Living Mardi Gras in New Orleans!

In my post about Madeira, I promised you a story about my trip to Mardi Gras in New Orleans (NOLA). Now is the time.

2016 was for me the year of the bucket list ticks. On top of my list, I had Mardi Gras in New Orleans. This party is as famous as the Carnivals of Rio or Venice. I also met with a friend of mine there. She moved to the US so the trip was an opportunity to see her! Our plan was to spend two days to attend the Mardi Gras and 4 days to see the real NOLA away from the madness.

Getting to New Orleans, Louisiana, US

I found a very cheap flight (over 500 Euros) even though I booked it two weeks before departure. It was a kind of a spur of the moment. The best part of my flight was the Mississippi view from above. Such a huge river! Those bridges crossing it were impressive too… I changed some money at t

he airport and I do not recommend it. The exchange rate was very bad and the commission really high (over 10 USD).

I took the airport shuttle to the city for 24 USD. To compare, a taxi for the same trip costs around 35 USD. I was on my own therefore the bus choice was better value. The bus dropped me off at my hostel and did the same with the other tourists. That was pretty handy. The driver was pretty cool and conversational too and gave me some useful information about the area I was in.

I stayed in the Marquette Hostel, in a very beautiful old building, and in a room for 4. It was the only place I could find in a decent enough location to see the parades and that would not cost me a fortune. Still…paying 50 USD  for a dorm bed is a bit dear! Thankfully, I only had one roomie!!

I was on my own on the first night as my friend would arrive the day after. The location was perfect, just around the corner from St Charles Avenue where the Krewe of Bacchus was on. A krewe is one of the organizations parading during Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

First Mardi Gras parade

The Bacchus krewe had impressive and spectacular floats. All on the “Bacchus” theme… What a surprise! This event was memorable being my first parade!  One thing to know about Mardi Gras in New Orleans is that people on floats throw beads and toys and other things to by standers.

That night I waited a while before getting something. I finally caught the eye of someone “well placed”. The secret number one of surviving and enjoying a Mardi Gras parade is to get connected. Once someone in power – on a float – notices you, he will send over tons of goodies. Or in my case, one bead…Yeah!

Murphy’s (positive) law helping, I started to receive more beads and cups afterwards so I started to be more ambitious. I now wanted bags of beads, bam! A football ball, bam! But when I tried to get a teddy bear, nothing! That night was unlucky.

Travelling experiences

When I was about to sleep, I asked my roomie if she also smelt gas. “Is that what the smell is?””Yes!” We decided to go and speak to the staff. Safety first. The staff: “it is pretty normal. The pipes are old”. But no, we could not open the window because rats were going around the city. Mmm… What to do? After a little debate, we decided to risk rats bites and plague over dying gassed.

My friend joined me in the morning. We had breakie in a typical American dinner, the Trolley stop café. We experimented the huge pancake that could feed 5 people, cops eating in a corner, the waitress refilling coffee. Am I in an American movie??? This place was great for breakfast and experience!

Our B&B host kindly offered us to stay with him until our room was ready (two nights later) saving us from staying 25km outside the city. We were planning our route to get to the B&B when a third roomie that appeared in the night offered us a ride. Awesome! I love travelling… You never know what happens next.

She was Caucasian, married a Native American man and lived in an Indian Reserve. Her husband just died and she was on a soul searching trip. Her soul was so lost, we could not even find the right direction with the GPS on. I am gently kidding. I was very grateful to her for her offer.

Our host was an Englishman studying jazz and living in Treme. Treme, America’s oldest black neighborhood and birthplace of Jazz. Could not dream of a better place to stay. Yet I apprehended staying in Nola. It was number 7 of the top 30 Murder capitals of America in 2016 according to neighborhoodscout.com.

