"New Orleans for Mardi Gras" a New Orleans Travel Page by malianrob

January 12 2008 - I will be heading off to New Orleans in about two weeks. I am so excited! New Orleans is one of those places that I have been wanting to go to for so long and just havent been able to get to. I really had always just wanted to go to Mardi Gras. I never really knew too much else about New Orleans. After Katrina happened and people said that New Orleans would never be the same again, I really had regrets of never having gone. My interest In New Orleans grew and it wasnt about just Mardi Gras anymore.
The more and more people I spoke to seemed to really love New Orleans and had also never been to Mardi Gras. I started to do my research and I knew I had to get there soon.
My timeshare company owns a timeshare in the Garden District of New Orleans and put me on a waiting list for availability. I was shocked when they finally called me up and told me that there was availability during Mardi Gras. I jumped at the chance to be there and I booked it.
We will be staying about 2 weeks there because I want to see as much of Louisiana as I possibly can. My plan is to also drive into Mississippi. I had heard that it was pretty close to NO so I am going to check it out. I would love to see the Plantation homes, and go into the swamp areas. I also heard that New Orleans has alot of great dining. Now, food is one of my favorite subjects so... New Orleans......Here I come!
I think the hardest thing for me during this trip will be to be able to do all the touristy things that I want to do with Rob and keeping him out of the casinos!

New Orleans is a very exciting city. I wasnt sure what to expect but I wasnt disappointed at all. To my surprise, right before we left for New Orleans I found out that a friend of ours had moved out to New Orleans aswell. Our friend Vanesa is originally from New Orleans but moved out to LA when her parents separated. After Katrina she decided to move back to New Orleans to help out her family. We hung out at her place one night. She lives in the French Quarter on Bourbon St. We had so much fun!

Being here for Mardi Gras was great but there were its down sides too. First the great part of being here is that we are part of the biggest street party in the United States. There is so much history and tradition here and its so interesting and exciting.
On the down side because it is Mardi Gras the prices at some places are super inflated,good luck trying to get a taxi, many streets are blocked off so you might get stuck somewhere and might not be able to get out. We were trying to get to the French Quarter one night and we couldnt cross Canal St anywhere. We got alot of beads but we were stuck there for a few hours. After finally getting to Vanesa's house we hung out there for a while and then went to Bouron St. It got so crowded there that you couldnt even walk around. You can literally get pushed around which ever way the crowd is flowing.
Another thing is that because of the parades and the craziness going on many restaurants are either closed at odd hours or serve a very basic menu. Some sights that you might want to see might be closed and you might not get to see some of the things you want.
Other than that, we are having tons of fun!