We had a great time at Mardi Gras! I can honestly say, I have been to and done Mardi Gras! We dressed up, saw 5 or 6 parades, caught about 25 lbs of beads without really trying, drank way too much and ate King Cake. Lots of King Cake and several different versions of King Cake to be exact.
Mardi Gras goes on for several weeks. Most of the parades are two weeks prior to Fat Tuesday, but basically it starts right after Christmas. The tradition of Mardi Gras actually started in Mobile, Alabama. Mardi Gras is the oldest annual Carnival celebration in the United States, started by Frenchman Nicholas Langlois in 1703. This was fifteen years before New Orleans was founded, although today their celebrations are much more widely known. Mobile, being the first capital of French Louisiana (1702), the festival began as a French Catholic tradition. (wikipedia)
I left New Orleans having had one last Voodoo daiquiri at Lafitte’s and another 2 doz. or so fresh oysters from Luke!