Today was HOT!
We took a short ride to visit the Mc Murran house. It is said to be the most original of all remaining Antebellum homes. The National Park Service runs it including the grounds and outbuildings. It looks beautiful inside and out. One gets a great sense of how wealthy people and their slaves lived in the 1800's.
Over 90% of the inside is original to the house and the rest are period items and reproductions right down to the carpets and other floor coverings.
As grand as these houses are, we still live a LOT better today. No AC, no electricity, no refrigeration, no pluming, no showers... No Thanks! But they had a remotes already...
Various cords from the inside leading to bells on the outside, to let the slaves know that they needed to report inside. By the pitch of the bells and the amount of rings they knew who was wanted for what.
From there we rode to see the Basilica, an absolutely amazing church that has been fully restored.
We happen to enter just as the priest started to give a tour to a bus group. We just joined. What stood out the most to me is of money the church has spend over the years on the church. And they are in the middle of spending another $1,000,000. But the church is something to be seen. Not what you would expect in the American South. Gold inlay everywhere, marble, ivory, stained glass imported from Austria, carvings and paintings from 18th century artists that came from Europe to Natchez paid for by plantation owners. Really quite something. Our tour guide yesterday told us that Natchez was the 2nd richest city in America after New York during the cotton boom in the 18th century
There are more pictures at Picasa:
We ended the day with time spend at the hotel pool, and pizza and a movie in the room. Lights went out at 10:15PM since we have a long ride ahead of us in the morning.
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