Mardi Gras in New Olreans Feb 2009

[Bontongrl]

I haven't been on this forum in a few months (my bad), but, we went to New Orleans for Mardi Gras this past February, ,and had a blast !!

If anyone is interested in pictures,,,,,, lemme know and I'll post em

[TAPPY]

Would love to see some pictures...

[Mambeaux]

We had the honor of riding in Orpheus the Monday night before FatTuesday.
All I can say is, WOW!!!

Would love to see your pictures.

[Bontongrl]

Hi everybody,,,,,

My husband grew up in New Orleans, and I lived there for 20 years, so while we now live in Houston, we go back as often as we can, and Mardi Gras is one of our favorite times to go. Halloween in New Orleans is another great time to be there, and we are planning that very thing for this coming up Halloween,,,Can anybody say “peep meet” ?



Anyway, here’s a little trip report from our trip to Mardi Gras 2009.


It’s about a 5 and ½ hour drive from Houston to New Orleans,, ( at least it is the way WE drive, ) so, not a bad drive, but a boring one. There’s not a whole lot to look at, scenery wise, so the faster we get there the happier we are.


This won’t be a detailed written report,,,,, but I’ve got plenty of pictures to share. I tend to go crazy sometimes with the camera, but, I’d rather have TOO many pictures than not enough lol Thank God for digital cameras and that delete button..


We always try to bring friends with us when we do Mardi Gras,,,,, of course the more the merrier. I love showing New Orleans to friends, especially at Mardi Gras time. It’s such a beautiful, historical and unique city,, and even with all the damage from Katrina,, you can’t keep a good city down, especially one that lives to party.


When we do Mardi Gras we usually arrive on Friday,,,, and stay at my inlaws house, (hence, no hotel bill) which makes the weekend perfect money wise,,,,,we don’t have to spend a dime for lodgings.


Rooms during the Mardi Gras season can be outrageous, especially in the French Quarter area. Most of the time the most popular hotels in the French Quarter force you to a 4 night minimum stay during the final Mardi Gras weekend before Fat Tuesday. But I have heard,, you can get some good deals last minute due to cancellations, and with the way the economy is now, rooms are much better priced than they used to be, and a lot of them don’t do the 4 night requirement anymore.


Ok, I did say I wouldn’t get too detailed,,,, so,, bring on the pictures.


We usually start our weekend with going to a small parade in Metairie on Friday night..It’s a LOT less crowded at the suburban parades and you can actually get close to the floats without too much trouble. And, that way we can show our friends the art of begging for beads and how to catch doubloons without breaking your fingers in the process.

HINT !!! Doubloons are usually thrown by the handful and they are hard to catch in the air and almost always fall to the ground. Do NOT reach down to pick up a doubloon until the frenzy has subsided, because you will end up breaking your fingers. Put your foot over the doubloon and wait until the frenzy is over then reach down and pick it up from under your shoe.

For those of you who have never seen a doubloon,,, here’s a picture. Supposedly, there are those out there who collect them, as not many are thrown anymore, but mostly, in MY house, they end up collecting dust in the bottom of the “catch all” drawer in the kitchen.




After doing the suburb parade, we head downtown to where the REAL party is,,,,,, and just hang out in the Quarter and on Bourbon Street to people watch and get into the spirit !!

There is nothing like Mardi Gras to see some of the strangest characters you will ever see anywhere. Sure, New Orleans has the reputation of being a decadent city anyway,,, but it really brings out the crazies at this time of the year.

This is Bourbon Street at its prime,,,,,







Here's that infamous sign that everyone gets a picture of when they are there,

[Bontongrl]

Walking Bourbon street during this time of year can be pretty crazy, and at times,,, nerve wracking,,, unless you LIKE feeling like you are packed in a can of sardines,,,, . If you are claustrophobic, do NOT venture onto this street , or at least not under some of the more popular balconies where the "flashing" is going on. There are times when you will get stuck there, and not be able to move, and have to have someone Drag you out of the melee.....

One of the many balconies, loaded with bead throwers, and at times, loaded with flashers,, that's what causes the frenzy in the street below,,,








This is how most people on the street spend all their time,,,, LOOKING UP !!

