Spring in Natchez

Next stop, Natchez, Mississippi.  Scenes along the way included some pretty farms and yes, a quilt shop!   

This is Quilt n Stitch in West Monroe, LA.  It is much larger than it appears in this photo.  They are Bernina dealers and have a huge classroom and lots of nice fabrics.  Plus some beautiful azaleas out front. 

Our destination in Natchez was The Burn Bed and Breakfast.  If you've got a minute, check out their website to get the whole story of this historic home built back in 1830.  It was occupied by Union soldiers during the Civil War and now is home to a gorgeous bed and breakfast filled with many beautiful antiques and just as many stories.  Since it was the middle of the week and we were the only guests for the night, we received a private tour of the home by the owner's daughter. 

The front view of the house is deceiving.  With about 11,000 square feet, this house is much bigger than it seems in this photo and the live oak in front is huge!

This is a view of the back side from the gardens.  The azaleas were beautiful  here too but we had just missed the camellias.  The original owner had planted over 100 varieties. 

Though the home is filled with period antiques, only a few of them are original. This dining table and chairs were some of them.  Someone has taken a lot of time (and money!) to meticulously recreate this historic home.

We were served a delicious breakfast in the guests' dining room (this room had been used as a horse barn during the Union occupation!) complete with eggs, sausage, bread pudding and grits.  I didn't think I liked grits, but these were pretty good. 

This was our room.  Pretty. 

In the garden, the sound of this pretty fountain and  the birds singing was quite relaxing.  Usually we tend to stay in Hampton Inns or Best Westerns (they are motorcycle friendly) but we had received a Bed and Breakfast .com gift card for our anniversary. (Thank you!) This was a welcome treat to be able to stay in such a beautiful inn.

Before we left Natchez, we drove through town to see some of the other sights.  I wish we had spent another day so we could tour some of the antebellum mansions like the Rosalie.  We walked around the grounds but didn't go in. 

There were several interesting shops downtown.  This photo was taken from the second floor of Darby's Gifts and Decorative Accessories. 

We ate an early lunch before leaving town at this restaurant.  Mammy's Cupboard has been a tourist attraction for many years and though she's showing her age a little, she still knows how to serve a nice meal.

She's famous for her Blueberry Lemonade and chicken salad.  I tried both :)

The Natchez Trace Parkway was on the itinerary next.  We wanted to take advantage of the wonderful spring weather and get headed up through Mississippi.  It's a good thing we didn't spend more time playing tourist in Natchez as we might not have gotten out of the state before bad weather hit.  Luckily we made it home dry and safely. 

I'll be back tomorrow with a wrap up of the final (long) phase of our trip.  Thanks for joining us on a visit to Natchez!