Going around the French Quarter

Treme was only 15mn walk from the French Quarter. And that afternoon, we visited the French Quarter with its colonial architecture. I felt like in a movie – just without the crinoline dress. We walked through the famous Bourbon Street, the street of decadence with all the bars, the partying, the drinking… The street where preachers stating being homosexual is a sin stand alongside free huggers and the same homosexuals…Quite interesting! I even saw a girl showing her breasts in exchange for beads. I thought that was an urban legend. It was not a very pretty sight either.

The balconies were decorated with the Mardi Gras’ colours: yellow, purple and green. People were out having fun dressed up or not. By the way, going to Mardi Gras equals going to a party. So always have your ID handy. We are still in the US, bars will not let you have an alcoholic beverage without showing it.

Before the Orpheus and Proteus parades that night, we visited the Mardi Gras Spot shop to get masks, wigs and other accessories for our costumes. It is a big warehouse full of dressing up items. I found a pink wig and a feather boa. For me that will do!

Best parades in town during Mardi Gras in New Orleans!

The day after we woke up at 4 am to see the Bones and skulls parade, a secret parade departing from the Back Street museum.

It is apparently a really good museum. It holds the world’s biggest collection of New Orleans’ African American masking and processional traditions. We did not have time but if you can, check it out! This parade gave a more authentic experience to Mardi Gras. We waited in the cold. Suddenly skeletons showed up in the dark. A bit scary and impressive. During the parade, we knocked on neighbours’ doors to “wake them up” literally and spiritually… Everyone was in good spirit.  The parade ended with a speech from the skeletons’ leader on how we should enjoy life and love each other. Pretty inspiring!

Then, we saw the Zulus’ parade, the best one of all for the costumes, goodies and marching bands. It was also close to our B&B. We stood beside a family: mum, dad and their two kids. The daddy was  (really) tall and had two cute kids, he alternatively put on his shoulder. From this, I understand secret no 2: being tall means longer arms. It is a competitive advantage to catch things faster! Secret 3: having cute kids also help to attract nice toys…Under those terrible competitive conditions, it had been difficult to get stuff but not impossible. I got a few teddies (hurray!), a plastic rose, toys…The family got two full bin bags… Life is unfair… Some people were fighting over decorated coconut shells. We did not understand why. We learnt later on that they were THE things to get from the Zulus’ parade. Ah well!!

Our last plan was to see the Indians, another secretive krewe. We did not find them. Beyond their impressive costumes, I was attracted by the stories behind the krewe. Their parade dates, times and routes are never published in advance, although they tend to gather in the same areas every year. The Indian krewe are composed by African American who named themselves after native Indians as a tribute. Indeed, local Indians used to accept slaves into their society when they escaped, back in the slavery days. They have never forgotten this support.

The end of the NOLA visit, part I

We ended the day with dinner in Oceana Grill in the heart of the French Quarter for some traditional cajun food. There I tried Louisiana’s cooked oysters. I did not really like them. They were too big, too meaty and tasteless. The restaurant was popular and crowdy though. The service was good. We tried their gumbo. It was ok!

Before I end this post, I would like to mention that during Mardi Gras, you can try NOLA’s version of the King cake. The one I tried was a kind of brioche covered with icing with the Mardi Gras’ colours: purple, green and gold. The NOLA King cake like all of the other King cakes has a bean (usually a plastic baby Jesus) inside. It is not my thing but I had to try since it is a typical snack during Mardi Gras. Try too! You might have a different experience, who knows! That was the end of my Nola trip, part I.

Looking for a cheap flight? Click here.

ADDRESSES ON THIS POST

Marquette Hostel

2249 Carondelet St, New Orleans, LA 70130, EE. UU – Tel: +1 504-523-3014

Trolley Stop café

1923 Saint Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130-5316

Mardi Gras Spot

2812 Toulouse St, New Orleans, LA 70119

Website

Back Street Museum

1116 Henriette Delille Street in Treme, New Orleans

Admission: 10 USD

Website

Oceana Grill

739 Conti St, Nueva Orleans, LA 70130-2220

For general information about Mardi Gras parades, click here.