New Orleans swamp tour – New York European Travel | Examiner.com
Some 550 people now hold licenses to conduct tours in the city, Berni said. Not all of them have their history straight, said New Orleans tour business owner Robert Florence. In this nearly 300-year-old city that’s rife with historic landmarks, a favorite tour stop is a watering hole called the Napoleon House, a sprawling structure once occupied by the city’s mayor, who in 1821 offered the home to Napoleon Bonaparte as a refuge during the fallen emperor’s exile. Bonaparte, in fact, never visited New Orleans, but you wouldn’t know that by listening to some guides. “You’ll hear that Napoleon crossed the high seas and lived out the rest of his years in that house,” Florence told Reuters. “There are some whoppers out there.” Still, Florence, who owns Historic New Orleans Tours LLC and employs nearly two dozen licensed guides, said he sympathizes with complaints about licenses. “A lot of people who are conducting tours are retired doctors, lawyers and dignified senior citizens who don’t appreciate having to pee in a cup,” he said.
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Alligators are what youre seeking, of course, and yet, youre just as likely to see herons and turtles and nutria, the invasive furry rodent introduced by New Orleans entrepreneur, E.A. McIlhenny, of the Tabasco sauce family. Cameras are mandatory for the photograph of you and a baby alligator, usually produced midway through the swamp tour to screams of alarm and delight. Youll also learn three folkloric synonyms for the Spanish moss hanging from the trees: Spanish beard, French wig, and tree hair. Best of all is when the airboat slows from its 35-50 mph cruise across the lake and slides almost silently into the shadowy riverways. This is the stuff of Louisiana legend, where you almost expect Longfellows Evangeline to appear at rivers bend.
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