SHREVEPORT IS MORE THAN MARDI GRAS, DAY ONE

It had been quite a long day beginning with a regular jet on Continental Airlines to Houston. They charge $25 for the first piece of luggage under the plane. You get one carry-on luggage and a personal piece. There is no extra charge for your jacket and so I wore a jacket with loads of pockets as well as a pair of pants with loads of pockets. For about $5 you can get any extra liquids or gels on your trip and just leave them there.

Finding the next plane in Houston was a long ways off. I had to take a shuttle train and then a bus, which due to lateness had to take me directly to the propeller plane located way off the gate.

Esther accompanied me on the trip where upon landing we were taken to Artspace in downtown Shreveport. There are three floors of this building dedicated to showing local artists and free to the public. A bistro on the second floor offers soups, sandwiches, salads and desserts. Step outside the building to observe a steeple-less church down the block, which fell down when hit with a tornado.

A quick tour of downtown led us to viewing some massive murals. One was on the side of the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau building that depicts some of the activities the bureau staff promotes and one called Once in a Millennium Moon Mega Mural located on two sides of the AT&T building. It’s the nation's largest public arts mural covering 25,000 square feet described as a unique and monumental time capsule capturing the people of Shreveport, their treasures, tragedies, and triumphs in vivid color.

We were then off to tour the Robinson Film Center. What a place! The first floor has two movie theatres; one seats about 50 and the other seats around 100. You won’t see the first run movies shown at the nearby Regal Cinemas but you may see some older movies, art films, documentaries, etc. Part museum, there are posters and items from the actual movies donated by the actors themselves. There’s a bistro (I think that every restaurant we ate at was called a “bistro”) on the second floor that opens to the street. I will get back to the center later when I returned to take in the Superbowl and do my radio show.

Our next stop took us along the Red River, the river that separates Shreveport from Bossier where we took a tour of Sci-Port, Louisiana’s science center. This science and entertainment center features over 290 science, math and space exhibits, daily changing programs, an IMAX Dome Theatre and an open-access, interactive laser Space Center. Pretty cool with loads of hands on stuff for kids.

Time to check into the Best Western Chateau Hotel. Great views of the nearby casinos! It’s away from the downtown area and in somewhat walking distance of the Red River. My room was large, had free internet access, a refrigerator and a microwave. Buffet breakfast.

Since all of Louisiana was hyped up for the Superbowl it was no surprise that Shreveport was having a pep rally at what appeared to be Government Plaza. “Who Dat!?” was the chant for the New Orleans Saints. It has been known that the Saints will go to the Superbowl “when hell freezes over”. So, it wasn’t just cold in Shreveport.

The next day being the Mardi Gras parade, namely the Krewe of Centaur Parade, the night before got us an up close and personal Float Loading Party. We were able not only to see these floats but also go atop and check some of them out. This is the best time to get the beads with the medallions of the floats. People trade them. There is music and beer for those invited. One float had jello shots that came out of a large plastic syringe. Tasty! Esther had a great time dancing along the top side of one float. I collected a whole load of beads! It appeared that Esther saw one of her relatives in front of one of the floats and decided to pose with it.

Dinner time! We are eating at Wine Country Bistro. Wine by the glass and many more by the bottle. I chose a white wine from South Africa. “Drink Globally! Buy Locally!” Out came an amuse bouche of fried pickle with a dill sauce. It was followed by Fried Green Tomatoes with a creamy tarragon scented gulf shrimp atop. Cherry Wood Smoked Salmon. It wasn’t exactly lox, but pretty close to it. Served with wild arugula, roasted red grapes, toasted pistachios, and a citrus-caper dressing. For my entrée I chose the Osso Bucco – red wine braised veal shank with pan jus, buttered red cabbage and bleu cheese Arkansas grits. Crème Brulee with berries for dessert but turned down the coffee saying, “No thanks. I’m on a diet”.

The series continues with Day 2 featuring the Mardi Gras parade and the baby in the cake. You can check out my trip on my blogspot site and radio show Whirl With Merle. Just go to my website of www.merleswhirls.com and find the links. .

February 25, 2010 - Queens Times