Thankful to have had the chance to escape this long winter to spend a few days thawing out with my parents and brother down in Natchez, MS last weekend. Spent 2 days touring antebellum homes during Spring Pilgrimage and eating southern cuisine! Here are photos from the first day.

Flew into Memphis and started things off right with BBQ pulled pork before heading south.

Had dinner in Natchez at Pearl Street Pasta, definitely the best meal of the trip. Excellent red fish!

We toured 4 houses each day. Linden (circa 1790) was the first house we toured.

Longwood (1861) is a home that was never finished. While the outside was complete, work on the inside was put on hold when the civil war began and was never finished as the owner passed away 3 years later. While I am sure it would have been amazing to see finished, it was neat to see and take pictures of the raw structure. The grounds around the house were also nice to walk, very serene.

Then we had lunch at Mammy’s Cupboard, and yes, you can sit and eat in her dress :-). Loved the turkey sandwich with blueberry chutney. Will have to learn how to make this once summer rolls around. The pie was also very good, and they’ve got quite the list!

Next up was Richmond (1784), which looks like a Greek Revival from the front.

But if you look from the side, you can see where there have been two additions in different styles of architecture.  The middle of the house was the original in French Plantation (1784), then the Greek Revival front was added (1832), followed by the Colonial addition on the back (1860).

Last was The Elms, which is now a B&B.  House was okay, loved the huge front porch and the front yard.

Inside of St. Mary Basilica.

Random photo that turned out to look like a Beatles tribute.  Can you name the album?

Had dinner at Magnolia Grill.  The river view was nice, the food was average and a bit pricey.

Overcast evening on the Mississippi.

Stay tuned for Day 2 photos…