Our last day in the US, and Voyage "Home".

With Jude and Lindsey married, we had just a couple things to wrap up - Presents for Christmas. We packed their presents to bring with us from London, which then afforded us space in our luggage to take back all of our supplies to hold us over there for a while.














We drove one last time out to Cecilia with Jonathan to see Tony's Father and deliver them.















I think we both had mixed emotions about wrapping things up there in the US, and starting the long voyage back to London. The US is a really great place to live, and particularly Louisiana where there is such beautiful country, great food, and a good and affordable quality of life.

For lunch that day, we went for one last Cajun meal. This time, we drove out to Henderson to Pat's Seafood. Tony's father is a regular there, and the waitress, finding out that this was our last meal before heading out to the UK, brought us a plate of Fried Catfish on the house. It was a really sweet thought.



After lunch, we walked around the restaurant to the wharf where they have Aligators and Aligator Turtles. It was nice to see that the Aligators would let the Turtles use them as floatation devices. It made me hope that a world so full of vicious aligators might have the peace to allow others to rest on them.



We made our way to the airport, and watched as the sun set in the west - in the direction of Los Angeles and our real home. We sent out prayers to our friends and family further west than we managed to get on this trip, and planned to return to this country soon.






We did manage to get one last food item from our "must-eat list" in just before boarding the plane from Dallas to London. We found a Dunkin' Donuts shop that had an Apple Fritter (Meche's was out everytime we went there).

Just in the nick of time, I got my Apple Fritter.





Tony joined me and got one last scoop of his beloved Blue Bell Ice Cream.






10 hours later, we were flying in over the icey and snow-covered Scottish highlands. Yes, we'd returned to the land of the cold and damp. I'm sure we'll get used to it again, but getting the chance to wear short sleeve shirts and sit in the warm sun was a nice break.

Bon Temps and the Bayou

When describing to my co-workers in London where I was going in the US, I would tell them that it was like the town of Bon Temps (which means Good Times) on the TV show "True Blood".










They actually shoot most of it in Los Angeles, but they shoot some location work up in Shreveport, Louisiana, which is just a little further north than Lafayette.






Tony's family lives in Cecilia, which is a little town just south of Lafayette. It is right on the waterway Bayou Teche, and borders a town called Breaux Bridge, which is named for the bridge that is right in the center of town.





Both towns grew up around the Bayous, which in the early days were important avenues for trade.

Tony laughs at me, as I like to walk down to the Bayou, which he takes for granted, but I think of as a unique place (remember, I grew up in Los Angeles where the only waterways were those lined with concrete).




It is a very unique and picturesque area.

One day, at sunset, the light was almost magical coming off the bayou. I walked around taking snaps and listening to the quiet noises of nature.



The colors were very different from the blues and greys one sees in London.

Tony always describes his backyard as being the community cemetery, which it is. I always find it interesting to see all of the aboveground crypts that they have down in that part of the country.






Sugar Cane and Rice are the main crops down here. In a lot of the Lafayette area, one can still find beautiful sugar cane fields. Sadly, little by little, they are being dug up and replaced by housing developements.






The other big crop (if you can call it that) is raising crawfish. You can find large crawfish ponds out in the Cecilia/Breaux Bridge area. Breaux Bridge calls itself the "Crawfish Capitol of the World".















You can even find wild crawfish digging their little stacks in grass fields. Tony has been very happy to discover that he can get crawfish in the UK as they raise them in Northern England and in Sweden. In fact, when we visited Sweden, it was at the height of their Crawfish Season.

Pecans are also a wild crop as many people have these huge Pecan trees growing in their yards. Many small businesses pay people to collect the pecans from their yards and deliver it to them. They in turn shell them and sell them. When we immigrated to the UK, we brought a whole bag of Louisiana Pecans from Tony's yard. They're almost all gone now.

The Big Fat Cajun Wedding

We'd traveled to Louisiana for Tony's Nephew's Wedding, and as the day drew closer, I got to experience some of the traditions that make up a Cajun Wedding. As so many people from extended families are still in the area, they make for huge social affairs.

The night before the wedding, they had the Rehearsal, and the Rehearsal Dinner. The wedding is being held in a church in Breaux Bridge that is built out of bricks that the church brick factory made specifically for the construction of this church.

We drove out early in the day, and on the way, we stopped at McDonald's to get the Classic Bacon Egg and Cheese Biscuit - something you can't get in London. On a side note, The McRib (the ultimate Crime Against Nature) is back. Think pork parts pressed into a mold that makes it look like Spareribs.

Run for your life!

After the rehearsal, we adjourned to the future In-Laws house for another Cajun tradition. The Garage Gumbo. The in-laws family had cooked up a big pot of chicken and sausage (fresh from the slaughterhouse Andouille Sausage) gumbo over an open gas burner. You can't get more authentic than this.










They also served it with homemade potato salad. Yummy!



It was so nice and homey to be standing out in someone's yard eating and drinking. . . and it wasn't cold! It reminded me of all the backyard dinners we used to have.







Tony's father even had a beer, and he seldom drinks.









For their dessert that evening Jude and Lindsey had a Cookie Cake. The celebration was made just so hometown by being located in the family garage/playroom.



