Nottoway Plantation, White Castle, Louisiana USA (5/4/11)

One of my absolute favourite places was this. We stumbled across this mansion, like so many places in America, just stumbled across them. We were driving along and saw a sign for the Nottoway Mansion. Well, I'm a sucker for a nice house, and I just had to take a look. Well, we ended up staying the night. We were both in love with the place, and next time we go to America, we will definitely stay in the Mansion for more than a night. There are alot of photos but you will be amazed. It is actually owned now by a Sydney man and has so much history. It's well worth a visit. I could live in it. I love it.

Nottoway Plantation is in White Castle Louisiana which is kind of in between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Now, originally we were heading straight to New Orleans, but as the tornado warnings were pretty high in New Orleans we were told to stick close by here or to head North, so we avoided New Orleans for now, and didn't end up getting there.
You can actually read all about its history here. It's quite interesting to read about the family and the history of the home. I wish I had bought the book now. Roberts sister has been there apparently. We didn't know that at the time.

The mansion itself has been restored to its original glory and you can stay in it. It was actually completed in 1859 and has 64 rooms in the main mansion. They also have cottages on the property which are gorgeous, that is where we stayed. The rooms are ultra modern and roomy. They have their own kitchens, and are quite grand. We had a little balcony with rocking chairs, gorgeous gardens and all.

The restaurant in the Mansion was one of the best meals we had in all of America. The service was lovely, the food was to die for, the wine was lovely. I could honestly just stay there for a month. This is where I first ate grits. I did have grits elsewhere, but they were not nice anywhere else but here.

Check this out....what a front door and verandah?? Can you even see me?? Did you know why these mansions had two sets of stairs, one on either side of the house? One side was for the men, and one for the daughters of the house, as young men were not allowed to see the ankles of the daughters of the house before they were married, so the fathers of the house had two sets of stairs built....

If you stand on the balcony, and stand looking toward where I took the photo from, the Mississippi River runs right along there across the front of the house. Its magical & loud.

Nottoway was owned by the Randolf Family who are buried on the property. We actually met a lovely couple in the Randolf Cemetry and chatted for quite a while. They were as fascinated by life in Australia as we were by life in America and how different things are.

This was taken from the Cemetry. the lights you can see are the restaurant. back when the Randolfs owned the home, the restaurant was a bowling alley for the children.

The following photo's are courtesy of The Nottoway website as we weren't allowed to take photo's with a flash inside the restored home, as the flash slowly deteriorates the fabrics and artworks that are originals.
So, I borrowed them from http://www.nottoway.com/

This is Mrs Randolfs Parlour

 sitting room....

The dining room.....

The music room.....

The sitting/reading room...

This room was absolutley amazing. The White Ballroom. Everything was white &/or gold. The floor, the walls, the furniture. It was glorious. If you want a better look, go to the website. Its amazing. I wanted to stay in there, but as its a tour, you only get a certain amount of time in there. Its glorious.

They hold heaps of weddings in here, and I can see why. It's mezmerizing. The pictures just don't show it like it is in real life. I just wanted to stay there. It's magical and romantic. The floor is so shiny, glossy. I just love it.

Cannot wait to go back here!!