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Exploring Cajun Country: A Tour of Historic Acadiana
Louisiana's famous Cajun Country is a place where today's travelers can still experience the rich heritage and traditions that began in the eighteenth century.From foodways and folktales to music and festivals, Acadiana offers something you can't get anywhere else. Journey through this historic and unique part of the state with travel writer and historian Cher Coen as your guide Experience Cajun Country through its exceptional cuisine, area events, and historic attractions.
- GenresNonfiction
178 pages, Hardcover
First published May 14, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 16, 2021
The story goes that Bunkie was named for a monkey. Most people think that you're pulling their leg, but it's true...Outside of Bunkie lies one of the loveliest plantation homes in Louisiana. Loyd Hall Plantation was built about 1820 and is on the National Register of Historic Places...Visitors can enjoy an elegant stay inside the main house or the five surrounding cottages around a pool, plus view agricultural practices, such as sugar cane production and cattle raising, typical of south Louisiana.
Yes indeed--you can view "agricultural practices" in Bunkie. Thanks, Exploring Cajun Country guide--thanks. This is critical information potential visitors want to know. No kidding. I once had a Japanese friend visit Louisiana with me and we drove from Lafayette to Houma along Hwy. 90. At the first cane field, he insisted on stopping the car, climbing on the hood, and taking a picture of the vista. We did it a second time. By the 40th sugar cane field he no longer wanted to stop or take pictures. If I had only known Bunkie was the place then...
With the internet in full force, why are guidebooks like this even published? Once published, they are woefully outdated and with each year their value as "guides" decreases. Chere D. Coen does a good job compiling summaries of small communities and landmarks of interest in the "French Triangle, an area rich in Acadian culture, great food, unique traditions and celebrations and people who work hard but at the end of the day like to 'pass a good time.'" Her review of history and odd facts make this small book still relevant and somewhat useful, though it was first published in 2011 and updated in 2015. Her pictures--both grainy black and white as well as color--are a welcome addition, though at times her selections are strange: Why an aerial shot of Breaux Bridge in grainy black and white? It's wasted space. Why two very upset, maybe thoroughly annoyed, people participating in a jam session at Savoy Music Center in Eunice? Don't know.
The organization of this book also raises more questions than answers: Why no color map? There are color pictures (including a "color" photo of a "b&w" photo), so you know there was space. The grayscale map in the introduction is a joke--one cannot discern the different "areas" because they are all the same color. Why are the towns not presented in a certain order--like as encountered along a traveled route? They aren't even in alphabetical order in each chapter. Jefferson Island is separated from New Iberia, yet mentioned in two different sections.
The writing is good, though repetitive. Every house and cemetery has tales of haunting (did you know Coen also wrote Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana?). Jean Lafitte is rumored to have possible treasure on every shore and crevice across the state. Boudin is "a delightful combination of cooked rice and pork enhanced by onions, green peppers and seasonings stuffed first into a meat grinder and then a sausage casing and finally steamed for consumption." Robert Dafford, "one of the most celebrated muralists in America today," has yet another "great" mural with some weird nature vibe going (Cajun musicians reflected in a car's hubcap! Floating fiddles over a Louisiana swamp!).
But--Coen describes sites I do want to check out: The "smallest church in the world" in Bayou Goula, the Louisiana Swamp Pop Museum in Ville Platte featuring the Swamp Pop Wall of Fame, St. Peters Church Rectory in Gueydan which was built from prefabricated pieces ordered from the 1918 Sears-Roebucks catalogue.
In general, despite it's odd choices and idiosyncrasies, the book does work as a decent guide if one plans to travel through these Louisiana areas. I would certainly use the Internet to check if some of the bed and breakfasts or restaurants are still extant prior to visiting, but Coen's brief summaries provide a decent outline to delve into these small towns and experience a piece of Cajun heaven.
Yes indeed--you can view "agricultural practices" in Bunkie. Thanks, Exploring Cajun Country guide--thanks. This is critical information potential visitors want to know. No kidding. I once had a Japanese friend visit Louisiana with me and we drove from Lafayette to Houma along Hwy. 90. At the first cane field, he insisted on stopping the car, climbing on the hood, and taking a picture of the vista. We did it a second time. By the 40th sugar cane field he no longer wanted to stop or take pictures. If I had only known Bunkie was the place then...