The following day was the big event. All dressed up in their finest, Jude and Lindsey were married in a very pretty ceremony.



Though I've quite honestly never been to a wedding that wasn't pretty.

The reception was held in a hall not far from the church. We made a quick stop at the Drive-thru Daiquiri stand to get a drink because as Tony put it after all the drama so far, and all the drama that remained that night, he could use it.





They had a nice buffet dinner featuring, Shrimp Dip, Boudin Balls, and Cajun Roast Pork. They also had a lovely wedding cake, though the Groomsmen's Red Velvet Cake complete with a photo Jude's motorcycle on top was better.








They had dancing at the reception, and Tony's dad got up and danced. And he can! There were waltzes and two steps and even line dances. It was definitely country.

The high point of the evening was when Ray, Jude's older brother, having been beaten to the alter by his younger brother had to dance with a broom that Tony had decorated the broom to look like a woman with pigtails. Ray was a great sport and took it all in stride.

It was a lovely wedding, and we wish Jude and Lindsey all the happiness in the world.

Food American Style

Having lived in London now for over a year, there is a distinct style that I can say applies to American food. It is big. It is brash. It is bold. and often. . .







It is FRIED!

Upon our return to the US, there were certain foods that we were dying for. At the top of the list was FRIED CHICKEN. And not just any fried chicken. We wanted Popeye's and we wanted the Colonel's.



I know, they have KFC in the UK, but somehow it seems that a few of the 11 secret herbs and spices have gone missing as it doesn't taste like the KFC anywhere in the US. I've tried it twice in desperation in London, and it is just wrong. Also, though they serve it with chips (fries), they don't serve it with biscuits, and that is also just plain wrong. I think the british would love it with biscuits, or as they call them Scones.

Popeye's Fried Chicken was our first stop after landing in Lafayette. We picked up Chicken Dinners - Spicy - with Red Beans and Rice for me and Dirty Rice for Tony. And boy was it GOOD! We managed to eat at Popeyes once more, and still managed to fit in a stop at KFC.

I saw that KFC is offering a Fried Chicken and Bacon Sandwich and it comes with cheese and potato wedges. . .

Maybe, there should be more limits on how Bold American food can get. This is a heart attack just waiting to happen!






One morning, we went to the Cracker Barrel. It is basically a cute throwback to the general store concept with a bit of Truck Stop thrown in. Tony and I were both dying for a classic American breakfast.


I ordered the Fried Breakfast Plate which consisted of Fried Eggs, Fried Apples, Grits, Biscuits, and Country Fried Steak with White Gravy. With good American Coffee! My arteries were hardening just looking at it. And boy was it GOOD!




Our waitress was very sweet. She'd been deployed in Afganistan, so she understood our happiness to be back in the US and enjoying US foods. She brought us a plate with yet another American Classic Biscuits and Gravy.





One day, Tony and I stopped at a small country food joint that is run by some of his friends to pickup a Cajun classic for lunch one day - Boudin (pronounced Boo-dan) Sausage. You don't find this much outside of Louisiana.








It is similar to Haggis as it is Meat leftovers mixed with Spices and Rice, and then stuffed into a sausage casing.







You can eat it plain, or on a piece of bread like a sandwich with Mayonnaise. So maybe healthy isn't necessarily a requisite for a food to be American.








The other food we were dying for was a good inexpensive Mexican Dinner. You can get Mexican food in London, but if you want anything besides a burrito or Taco, you are going to pay for a gourmet meal. We wanted good, plentiful, and cheap Mexican food.






I ordered a round of Margaritas, and they brought us free chips and salsa.







I ordered a Chicken Enchilada and a Pork Tamale. They came with refried beans and spanish rice. Nothing fancy, and the price was $7 or 4.5 GBP. You won't find that anywhere in the UK.






We were in heaven. We also managed to meet up with Tony's old friends Clint, and Art and his partner. It was a lovely evening enjoying good cheap Mexican food and great Margaritas.







One can't go to Louisiana and not partake of the local classic Cajun dishes - especially the ones involving crawfish. One of my favorites is Crawfish Etoufee, which is crawfish sauteed in a slightly spicy cream sauce and served over rice. If that's not heavy enough on its own, it is served with a side of potato salad. Yummy.



Another specialty is Crawfish Stew, which is Crawfish cooked in a rich brown sauce and served with a dollop of rice and of course some potato salad on the side.

Did I mention that there is a nod to health in these dishes? They are served with a small side of green beans cooked with bacon.





One thing that Tony and I do love is a good cup of American style coffee. Coffee and Louisiana (and particularly the port of New Orleans) has long had a connection to the South American Coffee Trade.




The local brand of coffee in Louisiana is Community. You will find it everywhere. They recently started doing highend coffee houses in the Lafayette area. I was saddened to see that 2 of their coffee houses had closed and at least 3 different Starbucks had opened in their place.


I guess this is the future as major conglomorates force out regional distinctiveness in favor of the "Gapification" of the planet. We made a point of stopping at the Community Coffee Shops almost every day while in Lafayette.





One last local delicacy. . .

The british are famous for creating fun flavored Potato Chips. The Cajuns also have a fun flavor that is hard to get outside of Louisiana - Zapp's Spicy Cajun Craw Taters. They make for a perfect road food.