4th of July

We had a great July 4th - during the afternoon we went to Bayou Bend (walking distance from our apartment) and watched the re-enactment of the Reading of the Declaration of Independence. Bayou Bend is a magnificent house built in 1927 and was the home of Miss Ima Hogg (can you believe that was her real name and she never married so was stuck with it forever!) In 1957 she donated her home and her collection of antiques to the Museum of Fine Arts and since then it has been opened to the public. It has the most breathtaking gardens, apparently designed by Miss Hogg to be used as outdoor rooms for living and entertaining. They often have outdoor performances in the gardens including opera and symphony productions. However for July 4th they entertained us with music and costumes commemorating the time of the independence of America. The highlight was the enormous cake in the shape of the Capitol Building (the lady dressed as the Statue of Liberty is the proud designer of this maginificent piece of cook-art) and as it was being cut we all sang Happy Birthday America! Everyone is just so passionate about their history and freedom etc - we just love being able to witness their enthusiasm.