Spouse/Guest Tours
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

Buses for spouse/guest tours depart from the side entrance of the New Orleans Hilton Riverside. Please plan on arriving 15 minutes before the schedule departure of your tour.

GULF COAST – SCENES OF THE SOUTH
Date: Monday, January 29, 2001
Time: 8:30am – 4:30pm
Cost: $70 per person
Note: Maximum of 80 participants

Journey to the Gulf Coast and experience twenty-six miles of sugar-white sand, a deep blue sky dotted with powdery clouds and miles of the rolling Gulf of Mexico. Just offshore can be seen shrimp boats as they cast and haul in their nets. Still further offshore, are the chain of barrier islands that protects the Coast and can be seen on a clear day.

You will experience the ambience of the Old South at Beauvoir, the last home of Jefferson Davis, the only president of the Confederate States, with its moss-covered oaks, magnolias, pines and lovely gardens. You will view this notable home; its gracious grounds, the new Presidential Library and Confederate Museum.

Continuing along the white sand beach, the next stop is the quaint town of Ocean Springs, noted as the Art Colony of the Gulf Coast. Not to be missed in Ocean Springs is the Walter Anderson Museum, a local artist whose national reputation has grown recently. He is best known for his grandiose murals and wood block prints of whimsical, naturalistic forms. At the museum the docents will lead us through the works of this large collection of his paintings and sculptures, we’ll also view the "little room" painted by the artist, now valued at six million dollars. Guests will enjoy walking down Washington Street to visit other galleries and shops located near the museum and lunch at an area restaurant.

SOUTHERN COMFORT IN THE GARDEN DISTRICT
Date: Monday, January 29, 2001
Time: 9:00am – 1:00pm
Cost: $60.00 per person
Note: Maximum of 80 participants

Begin the day in the Garden District with breakfast overlooking oak lined St. Charles Avenue. You can watch the historic streetcars rumble past the massive oaks throughout a seventy-six foot long steel sculpture of wandering grapevines. You will enjoy an eye-opening experience that they won’t want to miss.

Following breakfast, you will stroll with Crescent City Consultants’ guides along the way, they will pass quaint as well as imposing homes with an amazing array of architectural styles, which are the hallmark of New Orleans. You will tour a magnificent iron-laced Greek Revival classic homes built in 1856. These homes are built in the classic masonry exterior style. The fine workmanship and attention to detail are evident in the moldings and medallions in the formal rooms. Charming gardens with raised beds, brick paths or fountain provide a serene atmosphere.

CIRCLING THE CRESCENT CITY – VIST TO NEW ORLEANS MUSEUM OF ART
Date: Tuesday, January 30, 2001
Time: 9:30am – 3: 00pm
Cost: $70.00 per person
Note: Maximum of 90 participants

The journey begins in the Vieux Carre where you will pass Jackson Square and the St. Louis Cathedral. As you leave the French Quarter, the bustling French Market, a living reminder of the city’s past, will certainly capture your attention.

You will continue down tree-lined Esplanade Avenue, the "Promenade of the Creoles," pass the neighborhoods of the Mid-City, and finally to new Orleans’ only bayou, Bayou St., John, a primary factor in the founding of New Orleans. En route, your guides will entertain and inform you with historical facts, legends and anecdotes. We then arrive at the New Orleans Museum of Art in City Park where everyone can enjoy viewing the massive and sprawling live oak trees and a tour of the museum.

NOMA, a neo-classic work of art in itself has been growing steadily since the first funds for a museum were donated by sugar planter Isaac Delgado in 1911. Generous donations over the years include Chinese Jade, Portrait Miniatures, 19^th and 20^th century art, a permanent loan of Faberge objects d’art including several of the famous eggs. NOMA also boasts the United States largest collection of Latin Colonial sculpture and painting and a wonderful selection of Pre-Columbian Art.

Next, we will follow the streetcar line through Old Carrollton Town to St Charles Avenue and the Garden District. This lovely residential boulevard is also home to Tulane and Loyola Universities, Audubon Park, and the many mansions that grace this lush area.

Last stop will be at Commander’s Palace for lunch, nestled deep in the heart of the Garden District. Commander’s is a fanciful turquoise and white Victorian building built in 1880, complete with turrets, columns and gingerbread.

C’EST LA VIE ON THE BAYOU
Date: Tuesday, January 30, 2001
Time: 1:30pm – 4:30pm
Cost: $40 per person
Note: Maximum of 120 participants

Experience Louisiana’s Cajun country – take a swamp boat tour! Get away for a day excursion into primitive splendor. Crescent City Consultants’ guides will escort the STS guests in climate-controlled motor coaches to the swamplands of Louisiana.

You will board Coast Guard approved boats and mozy down through beautiful bayous, gliding past exotic plants and wildlife. On sunny days, you will often see alligators coming out during the slumber months to sun on the banks. You may also see turtles, otters, herons, hawks, egrets and much more.

Our boats are covered for your comfort, but wear comfortable clothes and shoes. Don’t forget your camera!

COOKING DEMONSTRATION AND LUNCH WITH CHEF RENE BAJEAU
Date: Tuesday, January 30, 2001
Time: 11:30am
Cost: $60 per person
Note: Maximum of 80 participants

Experience the cooking stylings and luncheon with Chef Rene Bajeaux as he brings a new level of cuisine to the Grill Room at the Windsor Court Hotel. Nominated and elected by his peers as a prestigious Master Chef of France, one of only fifty named in America, he brings a decidedly French flair to the restaurant’s famous standard of excellence.

Chef Bajeaux comes to New Orleans by way of Chicago, where he was a partner and Chef at Bistro Zinc, a popular eatery featuring both a Café and Bistrot. In 1993, Chef Bajeaux was named Chef of the Year in Los Angeles. What captured the Windsor Court’s interest, was his five-year stint with Four Seasons Hotels. There, he performed his culinary magic in Maui, Hawaii and at the five-star, five-diamond Beverly Hills Hotel in California.