Vermilionville and St. Johns Cathedral, Lafayette, LA

Nadine and I visited Vermilionville in Lafayette, a living history museum and folk life park that depicts Acadian, Creole and Native American cultures, 1765–1890. This time of the year, there were very few visitors and some exhibits were not open. A few guides in costumes were available to give in-person interpretations to the exhibits in both French and English in one of the houses.

The park has separate historical houses that showcased different aspects of life in those days, and the people who lived there. There were informative displays throughout the path around the park. We had a nice leisurely walk along the path, parts of it borders the Bayou Vermilion. We also went into a auditorium that probably would have featured live Cajun music during the tourist season.

Since I am a quilter, I found the rooms with looms and quilts quite interesting.

The self-guided tour ended back at the entrance/visitor center where there were additional exhibits, including Mardi Gras regalia and costumes.

On the way back to Beau Bridge, we stopped at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist to admire the Cathedral Oak front of the church. The photo below simply could not capture the spread of this tree, one of the largest iving oak in the US estimated to be about 500 years old.

We also went into the Cathedral for a quick visit, it was as beautiful as I remembered it.

As we left Lafayette, we drove by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette where I once worked (it was known as the University of Southwestern Louisiana then); we also passed by the house that I used to live in. What a trip down memory lane!