Laissez le bon temps rouler!

Let the good times roll!

Happy Mardi Gras, y'all!  For those of you who know me, you know that New Orleans is my absolute favorite place in the entire world (granted, I've only been out of the US once...to Mexico..does that even count?).  My husband and I went there for our honeymoon almost 5 years ago and we've been back pretty much every year since...we even moved to Bay St. Louis, MS for a short stint because we thought it was so close that we'd basically be in the Big Easy.  We were wrong.  Dead wrong.  But we did get to spend a lot of time in NOLA while we were there and it was an experience I'm glad I had.

After My First Parade

Contrary to popular belief, Mardi Gras isn't all beads and debauchery, though that is a huge part of it.  The official Mardi Gras season begins on the feast of the Epiphany and goes through Fat Tuesday, the day before ash Wednesday.  Historically, Fat Tuesday refers to the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the fasting of Lenten begins.

In 2010 I was fortunate enough to experience Mardi Gras in all of its glory.  It was nothing like I expected and exactly what I expected all at the same time.  The parades are all day, every day and don't actually occur on Bourbon Street.  They appear all over town and are presented by different Krewe's (a krewe is basically a club).  Believe it or not, you don't have to bare any skin to get beads--they literally shower you with them as the different floats and performers pass by.  The photo above was taken after only one parade. By the time Fat Tuesday rolled around, I had bags and bags of beads, doubloons and other miscellaneous items from the parades.  I even caught a "coconut" (it wasn't a real coconut--they're not allowedto throw those anymore.  For obvious reasons.) from the Zulu Krewe parade.

A Float going down Canal St.

Mardi Gras was a wonderful experience and definitely something I want to do again, but to experience the true New Orleans you have to visit it when the streets aren't crowded with hundreds of thousands of people. Tour the St. Louis Cathedral, stroll through Jackson Square, eat a beignet from Cafe du Monde, grab a beer and listen to some live jazz on Frenchmen St. and of course finish the night off with a Hurricane and/or Hand Grenade on Bourbon St.  There's never a dull moment in the Crescent City.