Disappointing Rosalie

I had the most beautiful time in Natchez the other week, and top of my list of things to do was to visit my favorite antebellum home there, Rosalie. I saw it so many times as a child then in my adulthood -- everytime I went to Natchez after I moved away -- I would go see Rosalie.

Here's a pic of my favorite room:


I also liked this shot I got of a Southern Belle doing a little accounting at the house:

But our visit there was disappointing. I knew something had changed when we went to go into the house and the door was locked. When we knocked, a woman in a shiny fuschia Civil War dress (did they wear that color in those days?) opened the door and said (just like they did to Dorothy in the Emerald City):

"Go away now and come back later." Then she shut the door in our faces.

I said to my husband, "I can't believe it! This is just like the Wizard of Oz." He agreed. But we had to see Rosalie so we waited until she finally opened the door again.

The tour was so bad. One woman didn't know the house and kept looking at notes to see what to say in each room, then finally said, "I usually do Auburn -- I don't know Rosalie."

The tours in that house used to be so special, warm and welcoming. I was really not happy about the experience, and when I compared notes with other tourists at other homes, they said they'd had similar experiences and found the tour guides rude and unknowledgeable.

I'm putting this post in here in case someone reads it and can do something to better the Rosalie Experience. It's such a beautiful place, and I want people to love it as I do, not think of it with distaste.

(PS: The woman in the gift shop is lovely but then she lives in Natchez and knows everyone.)