Covington, Louisiana
Over the holiday break after the craziness of Christmas had subsided, my roommate and I took a trip to Covington to visit our good friend that lives there. Covington is such a cute little town located between Slidell and Hammond. It is also right across from New Orleans, with only a short bridge ride over Lake Pontchatrain separating the two cities. Here, I will tell you some fun things to do in the charming city of Covington.
Eat
We ate at The English Tea Room in Old Covington. Upon seeing this cute little house, you will feel as if you've been transported straight to England. There is even an English phone booth outside! Inside there are various English figurines, knick knacks, portraits of famous British individuals, and other charming things situated around the cute tables set for tea. We were seated outside and given two menus: one for tea, and one for food. The tea menu featured an extensive list of every tea imaginable. It was difficult to choose between black teas, herbal teas, flavored teas, and specialty teas, but I ultimately decided to get the Abbey Road Blend, which was a blend of two delicious teas. They offer free refills of any tea you want, so you could ultimately try every tea on the menu, although you may be there a while. Their food menu featured traditional British food as long as little snacks like crumpets and scones. I chose the veggie sandwich, and it was delicious! I highly recommend The English Tea Room for lunch, a snack, or just a cup of tea with friends.
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Do
After lunch & tea, Simone showed us around her hometown. We walked down the Main Street in town and popped in a few cute shops. We looked around in this charming old hardware store that has been in the city since its beginnings. They sell everything imaginable from fishing gear to wood and axes. There is a museum of sorts attached where old artifacts and items from back in the day are kept. It was neat to see so much of Covington's history in an old-timey hardware store. We then went to the town's square called the Trailhead. Here, they hold outdoor concerts and other things for the residents to enjoy. The largest statue of former President Ronald Reagan is also located here. Next to the Trailhead is a museum about Covington that Simone's father curated and made all of the information for. Unfortunately, we did not get to visit, but it's on our list for next time! After that, we ventured outside of the city a little ways to St. Joseph's abbey where the monks live. The grounds are absolutely beautiful and the church is gorgeous. We looked around at the gorgeous church then did some exploring that was probably against the rules...we climbed all the way up to the bell tower almost to the cupola, the highest point of the church. It was so neat to see the bells and the grounds from high up. Warning: not for those afraid of heights! After the exhilarating trip to the church, Simone drove us to Mandeville and Madisonville, two towns not too far from Covington, just as charming. We then drove along the lakefront at sunset where we could see New Orleans across the Lake.
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