Mardi Gras in New Orleans

For the last few months or so, Caiqian and I have looked for a hot-air balloon ride vendor to redeem our ticket. To our surprise, we found one in Baton Rouge, Louisiana the weekend of Mardi Gras (March 1st and 2nd). Since New Orleans was so close by, we decided to try out Mardi Gras in the biggest Mardi Gras city in the world.

Mardi Gras 2014

Our journey began on Saturday morning. The first order of business was breakfast, and what better breakfast than a po-boy?

Ok, there may be more conventional breakfasts, but Caiqian and I had to try the acclaimed "world's best po-boy" from Mother's Restaurant. The Ferdi Special was unlike any po-boy I had ever had. The real secret of the po-boy is that it has "debris", a mixture of meat trimmings and gravy which soaks the bread. Typically I think po-boys are a bit dry, but this one was soaked with gravy, which was a pleasant surprise.

Ferdi Special Po-Boy from Mother's Restaurant

After a hearty breakfast it was time for Caiqian and I to experience our first Mardi Gras parade. I learned that in NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana) there are many parades at varying times. The parade Caiqian and I went to was the "Krewe of Iris."

One car from the Krewe of Iris

Needless to say, catching the free beads from the passing cars was a blast! It wasn't long before Caiqian and I built up a sizable collection.

BEADS

Caiqian and I stood around and saw the whole Krewe parade, including many local band performances.

There were a lot of high school bands.

One strange section of the parade was the gang of Traveling Elvises.

Gang of Traveling Elvises

After a hard morning of parading, it was time for Caiqian and I to re-energize at Acme Oyster House. At first we were intimidated by the long line, but soon after getting in line, we skipped the whole thing because we were were a party of two. Success!

What a line

Of all the food that Caiqian and I ate in New Orleans, Acme's chargrilled oysters were our favorite.

Acme's famous Char-grilled Oysters

To finish it off, we enjoyed a scoop of bread pudding and vanilla ice cream.

Our first Louisiana bread pudding

Walking back outside we caught some post-lunch parades.

More Parading

While walking around, we found a drink stand that was selling an alcoholic drink in a truly unique cup.

Sexy Leg from Coco Bongos

About an hour later the drink was finished. Surprisingly, I didn't feel a bit intoxicated, although I did feel regret consuming that much liquid.

Ugh..

Afterwards we made our way to Deanie's, known for their BBQ shrimp. Caiqian and I tried it out, but Deanie's wasn't our favorite. 

BBQ Shrimp at Deanie’s Seafood 

Following dinner, we did our last round of parading, which was like the previous parades except with glorious neon lighting.

Night-time parading

At the nighttime parade Caiqian and I got a lot of freebies, including bags, beads, tiny styrofoam light sticks, and other miscellaneous toys. We were also graced with the presence of one of the Mardi Gras Queens.

New Orleans Queen 

Afterwards it was late and time for Caiqian and I to make our way back to our hotel in Baton Rouge. I don't think we slept until 2:00am, but it was a great Saturday in New Orleans.

Sunday in Baton Rouge

We originally planned to have our hot air balloon ride in Baton Rouge, but as usual the flight was cancelled due to weather. However, not all was lost. Our vendor originally wanted to meet us in a place called Coffee Call that sold beignets. We may not have had a hot air balloon ride, but that didn't mean we couldn't eat beignets at Coffee Call!

Beignets at Coffee Call

After a nice brunch we wanted to finish with a substantial meal before driving back to Houston. We decided to try a restaurant called Parrain's Seafood House, which turned out to be one of our favorite discoveries, right up there with Acme Oyster House.

Lunch at Parrain's 

After out meal of chargrilled oysters, regular oysters, alligator pieces, crawfish & crab au gratin, and chowder, we had to finish with that Louisiana bread pudding.

White Chocolate Bread Puddin' with a Caiqian Twist ( Ice Cream)

Long story short, no hot air balloon ride, but it was a great excuse to experience Mardi Gras in the Mardi Gras capital. Next up, Caiqian and I will (hopefully) arrange a balloon ride that actually happens!