Another hint,, you do NOT have to flash to get beads,, , they just want you to THINK you do,,,, THEY want to throw those beads to you as much as you want to catch them, so, most of the time a pretty smile will get you what you want. Of course, the really elaborate beads might take a little more work to get,,,, so if you see a really fancy pair that you want really bad, well,, how you get them is up to you

[Bontongrl]

More balcony watching,,,,, Between looking UP so much, and wearing all those beads around your neck all night long, by the time you go home,,, you will probably have neck problems,,,,,,



Here's a few of the more interesting characters you run across at this time of the year,,,,,,,

[TAPPY]

Where do you all park when you go down town for Mardi Gras ???
Is it just the luck ? or do you have a special spot.
I know all the locals tell me that parking is pretty $$$ this time of year.

[Bontongrl]

Originally Posted by TAPPY

Where do you all park when you go down town for Mardi Gras ???
Is it just the luck ? or do you have a special spot.
I know all the locals tell me that parking is pretty $$$ this time of year.

Hiya Tappy,,,,,

Yes,,, parking can be a problem, but we always manage to find a spot at the Moonwalk parking lot, which is directly behind the moonwalk, across from Jackson Square. and yes, it can be pricey,,, its usually about $20 for the time we are there for a few hours in the quarter, but once we actually got lucky and there was no one manning the booth when we left, so, we got that night for free,,,,, Or take your chances with some of the parking garages,,,, but it will cost even more for those spots.

But, I figure, its worth the cost of parking for all the FREE entertainment in the quarter.... There are usually no cover charges for the bars, and the music is free,,,, so I figure a parking charge is worth the price for that

More pictures to come later tonight

[Bontongrl]

I'm back, and with more pictures,,,,

Some more of the people on Bourbon St.













Austin Powers,,,, yeah Baby !!!















and, it wouldn't be a real trip to Bourbon St. without having at least ONE Lucky dog !!! Yum,,,,

[Bontongrl]

So,,,, after partying for hours, and walking the streets, and collecting as many beads as our poor lil necks could carry, and a quick stop to Cafe Du Monde for beignets and coffee, ( sorry, no pictures of the food) we are off back to the suburbs and to bed,,, cause we get it do it again tomorrow,,,,,,

We are up early the next morning, because this morning my daughter is riding in her first Mardi Gras Parade. She was invited to ride with her grandmother,,,,,, and she was so excited !!! Its really not fair,,,( stomping feet) I've been doing Mardi Gras for 30 years now and I've never ridden in a parade,, but she gets to at 21,,,,,,, hmmm,,,, Just kidding
I was so happy for her, and she had a blast !!!

Here's a few pictures from the parade she was in,,,,,, its a smaller intown parade, and sometimes the smaller parades are nicer than the bigger ones,,,, you can get right up to the floats,, which you can NOT do with the bigger night time parades,,,,,

some parade pics,,,,,,













There's my daughter,,,,,, in the middle,,,,,,,,I was too busy trying to catch the stuff she was throwing to me to get a better picture,,,, <my bad>









One of the many bands that come to New Orleans to march and play in the parades





Having some morning Bloody Marys you HAVE to start the day out right










Can you figure out what this biker's jacket says ?














Stay tuned,,,,, more to come soon

[TAPPY]

Love all your pictures - how cool.

[Sol]

Wonderful pictures!!! Thank you for posting your Mardi Gras Celebration report!

[Bontongrl]

Originally Posted by Sol

Wonderful pictures!!! Thank you for posting your Mardi Gras Celebration report!

Thanks Sol,,, and I still have more to come

[Bontongrl]

After the morning parade, we head over to my brother-in-law's house,,,, to eat, drink and party while waiting for the Endymion parade to roll by. Endymion is one of the biggest parades during Mardi Gras, with hundreds of members and some of the best floats and throws. They always have a celebrity for their Grand Marshall, and this year it was,,,,,,,,,



The parade route is packed with people,,,,,



the floats are great,,,,,,








and you can catch some really BIG beads,,,,,,


Hey, no fair, her beads are bigger than mine !!!





and even the pooches come to the parades all dressed up

[Bontongrl]

After having a great time at Endymion,,, we head BACK down to the French Quarter for some more ,,, and music, and dancing, and watching the and even a few










Then home and to bed because the next day is OUR big day....Baachus !!!