IgoUgo

New Orleans Journals

My first Mardi Gras in New Orleans

A February 2002 trip to New Orleans by ahhsland

Quote: A week in the crescent city.

My first Mardi Gras in New Orleans

Best Of IgoUgo

Overview

Quote:
Eating, drinking & people watching. Take a short walk to Cafe Du Monde at the French Market and have a cafe au lait & some beignets. Go eat some raw oysters at Desire. Ride the St. Charles Street car. Just take a walk down Bourbon Street at night. Quick Tips: Even if you think you don't want to go to New Orleans during Mardi Gras, you've got to go at least once. The parades and beautiful costumes were well worth all the craziness. The parades go on for over a month before Fat Tuesday. You can go early & beat a lot of the crowds.Best Way To Get Around: Don't take cabs. Don't rent a car. Parking was impossible during Mardi Gras. We took the bus everywhere. At 1.25 a ride, i...Read More

Hotel Mazarin

Hotel | "The Saint Louis"

Quote:
We were beat considering this was our last night in New Orleans. We had a romantic night over a pizza & white russian slushies. The location & room at the St Louis Hotel were extraordinary. Right smack dab in the quarter. Our room had a terrible view, but for the price we couldn't complain. If you find that you can't find a parking place, use their valet service. $19 a day isn't bad for covered, secure parking.

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on February 25, 2002

Hotel Mazarin
730 Bienville Street
New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
(504) 581-7300

Longpre Hostel & Guest House

Hotel | "Longpre Hostel & Guest House"

Quote:
I absolutely love hostel travelling. We had reservations for 5 nights. $175 total per person, isn't bad for a festival week. The hostel is located in the lower garden district. The neighborhood was beautiful and there was never a time I felt unsafe, even at 4am :) We took the #11 (Magazine) & #12 (St. Charles streetcar) everywhere. All of the people staying in our room were excellent. Where else can you stay in a room with americans, french, canadians, south americans? There was a kitchen and a common room for everyone's enjoyment. Each floor had a bathroom & some of the private accommodations had private baths. The place wasn't the cleanest, but we tried to do our part to help ou...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on February 25, 2002

Longpre Hostel & Guest House
1726 Prytania
New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
(504) 581-4540

House of Blues New Orleans

Restaurant | "House of Blues"

Quote:
This was the first place we went when we got to NOLA. I'm an absolute geek about folk art & I was in heaven. I had my first oyster poboy & it was wonderful. The atmosphere of the restaurant & patio were high energy, big fun.

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on February 25, 2002

House of Blues New Orleans
225 Decatur Street
New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
(504) 529-2624

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

Restaurant

Quote:
I absolutely loved Forrest Gump and had always wanted to eat at this restaurant. I hadn't seen the movie in years & it was great to see it playing as we ate. The wait staff are all highly knowledgable about the movie & will ask you trivia. I had a wonderful smoothie & a bucket of boat trash for dinner!! We had to rerent the movie once back home...still a tear jerker.

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on February 25, 2002

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
429 Decatur St
New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
+1 504 522 5800; +1

St Charles Tavern

Restaurant

Quote:
We found ourselves at the St Charles Tavern twice while in NOLA. The first was on mundi gras for red beans & rice. Always have red beans and rice on mondays in NOLA :) The second was for breakfast at 3am. They serve breakfast from 11pm-11am. I had grits & eggs. If only they would have had brains & eggs...mmmm. We had great wait staff on both occassions & even got to see a fight. Very interesting atmosphere with the trendy, tattooed waitresses & the local police.

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on February 25, 2002

St Charles Tavern
1433 Saint Charles Avenue
New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
(504) 523-9823

Desire Oyster Bar

Restaurant | "Desire"

Quote:
We were all dying for some raw oysters & on Fat Tuesday no less. We tried 3 other big name oyster bars in the quarter to no avail. This is supposedly the only restaurant open in the quarter on Fat Tuesday. We had a group of 10 and only had to wait 10 min. Excellent oysters on the 1/2 shell. Buy a loaf of fish shaped bread on your way out.

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on February 25, 2002

Desire Oyster Bar
300 Bourbon Street
New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
(504) 586-0300

Masquerade Fantasy

Story/Tip

Quote:
1233 Decatur St, NOLA 70116

I had located this lil mask shop on the internet before going to NOLA. I knew I wanted to purchase a mask to wear on Fat Tuesday. Jim Gibeaults masks are some of the most beautiful leather creations I've ever seen. I spent under $200 and got two masks that will literally last a life time. Check out his website and be sure and visit him while you're there.

http://www.masquerade-fantasy.com

About the Writer

ahhsland

ahhsland
Kansas City, Missouri

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