How exciting for you. We went to the Laura plantation which I felt was the only one worthwhile the others we saw were very touristy and expensive and didn't really give an in-depth feeling. There is a tour called Le Monde Creole in New Orleans where you can see how Laura's family lived in the 19th century in N.O. We had a very good dinner in Metairie at Crazy Johnnies Steak house this is the link http://crazyjohnnies.citysearch.com/ they don't take reservations but we felt it was more than worth the wait. Try this link also to see what is doing when you are there. http://neworleans.citysearch.com/

Have a great trip, Fanny in NYC