With the internet in full force, why are guidebooks like this even published? Once published, they are woefully outdated and with each year their value as "guides" decreases. Chere D. Coen does a good job compiling summaries of small communities and landmarks of interest in the "French Triangle, an area rich in Acadian culture, great food, unique traditions and celebrations and people who work hard but at the end of the day like to 'pass a good time.'" Her review of history and odd facts make this small book still relevant and somewhat useful, though it was first published in 2011 and updated in 2015. Her pictures--both grainy black and white as well as color--are a welcome addition, though at times her selections are strange: Why an aerial shot of Breaux Bridge in grainy black and white? It's wasted space. Why two very upset, maybe thoroughly annoyed, people participating in a jam session at Savoy Music Center in Eunice? Don't know.
The organization of this book also raises more questions than answers: Why no color map? There are color pictures (including a "color" photo of a "b&w" photo), so you know there was space. The grayscale map in the introduction is a joke--one cannot discern the different "areas" because they are all the same color. Why are the towns not presented in a certain order--like as encountered along a traveled route? They aren't even in alphabetical order in each chapter. Jefferson Island is separated from New Iberia, yet mentioned in two different sections.
The writing is good, though repetitive. Every house and cemetery has tales of haunting (did you know Coen also wrote Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana?). Jean Lafitte is rumored to have possible treasure on every shore and crevice across the state. Boudin is "a delightful combination of cooked rice and pork enhanced by onions, green peppers and seasonings stuffed first into a meat grinder and then a sausage casing and finally steamed for consumption." Robert Dafford, "one of the most celebrated muralists in America today," has yet another "great" mural with some weird nature vibe going (Cajun musicians reflected in a car's hubcap! Floating fiddles over a Louisiana swamp!).
But--Coen describes sites I do want to check out: The "smallest church in the world" in Bayou Goula, the Louisiana Swamp Pop Museum in Ville Platte featuring the Swamp Pop Wall of Fame, St. Peters Church Rectory in Gueydan which was built from prefabricated pieces ordered from the 1918 Sears-Roebucks catalogue.
In general, despite it's odd choices and idiosyncrasies, the book does work as a decent guide if one plans to travel through these Louisiana areas. I would certainly use the Internet to check if some of the bed and breakfasts or restaurants are still extant prior to visiting, but Coen's brief summaries provide a decent outline to delve into these small towns and experience a piece of Cajun heaven.
June 21, 2020
I got this book for reference to see what Cajun/Acadian history I might visit on a now postponed trip to Louisiana.
In fairness I expected more of a guidebook and its more a history book, but terribly organized. There is a conspicuous lack of maps, the only map shows the areas discussed in a greyscale that is indistinguishable from each other and without any place names. There are no maps for each area and therefore it's impossible without having Google open to get any idea where the towns are in the state and in relation to each other.
The information provided for most towns seems to have come straight off the internet, and other than providing a list of towns with Cajun history you might as well just google it. For some inexplicable reason the author/editor puts the url links in the book at the end or in the middle of practically every paragraph of text. There are appendices with resources and it's baffling why these website weren't put there.
The best chapter was on Lafayette but there was no chapter on Baton Rouge..
In fairness I expected more of a guidebook and its more a history book, but terribly organized. There is a conspicuous lack of maps, the only map shows the areas discussed in a greyscale that is indistinguishable from each other and without any place names. There are no maps for each area and therefore it's impossible without having Google open to get any idea where the towns are in the state and in relation to each other.
The information provided for most towns seems to have come straight off the internet, and other than providing a list of towns with Cajun history you might as well just google it. For some inexplicable reason the author/editor puts the url links in the book at the end or in the middle of practically every paragraph of text. There are appendices with resources and it's baffling why these website weren't put there.
The best chapter was on Lafayette but there was no chapter on Baton Rouge..
March 25, 2013
Really great historical and narrative about Cajun country but doesn't completely serve as a guidebook because it lacks maps and listed recommendations. Those that are included were great and I enjoyed reading the folklore of the area.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews