I survived a frozen Mardi Gras!

[EllieP]

We finally made it home from Mardi Gras with over 100 pounds of beads! Seriously! One of Cap's friends shipped most of them for us and it took three boxes!

Now I'm trying to thaw out from some seriously cold weather in South Louisiana of all places. It even snowed one day!!! I've been to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but I don't think I've attended parades that felt as cold as ones in Lafayette and New Orleans.

Before I left I selected a number of tops that would tease but not reveal. I could hardly wear any them was just so cold.

Still I had a wonderful time. New Orleans is absolutely crazy, and maybe I'm too old, but just not a lot of fun. Bourbon Street was awfully crowded and while some of the people were OK the jerks were really jerks. We managed to find a crowd that was just as festive but in a much better mood. They were mostly locals and just about every one of them had some kind of Saints wardrobe. I felt terribly underdressed. They were great.

Lafayette was a different kind of atmosphere. Everyone, and I mean everyone was great, gracious and made sure we were having fun. The parades weren't as big as New Orleans, but the crowd was just as lively.

I got my share of beads but I also got a coconut, an oversized beer mug, four stuffed bears, frisbees, blinking stuff, a spear (???) and just a whole bunch of crap. There was a beautiful little girl standing next to me on St. Charles Street in New Orleans. I shared most of my catches with her. She paid me back with a bear hug at the end of the parade. I wanted to give her everything but her dad said no thanks!

I'm definitely going back next year. We were supposed to go to the country for a different version of Mardi Gras but never made it. Hope it's warmer next year.

 

[Alaboner]

Glad you enjoyed Mardi Gras. I coulda told you not to go to Bourbon though, I work at Bourbon gifts on Bourbon street and I hate it. Too many drunken college kids.

 

[naughty]

Fabulous! SO glad you had a great time. I know you were really excited about your trip and I am glad that you had a good time in spite of the weather. Yes, New Orleans is an interesting place. It blew my mind when I went there in May one year and Mardi Gras was over. I had never in my life seen people walk down the street in public with glasses of liquor at any time of the day. They partied ALL NIGHT LONG! I got no sleep while I was there but I really enjoyed the walking tours of the French Quarter. Did you get to enjoy any of the food?

 

[D_Tyrone_Tittickler]

Hey Ellie,
I am glad that you and your husband had an enjoyable time. I get terribly homesick each year about this time, but I can fondly remember the many parades I have watched over the years from a vantage point at St. Charles and Louisiana Aves. That is some consolation. The crowds are much better behaved in the neighborhoods because the parades goers are primarily locals. New Orleans is a tightly knit community and bad news will get back to your mama faster than a bolt of lightening streaking across the sky. There are just certain physical elements about myself which I do not care to share with the elderly neighbor ladies! The out of town college kids are the ones who are in the majority in the Quarter and they do go overboard with the drinking and obnoxious behavior.

I surprised that the weather was so poor. This time of the year normally is in the 65-70 degree range, but Mother Nature rules. There have been many years for me where I have had a very mild sunburn on my nose and arms! Go figure!

I know that you are hooked and I am glad to hear that you will return at another time. Also, try visiting during March. The gardens and countryside are particularly beautiful during this time of the year.
Adieu à un autre carnaval et bonjour printemps !
DT


QUOTE=EllieP;2609644]We finally made it home from Mardi Gras with over 100 pounds of beads! Seriously! One of Cap's friends shipped most of them for us and it took three boxes!

Now I'm trying to thaw out from some seriously cold weather in South Louisiana of all places. It even snowed one day!!! I've been to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but I don't think I've attended parades that felt as cold as ones in Lafayette and New Orleans.

Before I left I selected a number of tops that would tease but not reveal. I could hardly wear any them was just so cold.

Still I had a wonderful time. New Orleans is absolutely crazy, and maybe I'm too old, but just not a lot of fun. Bourbon Street was awfully crowded and while some of the people were OK the jerks were really jerks. We managed to find a crowd that was just as festive but in a much better mood. They were mostly locals and just about every one of them had some kind of Saints wardrobe. I felt terribly underdressed. They were great.

Lafayette was a different kind of atmosphere. Everyone, and I mean everyone was great, gracious and made sure we were having fun. The parades weren't as big as New Orleans, but the crowd was just as lively.

I got my share of beads but I also got a coconut, an oversized beer mug, four stuffed bears, frisbees, blinking stuff, a spear (???) and just a whole bunch of crap. There was a beautiful little girl standing next to me on St. Charles Street in New Orleans. I shared most of my catches with her. She paid me back with a bear hug at the end of the parade. I wanted to give her everything but her dad said no thanks!

I'm definitely going back next year. We were supposed to go to the country for a different version of Mardi Gras but never made it. Hope it's warmer next year.[/QUOTE]

 

[nudeyorker]

Glad you had a good time. Sorry about the weather! It was really nice when I went for Mardi party years ago. If I recall I was wearing little to nothing most of the time.

 

[rbkwp]

How interesting re a Cold Mardi Gras
I just always imagined such affairs being real HOT' in all ways
Geuss i am used to the Sydney one and weather
Always real nice and interesting to read of the New Orleans Mardi Gras tho
Thanks
enz

 

[b.c.]

Yes, glad you came on down and had a great time. And yeah, Bourbon can get really rowdy, progressively so as the day wears on. If you want to catch the costumers and avoid the ruffnecks, better to hit Bourbon and Royal before noon.

Mardi Gras comes sometimes earlier and sometimes later in the year, depending on when Ash Wednesday and Easter falls. Not to mention that a cold front had just come through that Monday morning. So yes, as I said in another post, it was DAMN cold.

