My Wanderlust: #7: Mardi Gras, New Orleans, January 2016

You may have recently read my last entry "Dodger Logic #6: New Orleans & Mexio, Summer 2009," in which I detailed my trip to New Orleans and cruise through Cozumel & Progreso, Mexico in 2009, and I threw in some details from other trips I've taken to New Orleans in the past. If you read that entry, you found all kinds of information about fun things to do in New Orleans, as well as delicious food you can try, ways to get around the city, and tips on how to make the most of your vacation. But as of the time that I wrote that entry, I had not actually been to New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Now I have! And I'd like to share my experiences with you. Since I've already written a blog entry about the wonderful city of New Orleans, I'm just going to include in this entry what to include in your vacation if you go during Mardi Gras, which is a few weeks in February and March. (Every year the dates are different.)

First off, there are parades going on all the time, and most of them are fabulous. I only sat through one parade that was boring. My family, best friend, & I got grandstand tickets for $15/person, which you could use to watch a group of parades from some bleachers. They are grouped in daytime parades and nighttime parades. The daytime ones typically run from around 1pm until 5pm, and the nighttime parades usually run from around 6pm-10pm. These parades go all throughout the city of New Orleans, so depending on where you are located in the city, you'll want to find out when the parade will pass through your area. There are also smaller parades that go through smaller sections of the city at times. If you don't buy grandstand tickets, the parades are all free to attend. You are not required to wear a mask if you are attending the parades, but a lot of people do dress up in funky outfits and/or wear fun masks, hats, headbands, etc. When you watch the parades, you will see tons of different kinds of people and things passing through: people with masks riding on funky floats; horseback-riders; city political figures driving in fancy cars; high school marching bands, dance teams, flag teams, cheerleaders, etc. The people in the parades throw all kinds of beads, doubloons, light-up necklaces, glow-stick necklaces, cups, bags, and other prizes at onlookers. You are supposed to wave your hands and yell "Throw me something, mister!" at them if you want them to throw you some beads. And contrary to popular belief, the ladies are not required to lift their shirts for beads. That's just something some people do when they are partying during Mardi Gras, but I never saw anything naughty happen at the parades. You will end up going back to your hotel with 30 lbs of beads around your neck and needing to see a doctor.

The parades are great, but as an adult that is of age, I wanted to get the full experience of Mardi Gras, so I spent a lot of time on Bourbon Street with my family and best friend. We spent an overwhelming amount of time at Huge Ass Beers. There are two locations of this bar on Bourbon Street, since the street is so long. You can literally buy giant beers to drink. A lot of people love the 45 oz cup called "The Butt," because it is shaped like a woman's mid-section, including a butt on the back of the cup. The largest huge ass beer is 70 oz, and I drank the whole thing in the span of maybe an hour or so! My best friend called me "Beercules." That was the night I turned 25 at midnight, and it was our last night in New Orleans, so I definitely had to live it up that night. My cousin thought the fishbowls were really cool, although I don't think she was crazy about how sweet hers was. It literally looks like a huge fishbowl that contains a fruity cocktail, and there is a place right next door to one of the Huge Ass Beers bars where you can buy the fishbowls. Oh, and the best thing about partying at Mardi Gras: no open container law. That's right, you can walk right down the street, alcoholic beverage in hand. This comes in handy at the to-go bars, which serve to-go beers and alcoholic slushies.

Other than Huge Ass Beers, there are tons of restaurants (Check out Saints & Sinners, Channing Tatum's restaurant,) bars, clubs, & gentlemen's clubs on Bourbon Street. People will throw beads from the balconies down to the people on the street below, and sometimes clothes will come off for beads. One side of the street is a little more risque than the others. You definitely don't want to take your kids to Bourbon Street, especially during Mardi Gras. Now, I didn't see too much inappropriate craziness while I was there, but I did see one girl lift up her shirt for beads, and my cousin saw one guy whip out his privates for beads. I didn't know that was a thing for guys, but hey, this is Bourbon Street we're talking about. We did try to stay at the cleaner end of the street most of the time, so as to not be around the gentlemen's clubs with pictures of naked women outside, though, so maybe we were just on the better end of the street. Also, it's important to note that we were not there for Fat Tuesday, which is the last day of Mardi Gras, and I hear that's when things get completely out of control and crazy. We decided to go about a week before Fat Tuesday, because it's just too expensive to go then. Don't worry, if you go in the weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday, you will still get in on plenty of the fun, and it's still technically Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras lasts a few weeks in December & January each year.

If you want to be able to afford to go to Mardi Gras, then you need to book months in advance. I'm talking like 6 months, if possible. Also, try not to go on Fat Tuesday, or expect to pay outrageous amounts of money. My best friend, my cousin, my cousin's boyfriend, & I stayed in a cute hotel room with 2 double beds. It cost us just over $500 to stay there for 3 nights, so we each only had to pay $127 for the hotel. The hotel room was huge and even had a pull-out couch and a kitchenette with a fridge, stove, coffee maker, and dishwasher. The location of the hotel was pretty perfect too. It only took us about 10-15 minutes or so to walk to Bourbon Street and maybe 20 minutes, if that, to walk to the French Quarter. It only took us about 5 minutes to walk to the grandstands for the parades, as that was right around the corner. But remember, we did not stay there for Fat Tuesday, and we booked the room about 6 months or so in advance. Once you get close to Fat Tuesday, rates will sky-rocket, and it'll be hard to find an available room. To compare, while we were in New Orleans, we looked up some hotels online. I think the best price we found was $500/night, which is what we paid for the whole weekend! The highest price we found was $800/night. That's a big, fat "NO."

Remember to be careful walking around on Bourbon Street, especially if it's late at night, and you're intoxicated. There are Ubers all over the place, and they are cheap if you chose a hotel in the general area of Bourbon Street and/or the French Quarter. Always use the "Buddy System," and try not to go down any dark alleys. (Don't worry, people in New Orleans are friendly, but there are psychos in every city all over the world, so especially if you're in an unfamiliar setting, you should be careful.) Stay safe, have fun, and party on!