I’m deep in Cajun country with my friends Liz and Leo. Liz and I set off to explore this morning. Our first stop was in Breaux Bridge for the zydeco breakfast at @https://www.buckandjohnnys.com. It’s held every Saturday morning. People come from miles around to hear the music, but mostly to dance. The atmosphere was festive and electric. Because of back issues I wasn’t dancing, but I loved the music, party vibe, and enthusiastic dancers. Had I wanted to dance I wouldn’t have had any difficulty finding a partner.
From there, we headed to the town of Arnaudville. On the drive, fields of sugar cane ready to be harvested lined the road.
Liz and Leo adopted their cat, Poulet, when they went to an acoustic music jam at Tom’s Fiddle and Bow, @www.tomsfiddleandbow.com. Naturally, we needed to stop in to say hi to Tom. If you want to buy a fiddle or need to get one repaired, Tom’s is the place to go. He’s a sweetheart who has built a few fiddles from scratch. I was surprised to learn that most of the fiddles he sells come from China, Germany, and Romania. The most expensive fiddles are imported from Italy. Who knew? If you’re in the area on the first Sunday of the month, stop by Tom’s for the music and potluck. I’m sure it’s great fun.
A couple of miles down the road is the NuNu Arts Collective @https://nunuaccollective.homesteadcloud.com There are one heck of a lot of talented people in this area, musicians, craftspeople, painters, writers, and you name it. NuNu’s is a gallery, art studio, meeting space, coffee shop, bookstore and more. I was especially taken with the woodworking. Walking around the gallery I ooh’d and aah’d at the gorgeous, handcrafted tables and furniture.
As seems to happen everywhere I go, I got into a conversation with people in the shop. When they heard my appreciation of the woodwork, I was introduced to Larry Borque, the craftsman who made it. He explained how the wood spoke to him, the process for inlaying marble into the wood, and more. Liz fell in love with a couple of pieces, but as Leo is a talented woodworker, she knew buying anything who be a grave error.
We managed to tear ourselves away and headed to a nearby town, Grand Coteau. There we visited the Kitchen Shop, which has a whole lot more than kitchen ware. It was now mid-afternoon, and I was ready to eat something. We went off to The Hive, a multi-function space (like just about everywhere else in the area). It’s coffee bar, restaurant, shop, and meeting place. Liz is a poet and has done poetry readings there.
We’d been planning to go the art walk in Lafayette. It’s held one evening a month. Galleries and the art center are open, present music and lots of independent artists set up tables to sell their work. The weather didn’t cooperate with that idea. At first there was a light drizzle. While deciding if we should go or not, a thunderstorm, complete with torrential rain, began. It stuck around for hours. We stayed in.