Missing Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras sounds like hell to me. Although I do plan to watch a local Mardi Gras parade from a friend’s balcony on Sunday.

NEVER SEEN THE GODFATHER?!?

I’ve never seen ET.

Mardi Gras does sound hellish in some ways (ok, many ways) but I’ve always felt a need to experience it. And, more than anything, I really just want to go photograph it. And I like beads.

No ET, eh? Hmmm. Well, you saw commercials for it when it first came out—that’s probably enough.

Actually, I’ve been to New Orleans a number of times and I’m kind of so-so on it in general, but I had a wonderful time at the <a href=“http://www.tennesseewilliams.net/”> (which takes place March 25-29 this year) and very much hope to do it again someday.

So sorry, let me try this again: <a >Tennessee Williams Literary Festival</a>

Never mind.

I’ve never seen the Godfather, either. Or been to Mardi Gras. Been to NOLA in the offseason a couple times, though, and I feel kind of possessive of it as a result - not sure I would want to share it with all those people. Plus, I despise Bourbon Street. I’ve always been curious about Mobile’s Mardi Gras, though! Seems so out of character.

Jenna - for a little Mardi Gras taste you should watch (re-watch?) Easy Rider. If you’re looking to become deeply depressed Spike Lee’s Katrina doc is fantastic, too. (When The Levees Broke) Also, dig up some Kermit Ruffins on YouTube - Fat Tuesday, Monday Night in New Orleans, etc.

Travel confessions? I didn’t go to the Louvre in Paris or the British Museum in London, and - this being my sixth trip to NYC in the last 2 years - I only set foot in the Met for the first time last week.

I’ve been to Paris just once, didn’t go to the Louvre. (Spent hours in the Musee d’Orsay, though.) I’ve never been to the British Museum but always go to the Victoria & Albert Museum (for the costume collection, mostly) and the National Portrait Gallery when I’m in London. LOVE the National Portrait Gallery and spend lots of time and money in the gift shop buying postcards.

I adore the Met and return perhaps every fifth trip to NY. My current fave NY museum might be the Cooper-Hewitt.

The Godfather really is a wonderful movie. Honest.

There’s no real reason for my Godfatherless life. It just kind of happened. Will be corrected at some point.

As for Easy Ride and the Spike Lee joint, both have been part of my life. (The Godfather thing really is an odd one—I watch movies movies movies and more movies.)

Love the Met. Love Cooper-Hewitt. And, for a dose of Flyover America in Manhattan, I just can’t get enough of the American Folk Art Museum.

I went to college at Tulane, and living in NOLA during Mardi Gras was such a different experience than the one you get as a tourist. Weeks in advance, we’d map out who we knew on each parade route (it’s essential that you have a home to base out of, with a kitchen, bathroom, and couch to crash on). We made survival packs (toilet paper, clean underwear, asprin, and handi-wipes). And then we left home on Thursday, and didn’t go back until Ash Wednesday. You drink when someone hands you a drink, you sleep where you fall, and you dance as much as possible in between. A few years we actually danced in the parades, which was one of the funnest things I’ve ever done, bar none (being inside the parade is a lot less crowded than watching it, and the least coordinated people would push a shopping cart with a keg behind the Krew).

I love Mardi Gras like a local, but I’m also not sure I’d go back as a tourist, or that I’d let my children anywhere near it. And now that there are such small video cameras (flip, etc), much bigger potential for long-term embarrassment.

I’ve not been to Mardi Gras, not been to NOLA. I feel like a pathetic excuse for a traveler. And I’ve also not seen the Godfather! True story. This oversight about the Godfather came up with my German teacher, a funny Irish guy who was doing graduate work in German lit at the UW.

“WHAT ARE YOU?!?!? SOME KIND OF COMMUNIST!?!?!?” he said. He wasn’t entirely joking.

I still have not see the Godfather. I think it more important to get to NOLA.

So… Godfather-viewing World Hum blogger party? In NOLA?

Sophia - I LOVE the National Portrait Gallery!! It’s my favourite. I go back every time I’m in London. Love the gift shop, too. The Henry VIII + Wives chocolates? Amazing.

Looks like we’re both un-American Pam. I think I may just need to rent The Godfather and watch it on my laptop when I, finally, get myself to NOLA.

Angela—Great NOLA stories. Thanks so much for the insider view.

