PRIP TRIP: NEW ORLEANS, LA

A Four- Day Adventure in NOLA

St. Charles Street, NOLA

March 4- Mardi Gras

Stationed in Uptown, we had a great view of the parades, and as a first timer to Mardi Gras, it was essential to find a front row spot. The various parades are put on by krewes, or historic (for the most part) social clubs. Imitating European royalty, each krewe has a ranking structure of king, queen, dukes, knights, and captains. While there are several parades in a day, there is usually one main parade that at night. We caught the end of the Hermes parade and stayed for Krew d’Etat and Morpheus, the biggest parade of the day. All of these parades followed a similar route in Uptown, so we were able to stay in the same spot for each one, which happened to be the perfect spot for catching beads! No flashing was necessary, just a little yelling, some pointing, and eye catching does the trick.


While you are in New Orleans, whether it is for Mardi Gras or any other time of the year, you should definitely take advantage of the night life -- there is always something to do! We went to a new club in the Lower Garden District called Eiffel Society, which is a museum, bar, and music venue. The night we went the three local bands played, my favorite being a dub step band!

Mardi Gras Beads!

Eiffel Society, NOLA

March 5- Food, Music and Fun

The next day we went to parkway bakery to experience a true po’boy. Parkway Bakery is an institution in New Orleans, as evidenced by the nearly hour and a half wait we had in the middle of a monsoon. As the roads flooded to nearly cover car tires, we eventually made our way inside the restaurant only to find that the line continued on to snake its way around the perimeter of the restaurant. Although Parkway Bakery is always crowded, the two million Mardi Gras visitors are what made us wait with our hunger pains—and the fact that Obama recently visited only raised awareness.

Note to self—there is no such thing as a “quick bite” during Mardi Gras season. Expect lines and crowds wherever you go. All I can say is it was well worth the wait. Erin and Lauren got the classic fried shrimp po’boy. I got a po’boy with ham and cheese- tres francaise, and not so new Orleans style, but it hit the spot. We split an order of sweet potato fries and we were set. 

Shrimp Po'boy at Parkway Bakery

Sweet Potato Fries at Parkway Bakery

That night we hit the local favorite spot of Frenchmen street on the edge of the French Quarter. It’s known for its plethora of bars that range in style from heavy metal, to jazz, to middle eastern, to rock; it’s all there. We ended up walking through the quarter to Bourbon Street so our Mardi Gras virgin could see what it was all about. Packed wall-to-wall with people, sensory overload quickly took hold. We were on a quest to find a hurricane in a festive glass. Our mission proved to be much harder than expected, but leave it to the famous Pat O’Brians to have the solution.

Frenchmen Street

With that taken care of, we quickly made our way back to Frenchmen where we ended up staying to watch the band Naughty Professor at Maison. If you ever get a chance to listen to the guys, make sure you take advantage of the opportunity. They were great—a really young, energetic soul band with an awesome brass section.  One great thing about this time of year in New Orleans is meeting tourists. We met a guy who was in town for less than 24 hours! He had his backpack with him and was staying out all night until his flight at 6am the next morning. With so much dancing in the streets it was sad to leave one of my favorite parts of town. We still had a lot of partying to do though, we had to pace ourselves.

March 6- Around Town

           

The French Market, NOLA

We ventured to the French Market Sunday morning. Sitting a few blocks from the French Quarter, the market is full of everything you can imagine: Mardi Gras beads and masks (of course), handmade candles (http://www.frenchquartercandles.com/), seasonings and spices, fresh produce and food stands, trinkets and jewelry. 

           

Nearby, Aunt Sally’s Pralines (the best of New Orleans, according to Southern Living) offers samples of their tasty, but sugary treats.We walked by the Café du Monde, the traditional place to stop in for beignets, but the line was extremely long. We opted for a homier scene with a shorter wait: Café Beignet. The staff was friendly and the environment was welcoming. Their beignets, which come three to an order (under $3), were delicious, I only wish I could have them every Sunday!

Aunt Sally's Pralines

Cafe Beignet

           

That night, we ate at the Dat Dog. We discovered the small food stand when we were parking for the parade. Luckily, Dat Dog offers just about every type of meat (including alligator sausage) that you could put on a hot dog bun. The golden brown fries were the perfect side. Again, the staff was friendly and entertaining, and the owner sat down with us to eat outside! This was definitely a deliciously satisfying and quick option before heading down to the parade.  

Dat Dog Menu

Dinner at Dat Dog, NOLA

           

The first parade we went to was Endymion, the main parade on Sunday. Endymion is always known for their celebrity grand marshals, and this year’s hosts were Kelly Ripa and Anderson Cooper! 

Paparazzi at Mardi Gras! Parade host, Anderson Cooper.

Lauren Cleans up Mardi Gras style.

I couldn’t have asked for a better schedule! I had a lot of energy and was ready to catch some beads (in my yelling/pointing/eye catching ways). I quickly became friends with a family next to me and out bead catching became a team effort! No one was going home empty handed – in fact, we each had two shopping bags full!  

Bead catching team

March 7- Last Day? Just Kidding

We began our last full day by walking up and down Magazine Street. Known for its small boutiques, local restaurants, and antique stores, we ambled our way down the street until we found a restaurant that didn’t have an hour wait. We ate at La Divina, a local gelateria  and panini place. We were able to get in without a wait because the one waitress working left the sign flipped to ‘closed’- a smart trick to ease a hangover after a long night of parades.

Ms. Mae's

We made our way down to the Uptown institution of Ms. Maes- a 24- hour bar on the corner of Magazine and Napoleon. Due to the graces of the open container law, we took our bloody marys and mimosas down to “the fly”—short for the butterfly, the riverside portion of Audubon Park. We took advantage of the mid 70 degree weather and basked in the sun. This is when and where we made the decision to stay one more day- we just couldn’t bear to leave the city quite yet, what with all it had to offer.

We spent our last night back on Bourbon Street to meet up with Lauren’s friends who had never experienced Mardi Gras. Shock was evident in their faces at the sight of copious exposed tatas, the open container law, and just the sheer amount of people crammed in to a single street. After a long evening of celebrating, we ambled back to the car (if you can avoid driving to the quarter during Mardi Gras, please do so at all cost).

Bourbon Street, NOLA

March 8- The Treasured Coconut

   

The Zulu Parade

We couldn’t leave NOLA without attending the Zulu parade, which is known for its most treasured throw, the coconut. Each member of the Zulu social club decorates coconuts throughout the year, and they are a rare catch because you usually have to know someone in the parade to get one. However, after many unsuccessful attempts of telling the parade members I was new to Mardi Gras, my effort of staying with a float for quite some time paid off, and I came away with a coconut! There couldn’t have been a better way to end the parade! In fact, on our way back home, there were several parade floats handing out beads on the highway. Dangerous? Yes, but it could only happen in New Orleans.  

Parade float handing out Beads on the Highway