The Big Easy...a City to Love.

I really thought I would be able to post a couple short blogs last week while in New Orleans. It was a noble goal, but really...what was I thinking? New Orleans, Mardi Gras, food, wine, friends, parades, characters, more food, more wine, sightseeing, etc...versus...hotel room, iPAD, thinking, typing - hmmmm...it sooo wasn't going to happen. I was lucky to make one Facebook post.  Sorry about that! But I'm back now.  (I'll have one more New Orleans post later this week - featuring the famous cemeteries!)

 

I've been to New Orleans before but had forgotten that Mardi Gras, aka Carnival Season, is a months long event, only culminating on Fat Tuesday. The entire city is decorated in green, gold and purple. The colors stand for faith, power and justice, respectively. Decorations take many forms and are literally everywhere. 

 

Decorated balconies are the most common.

 

Bourbon Street looking squeaky clean.

It is safe to say New Orleans is all about the senses...oh the things you see!! In the light of day, notorious Bourbon Street looks much like any other NO street.

Partyers can be seen on most of the balconies anytime of the day or week leading up to Fat Tuesday, which is how we accumulated many of our beads. I hollered we were from MN and (probably sympathetically) the beads flew down. It was a blast!! 

Contrary to popular myth you do NOT have to expose yourself to have beads thrown to you! (Although I'm sure as darkness falls there was plenty of that.) We thoroughly enjoyed our first and spontaneous day of sightseeing in the French Quarter.   

Who are those three cuties?

That night we watched one of many parades that came by our hotel. The atmosphere was happy and festive. 

 

Everyone we encountered - tourist and locals alike - were friendly and helpful.

 

Serious, what chance do I have? Only that I'm a redhead!

                                                 

The next day (Fat Tuesday) we watched a daytime parade in front of our hotel and were excited to snag more beads and coins. They are thrown from the floats and if lucky caught on the fly. (Not a good time to be a 5' 1" shorty.) Otherwise it's a mad scramble to pick them off the ground - "get outta my way kid!" Sometimes they just go...wherever!!

Beads everywhere...no problem!

Courtney and I were on our own as the guys had no interest in this activity and just watched from the hotel sidewalk. She had better luck than I but was kind enough to share her trinkets not just with me, but with the others around us.

So each parade is organized by and represents a different  Krewe, which, in its most simplistic definition, is a social club.
The clubs origins range from very old (mid 1800's) to the more recent  (1990's). Except for a handful of years (mostly due to wars) the parades have been ongoing for over 100 years. Some of the Krewes are SO exclusive that the only way to become a member is to be born or married into it. These would be the New Orleans "old money" families. The Krewes also host elaborate balls on Mardi Gras. I was surprised to learn that debutantes are still (2016, really?) introduced at the balls.

Except for the kinda creepy king, what a lovely tradition! Even the ball invitations are highly sought after and collected.

On Mardi Gras day we were lucky enough to be in our lobby - the Marriot - when it started to fill up with gowned, white-gloved women and men (the men gloved-not gowned). We knew some type of festivity must be going on, but we didn't expect this.  I believe this grand entrance was the official start of the Comus Krewe ball being held in one of the Marriot ballrooms. 

Beyond the Mardi Gras Carnival Season, it is such a fascinating city, always full of colorful characters, great food and amazing history!! Wow! what's not to love? I'd go back again and again.