roads paved, ensured schoolchildren got textbooks and started a bus service for schoolchildren. He had great ambition and was tipped to become President.  He made enemies however, and at the age of 42 was assassinated in the Capital Building in 1932.

The Capital Building is lovely, marble walls, brass art deco chandeliers and inlaid timber desks in the House of Representatives and Senate.  We were conducted on a personal tour by one of the aides.From the Observation Deck there is a great view of the city and river.  Next stop was the "old" Capital Building, built in castle gothic style with a lovely cast iron and timber spiral staircase leading up to a beautiful stained glass vaulted ceiling. 

At lunch in a nearby grill we tried fried green tomatoes for an appetiser (slices of green tomato fried in a thin crisp batter and served with hollandaise).  Almost feel guilty to admit that I haven't yet seen "Steel Magnolias" or "Fried Green Tomatoes" both of which were filmed in this State.

Our third stop was at the old Governor's Mansion where a delightful gentleman gave us a lengthy tour.  The building was built by Huey Long.  Deciding that the existing Mansion was not suitable, he had it pulled down and a new one built in the image of the White House, though to a smaller scale.

After arriving home to our RV we walked across to an amazing shopping outlet called Bass Pro Shops.  It is an outdoor shop for fishermen and hunters, containing boats, all manner of fishing gear, guns, archery, clothing and a restaurant.  It is a totally themed store to look like a bayou with cypress trees covered in moss, ponds and fish tanks stocked with real fish and ducks, and stuffed animals - a theme park for boys toys! (girls too I suppose).  The store covers 163,000 sq.ft or three and half football fields. We had fish, shrimp and calamari for dinner, during which a thunderstorm struck so we had to run home in the rain!

So ends another interesting day!