The Mardi Gras that I celebrate in New Orleans is much different than all the crowd, noise and drunkenness that is depicted on TV.
I have been catching beads in New Orleans since my first trip to Mardi Gras in 1995 but this year, I missed the big weekend due to commitment in Houston and the fact that Lunar (Chinese) New Year was on the Sunday before Fat Tuesday.
This year is the year of the Pig/Boar. Family and friends came over to my sister’s house for a big feast. The highlight of the party was the wonderful Dragon Dance performed by the troupe from Vovinam, a Vietnamese martial art school. There were big dragons and small dragons dancing to the beat of the drum. We all took turn to feed the dragons with money filled red envelopes.
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After the party, Gary and I came home and packed for our two days trip to New Orleans for Fat Tuesday. We did not catch any parade at all on Monday night. We should have made an effort to view the Orpheus parade, a music inspired Krewe founded by Harry Connick Jr. We were in the Casino instead playing the penny slots machine. I won a $92 jack pot on one of the machine.
We woke up early on Fat Tuesday to catch the Zulu parade. The crowd on St. Charles Street was festive and friendly. We brought two butterfly nets to catch our beads. At 5 feet and 4 inches, I need all the extra arm extension. Gary and I was able to catch about a dozen beads and a Zulu cup, however, we failed to catch the two most coveted throws, coconut and spears.
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With our tired feet and hungry stomachs, Gary and I left the parade route after Zulu and missed the Rex Parade. We walked to our favorite restaurant, Cafe Maspero and while we were waiting in line, the vision of the large Elvis appeared before my eyes and I knew that this day was going to be one of the best day ever in New Orleans. I have never spend Fat Tuesday in the French Quarter during the day time and what a pleasant surprise!
We ate our delicious lunch and walked along the streets in the French Quarter. The most festivity was on Royal Street. Most people dressed up in their finest costume. It was better than Halloween. I felt like a party pooper since I did not have anything fun on. Parades of different people and group marched up and down the narrow streets filling them with a thousand different colors, smiles and music. I wish all my friends and family were with me to march through the French Quarter.
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There were Elvis, Kings, lots of Queens and people from all walks of life just having a good time.  Gary and I walked a good three hours in the French Quarter to experience it all. Of course, this caused tremendous “foot pain” on both of our feet and rendered us useless by night time. After our obligatory free buffet at the casino, we were in bed by 10 PM and missed the annual midnight “raid” when the PoPo, riding on their horses and followed by street cleaning trucks chase the partygoers out of the French Quarter. I created my video of Mardi Gras for youtube.com.Â
I hope you enjoy the video and the photos from this article. My next article will be about New York City. Gary and I are going to the Big Apple in March. It will be my first time in 21 years.
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