But if you got a buncha beads, four stuffed bears, a Zulu coconut AND spear, AND a large MUG??? then YOU, my dear, hit the JACKPOT! :wink:

And here's better news. Next year: March 8

http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/mgdates.html

 

[EllieP]

Thanks, Guys.

I am definitely going back, with or without Cap! LOL! I have a special top for the parades, and I'm going to wear it before I die! I'm going for two coconuts! LOL!

Oh, the alcohol on the street! That was wild!!! And not just in New Orleans but in Lafayette, too. People were pulling ice chests on wheels behind them! I never saw such a thing.

And the food, ohmigod the food! I don't want to eat anything else until I go back. I remember having crawfish when I was a little girl, but it wasn't really good memories. I must have had crawfish served five different ways, and I know two or three ways to peel it boiled (and NO I do NOT suck the heads). Everywhere I went somebody had boodan which is like a sausage with rice in it - very good but very spicy. We went to this soul food plate lunch place in Lafayette that was just awesome. The menu was written on a chalkboard and you basically sat down and ate what was served to you. You had a choice like stuffed turkey wing (yuck), meatball stew (sounds yuck but is delicious) and a FRIED PORK CHOP! I kid you not! They take a big pork chop, bone and all, batter it and DEEP FRY IT! I couldn't believe it! I thought, well, these people must die young, but dang they have fun doing it!

I don't know if it's like that all year round, but we'll see. We're heading back in April for an international music festival there. These people know how to party!!!

 

[b.c.]

I don't know if it's like that all year round, but we'll see. We're heading back in April for an international music festival there. These people know how to party!!!

Do you mean the N.O. Jazzfest?

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival | April 23 - May 2, 2010

Lionel Richie, Black Crowes, Dr. John, Steel Pulse, George Clinton & Parliament/Funkadelic,Simon & Garfunkel, My Morning Jacket, Drake, Better Than Ezra, Ledisi, Sam Bush, the funky Meters, Campbell Brothers, Smokie Norful, Cowboy Mouth,Allman Brothers Band, Anita Baker, Darius Rucker, Jonny Lang, The Levon Helm Band, Juan Luis Guerra y 440,Widespread Panic, Elvis Costello & the Sugarcanes, Gov’t Mule, Average White Band, Steve Martin with the Steep Canyon Rangers, Blues Traveler,Aretha Franklin, Allen Toussaint, Gipsy Kings, Kirk Franklin, Jose Feliciano, Take 6, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi Band, Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers, The Dixie Cups,Pearl Jam, Jeff Beck, Teena Marie, Pete Fountain, Band of Horses, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Galactic, Sonny Landreth, Sugarfoot’s Ohio Players,The Neville Brothers, Van Morrison, B.B. King, Irma Thomas, The Dead Weather, Maze feat. Frankie Beverly, Richie Havens, Clarence Carter, Juvenile & DJ Mannie Fresh,etc. etc.

 

[BigDallasDick8x6]

I used to go to Mardi Gras every year (see signature below) and went for 5 days this year, my first time since Katrina. The good thing about it falling on President's Day weekend is larger crowds (if you consider that a plus) and you save a vacation day. The downside is it is colder. And of course the whole country has had a cold winter and even NOLA is not exempt.

I do more than just party though -- always hit museums and/or historical sites in any city I go to. Saw the death mask of Napoleon this trip! All the times I had been to NOLA I never knew it was there. Also saw Tennessee Williams' last house.

 

[Principessa]

I love frozen Margaritas! :smile:

Oops, you said frozen Mardi Gras, my bad. :redface: :tongue:

Sounds like you had a blast in spite of the weather.

Just one question . . . why did you ship all the beads home? What are you going to do with them? Make one of those cool bead curtains for every doorway in your home? :biggrin1:

 

[EllieP]

Principessa, my husband's friend shipped all of those boxes of beads to our home in Florida. Over $30 to ship free beads! Crazy. B.C., the festival is in Lafayette, and it's called Festival Internationale. I think they said it's during the NO Jazz Fest. Cap may be playing at both; that's what's in the plans now. We'll see! I heard the Jazz Fest is wall-to-wall people too. Don't know about the Lafayette festival, but I know it's completely free. Just looked it up online and the website is at { Home : Festival International de Louisiane }

 

[DesertCruiser]

An idea for the beads. We also have a lot of beads mostly acquired through local casino promotions. This year we took a white artificial tree with multi colored lights on it and decorated it with the beads. It was very festive looking and quite colorful.

 

[b.c.]

Principessa, my husband's friend shipped all of those boxes of beads to our home in Florida. Over $30 to ship free beads! Crazy. B.C., the festival is in Lafayette, and it's called Festival Internationale. I think they said it's during the NO Jazz Fest. Cap may be playing at both; that's what's in the plans now. We'll see! I heard the Jazz Fest is wall-to-wall people too. Don't know about the Lafayette festival, but I know it's completely free. Just looked it up online and the website is at { Home : Festival International de Louisiane }

Ah yes, the Lafayette festival. BTW not so crazy shipping those beads.
Especially certain items like stuffed bears and Zulu coconuts. The coconuts are hand painted, almost never thrown (there's a law forbidding it because of the danger) and if you get one it's a rarity. They are almost always handed directly to you, personally, from a krewe member riding the float.

In most organizations, throws are usually bought a paid for by each rider in the parade. Items like stuffed bears, or the larger more ornate beads are a little more pricey - and therefore more valued both by the krewe member and the recipient. They are very selective as to who they give them to.

So yes, the beads and other items themselves have little monetary value. But as you and your husband now know, they are in fact "priceless", because of the memories they invoke. We've saved boxes of 'em too.

Anyway, thanks for coming. See you at the fests.

 

[CUBE]

sounds fun, it is an enjoyable event. the beads are so pretty i think.