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On February 11th, last Monday, the kids and I embarked on a journey to New Orleans to explore Mardi Gras.  An unexpected companion joined us on this journey, Nana Linda.  Both the children and I were pretty astonished at first that Nana Linda wanted to accompany us.  Nonetheless, we scooped her up and headed out that rainy Monday evening.  A little history on the festival:  Mardi Gras was brought to the US by the Le Moyne brothers as a French Catholic festival.  They arrived in the early 1700’s as the French were protecting their territory in Louisiana.  The celebration took and was formed into what it is today.  Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday is the last day before Lent begins.  Families cook all the fat in the house and get rid of all the excessive products in their homes.  Shrove which means confess is a more religious term used as the families ridded themselves of their sins before the cleansing began.

My good friend, Dana Jusselin, offered her beautiful apartment on Chartres street in the French Quarter as the base of our journey.  What a gracious hostess she was as she gathered us in her loving home and showed us the city.  As we arrived on Monday night, our restless traveling legs meandered around the city to scope out the scene for Fat Tuesday.  We ended up enjoying world famous beignets at Cafe Du Monde as Nana Linda was curious to what the fuss was about.

We arose the next morn and hightailed it to the Zulu parade where our first encounter with beads, stuffed animals and flying coconuts ensued.  A great parade it was          but everyone was getting hungry and wanted a little shelter from the drizzle.  We went to Johnny’s Po Boys which is a great and affordable local spot for some awesome NOLA cuisine.  The Kiddos and I discovered it on our previous visit to New Orleans.  After lunch we meandered thru the Quarter and met up with our hostess, Dana and her lovely friend Gloria.  After drinking some champagne at Gloria’s we descended upon the heart of Mardi Gras.  Walking, talking, beading, drumming and more we ran into an old friend of mine, Leah Smith of Rising Appalachia.  It was amazing to find her in such a crowded space.  We saw it all as incredible costumes, balconies festooned with boahs and beads.  About 7 we all were pretty pooped.

We woke up the next morning round 7 and the city was still sleeping.  The city of New Orleans had done an incredible job of cleaning up, it looked as if Mardi Gras had never happened.  Much love to my awesome friend, Dana, as without her the trip would not have been nearly as memorable.  I think we all had an amazing time along with Nana Linda who was a pleasurable travel companion.