I’ve never been to Mardi Gras, but I’ve visited Nola several times. I love the city like a fun cousin who you don’t get to see that much, but whenever you get together it’s like no time has passed.  (I almost went to Tulane but decided I’d better not for various reasons of personal health, safety, and on-time graduation.)

It’s marvelous to go around Christmastime when the crowds are moderate and the weather isn’t too hot.  I go to eat, to shop for weird antiques, and to tour magnificent old houses.  I stay away from Bourbon Street.

I went to school in New Orleans, grudgingly left post-Katrina, and have been to Mardi Gras for the past 5 years. It’s truly a citywide, non-stop party. Kids, parents, grandparents and everyone in between. Drinking, parades, and MUSIC during all hours of day and night. In order to survive until Fat Tuesday morning’s Zulu and Rex parades, you must be prepared, pace your self, and bring some comfortable shoes, a beer coozy, and a zany jacket that you dont mind spilling daquaris on.

In fact, I’m taking a red-eye flight from Seattle to New Orleans tonight at 11PM. See y’all at Tipitina’s!

Wow, a lot of Godfather catching up to do here. But as someone who’s been to New Orleans a couple of times, and seen the Godfather, I’m with Pam: I’d say get thee to Nola before watching the movie.

The most conspicuous gap in my travels? I was born and raised in California, and lived there most of my life, and I’ve never been to Yosemite.

I am a NOLA native and will be tweeting all weekend. You can at least live vicariously through us online. Tweet Grid is following all the Mardi Gras tweets here:http://budurl.com/btgb so you can follow the fun in real time, Bookmark and check back while you drench your soul:) And get ideas for the best places to go next year, of course!

Oh, yeah, on Twitter I am @nolatlf.

And I agree with Eve that best soundtrack for all NOLA pining is anything by Kermit!

Gaps?  I’ve lived in NYC for almost 20 years and I’ve never been to the Statue of Liberty. 

Don’t forget to try the grilled oysters in New Orleans.  I’m salivating just thinkin’ about them.

I’ve been to New Orleans many times because my mother lives across the lake, and I have been to Mardi Gras once, which was enough for ten lifetimes. Mardi Gras at street level is like being packed into a river of drunken humanity - you have no control and you just have to go where it takes you. It also means being nearly knee-deep in indescribable filth (literally, I threw away the pants and shoes I was wearing). I tried to think of a way to say something positive, but I honestly just despise New Orleans and would never go back within 100 miles of it if I weren’t compelled to visit family. The food and music are great - if you’re listening and eating somewhere far from the cesspool.

The Godfather can wait, but you better visit New Orleans soon, because I just read an article which says it’s one of the 5 most endangered places on the planet, due to global warming. Well, don’t need CNN to tell you that New Orleans is in danger of being drowned, but still…

woo!! NOLA represent!! i’ve lived here all my life, and it’s so amazing. mardi gras is different in different parts of the city though. if you want more family-oriented stuff, go to the metairie parades. i promise it won’t be boring, though. for example, a few years ago, i saw a man pushing a sofa he’d attached wheels to down toward the parade route so he could chill in comfort. people park their pickups and bring their barbecue grills. it’s pretty much a big-ass tailgate party. if the parade starts at 6 pm, i promise there will be people out there at noon, saving their spots for the night. and the day before mardi gras, people go lay out tarps or stake off parts of ground for the next day. downtown is cool also, but it’s where all the tourists go, and they throw less, and parking is a joke. but it’s still fun, and makes for a great night. locals usually know at least one person in any given parade. put mardi gras on your bucket list!!!!!

When you go to Mardi Gras you must make sure you join the local crowd at a bar called Hi-Ho Bar or Mimi’s bar. These places have hardly any tourists and aren’t your usual booby flashing crowd. This year was my first Mardi Gras and because i knew someone who lived there i was able to stay in an apartment inches away from Bourbon street, while simultaneously endulging in some local culture.

I missed it for the first time in 36 years! I was obligated to take the kiddos to Disney World once in their life…
If you go and want to stay out of the “cess pool” of Bourbon, watch the parade on St. Charles Avenue or go to Family Gras in Metairie. Make sure you visit some local music dives like Tipatinas or Le Bonne Temps Roullez. It can be a very family friendly evironment (despite all of the girls gone wild publicity) but make sure you get a small ladder for the young kids to watch the parade up and over the crowd. Also, if you need that Zulu coconut as a memento of your visit, try bartering one for a beer…