On the Road: Cuisine & Culture in Acadiana Louisiana

Activity note: Hotel check-in 4:00 PM. Easy walking inside hotel; at your discretion if you’d like to go out.

Afternoon: Program Registration: After you have your room assignment, check the message board for the location to register with the Road Scholar program staff, which is also where the Orientation session will take place. If your arrival is delayed, please contact your group leader. Registration and Orientation: 4:00 PM. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. Periods in the daily schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will always be happy to offer suggestions. As a special bonus, you will have voucher to use at a popular jazz club and the Louisiana State Museum.

Dinner: We will have a Welcome Dinner at the hotel this evening.

Evening: At leisure. Live music fills the Carousel Bar & Lounge overlooking Royal Street right inside our historic hotel — a French Quarter landmark since 1886. The Carousel evokes a spirit of fun with the renowned Merry-Go-Round, the city’s only revolving bar. Live music continues on Wednesday and Thursday evenings.

Activity note: Getting on/off a motorcoach. Walking 1 block from hotel to bus for field trip.

Breakfast: Breakfast will be served at a buffet in the hotel.

Morning: We'll start our day at the hotel with a morning lecture. In this introduction to New Orleans, we’ll learn about our history and culture, traditions, celebrations, people, and what it means when we say, “It’s a New Orleans thing.” The entertaining class is taught by a humorist who has lived here all her life. She exudes the “joie de vivre” that makes New Orleanians distinctively memorable. e’ll board a motorcoach and continue our delightful introduction to New Orleans as our instructor points out significant sites and reveals more about the city’s people, traditions, and unique culture. We’ll make stops at highlights along the way, including: Lake Pontchartrain, Bayou St. John, City Park with its magnificent oak trees and Sculpture Garden, and one of the famed and mysterious above-ground cemeteries where the departed — from pirates to voodoo queens — are interred.

Lunch: We’ll dine at the world renowned New Orleans School of Cooking. Here an expert local chef will teach us how to cook Creole and Cajun cuisine, as they explain the difference. We’ll see the preparation of a traditional dish, then have it for dinner. For dessert, we’ll sample the best pralines in town!

Afternoon: Reboarding our coach we will then make a visit to the Museum of Free People of Color. With a local expert, we will receive insider access to this historic house museum dedicated to preserving the culture & of the free people of color in New Orleans. After our guided visit, the remainder of the afternoon/evening will be on your own.

Dinner: Dinner will be on your own this evening, at your own expense, so that you may experience whatever restaurant or cuisine you desire. Feel free to ask your Group Leader for restaurant suggestions.

Evening: At leisure. Experience nightlife in the French Quarter. If you’re a music aficionado, there are lots of options. We have provided a voucher (drink included) for Fritzel’s European Jazz Club. The French Quarter has something to offer for almost every interest and taste.

Activity note: Getting on/off a motorcoach & water vessels. Walking 1 block from hotel to bus pick up. Walking over 2 miles throughout the day during field trips.

Breakfast: Breakfast will be served at a buffet in the hotel.

Morning: After checking out of the hotel, we will board the coach and head out of New Orleans up to Whitney Plantation. An active plantation from 1752-1975, the museum contains many original historical structures, which are a part of the National Register of Historic Places. The museum is dedicated to educating the public about the history of slavery in the US and on this site that produced indigo, sugar & rice for over 200 years.

Lunch: At a local roadside stop, we will break for lunch as we continue our way up to Baton Rouge.

Afternoon: Following lunch, we will make our way to up Laplace, LA where we will board a boat for expert led exploration of a local swamp & wildlife refuge. Here we will learn about the American Alligator's habitat and the early days of Louisiana bayou swamp explorations. We will then continue onto Baton Rouge, Louisiana's capital.

Dinner: At a local restaurant

Evening: At the hotel, we will hear from a local historian/performer about Huey Long, the famed Louisiana politician.

Activity note: Getting on/off a motorcoach. Walking over 2 miles throughout the day on city sidewalks during field trips.

Breakfast: At the hotel

Morning: We will start our day with a lecture at the hotel on the history of Baton Rouge before boarding the motorcoach and heading out on an expert-led exploration of the city.

Lunch: At a local restaurant

Afternoon: Our afternoon will start with a guided visit to the Old State Capitol. The building, re-opened as the Center for Political and Governmental History, is an architectural feat that hosts rotating exhibits and historical artifacts. After a visit to the past, we will make our way to present day and visit the current State Capitol. The tallest capitol in the US, the building stands at 340 ft. and hosts an observation deck boasting grand views of Baton Rouge and beyond. The Capitol also sits on 27 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds.

