Back in February me and my beautiful and talented wife went to New Orleans for Mardi Gras family weekend and my wife rode on a float in one of the parades with the Krewe of King Arthur. She has done this once before, it was my first time going to Mardi Gras and my second time going to New Orleans.
I really enjoyed walking around the city and just enjoying the unique look and feel of New Orleans. We were mostly located in the Garden District which is residential with cool houses and parks.
Of course there’s the food and we had some great meals in different parts of the city. We had a great Cajun meal at Mulate’s and excellent sandwiches at Cochon Butcher and fried chicken at Picknic Provisions & Whiskey. And of course Beneigh’s at Cafe Du Monde…
We did some tourist stuff, walking around the French Quarter, fortunately it was pretty quiet being a week or so before the peak of Mardi Gras.
The parades were really an experience, we went to them on the nights before the one that the Krewe of King Arthur were riding in. The crowds got bigger and bigger as we got towards the big parades on Family Sunday. We had to get out early in the day to set up an area to sit on the median of St. Charles Avenue where the parades would go by. Fortunately our hotel, the Prytania Park Hotel was just around the corner, I highly recommend it if you’re thinking of attending parades. It is close enough that you can easily return to the room to use the bathroom or to get provisions or just to cool off.
I was impressed by how nice and friendly the crowd was, everyone respected our space and I saw lots of folks sharing and helping each other. I’m not a big crowd person but this crowd was very diverse and very laid back and happy. In between groups in the parade then kids would be out playing in the street and riding their bikes. It was a lot of fun, and because there are no open container laws in New Orleans you can sit and drink whatever you’ve brought and have snacks or a whole crab boil if you want. It was the best way to witness a parade that I’ve so far experienced.
Over all, I’d go back and visit New Orleans again and probably go to at least one day of parades as well. Next time I think I’d focus on finding some Jazz performances as well…