Dinner: Dinner is on your own this evening to explore what you like.

Evening: At leisure.

Activity note: Getting on/off a motorcoach. Walking over 2 miles throughout the day on paved and dirt pathways during field trips.

Breakfast: At the hotel

Morning: This morning we will venture to Jean Lafitte National Park to visit the Acadian Cultural Center. This site tells the story of the Acadians who settled in this region of marshes & bayous. With an expert park ranger, we will explore the site's exhibits to learn about the Lafayette region people's origins, settlements, and culture. After our visit to the Cultural Center, we will make our way down the road to Vermillionville, a 23-acre living history museum featuring historic homes & costume artisans. Here we will be met by a local expert to provide us with an overview of the historic area, before breaking off for a self-led exploration of this cultural melting pot of Native American, Acadian, Creole, and African people of the Attakapas region.

Lunch: At a local restaurant.

Afternoon: This afternoon we will get an opportunity to learn about the French Creole language. With a local expert we will learn about the unique langue's origins, and get an opportunity to learn some key phrases and terminology.

Dinner: At a local restaurant

Evening: Back at the hotel, this evening we will hear tunes from a local musician.

Activity note: Getting on/off a motorcoach. Walking up to 2 miles throughout the day.

Breakfast: At the hotel

Morning: This morning we will board out motor coach and head out to Avery Island to visit the Tabasco Factory & Museum. It was here that the popular table top red pepper hot sauce was developed nearly 150 years ago. This self-guided visit, will take you through the history and process of making Tabasco Sauce. We will then reboard the motorcoach and visit the Chitimacha Museum. The Chitimacha people were the first inhabitants of the region, and peaceful nation known for their living off the land, water, and basket weaving. Here at the museum we will meet with a local expert who will show us many artifacts dating back to the 1600s, and the efforts to preserving their trbal language.

Lunch: At a local restaurant.

Afternoon: After lunch, we will board the motorcoach and make our way up to St Martinville, LA. This city is the seat of the St Martinville Parish and was the 6th community in Louisiana to be incorporated into a city. With a local expert, we will be led around the city full of history and buildings of a bygone era that is full of Creole heritage. We will end our visit with a stop at the Longfellow-Evangeline State Historic Site. This site honor's the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow character, Evangeline, from "Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie" that helped to educate the country on the people known today as Cajuns, who moved to Louisiana from Canada over 200 years ago. The site features a reproduction of an 1800s farmstead including an outdoor kitchen, slave quarters, and barn with cattle/animals typically raised by Creole/Acadians at the time. Here, an local expert will lead us through the site and explain how the site combines a mixture of Creole, Caribbean, and French influences.

Dinner: At a local restaurant

Evening: At leisure

Activity note: Getting on/off a motorcoach & water vessels

Breakfast: At the hotel

Morning: This morning we will make our way down to the bayou to learn about the shrimping industry. Here we will get an education on the various types of vessels used in catching shrimp, the sustainability/environmental efforts of the industry, along with the processing/unloading, and finally how the shrimp makes its way to your local store and home.

Lunch: At a local restaurant

Afternoon: A visit to the south bayou isn't complete with one last swamp exploration. We will make our way to a local Ecological park filled with alligators, snapping turtles, nutrias, etc. After learning about the creatures we will then head out into the swamps on a watercraft to see the animals we've learned about, and hear more about life from a local on the bayou.

Dinner: At the local visitor center, we will be met by many folks of call Houma, "home." Here we will take part in a local seafood boil featuring fresh crab, crawfish, & shrimp. Specific dietary needs will be accommodated. Share favorite experiences and enjoy camaraderie with new Road Scholar friends. As we enjoy our farewell feast, we will be serenaded with local Cajun Music.

Evening: At leisure to prepare for departure in the morning.

Activity note: Getting on/off a motorcoach; departure at 8:30 a.m. Trip to New Orleans International Airport is 45 miles, approximately 1-1.5 hour depending on traffic; expected arrival approximately 9:45 a.m. Recommend scheduling flights that depart after 11:00 a.m.

Breakfast: At the hotel

Morning: Travelling in and out of Houma without your own vehicle is difficult and time consuming, so we have scheduled a group transfer back to New Orleans. Departure from Houma is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. The trip to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) is approximately 1-1.5 hours depending on traffic, with expected arrival by 9:45 a.m. Recommend scheduling flights that depart after 11:00 a.m. This concludes our program. If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to like our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!