Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler
Life is Good in the Big Easy
The Annual Carnival Season found New Orleans in an intense party mood. Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler (let the good Ames roll) was never more evident. Reason: A Super Bowl jjust happened in New Orleans and it was followed by Mardi Gras. That’s it! Let’s Party. In order to make any sense out of this, we got the envious assignment of going from L.A. to LA, with the direcAve to observe, partake, and report.
Carnival season runs for approximately two weeks prior to Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), but really gets into high gear on the Friday prior. Mardi Gras weekend is five days of non-‐stop partying All midnight Tuesday. And we do mean conAnuous. 24/7. Five days of parades, fesAviAes, events, food, drinks....you name it and it happens.
The center of acAon is Bourbon Street in the French Quarter where balconies are decorated and crowded with people throwing beads at passers-‐by -‐ especially women -‐ who are willing to liX up their shirts and show their chests. It’s all in good fun and everyone has a good Ame. The officers from the New Orleans Police Department are such pros at crowd control that it’s amazing how much goes on and how few disrupAons there are. The police presence is everywhere, but it’s benevolent, to make the revelers feel secure.
These are the Poles that are About to Get Greased
Grease Away Ladies
Acresses Camryn Manheim, wnd Wanda Sykes Greased the Poles in 2012
by Jon Bogart & Glenda Stewart
The City That Wrote the Book on
How To Party
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The fesAviAes get under way with the annual Pole Greasing at the Royal Sonesta Hotel on Bourbon Street. There, a group of dignified women coat the poles leading up to the balconies with Vasoline, to prevent the overly aggressive from shimmying up the poles to climb on the balconies -‐ as had been done in the past. However, with the poles covered in petroleum jelly, no one is going to make it to the top. The ceremony is a hoot as the ladies slick up the poles while being encouraged by the crowds to really “do it right”.
The event is a_ended by dignitaries and draws a variety of famous people to partake in the acAon. in Camryn Manheim and Wanda Sykes have made appearances as the greasers as ladies entertain the crowd with their anAcs on the ladder. Appearances by the Super Bowl Champion Saints, media celebriAes, and VIP’s complete the program and by noon Friday it’s Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler...big Ame.
New Orleans is unique in the fact that it has the most relaxed liquor laws in the country. In the Big Easy it’s perfectly OK to go out on the street with a drink in your hand. And there are sidewalk vendors dispensing all kinds of libaAons, with such exoAc names as Hand Grenades, Hurricanes, Big Ass Beers, Frozen Daiquiris and any other alcoholic poAon you can imagine. And you see people walking down the street with goldfish bowls filled with booze. There is an so much alcohol consumed during these five days, that the beer trucks are dispatched to restock every morning.
The parades are conAnuous during Mardi Gras with organizaAons called KREWES producing and financing their own parade. On Saturday night the Krewe of Endymion parades into the SuperDome. On Sunday night the Krewe of Bacchus ends up at the ConvenAon Center, and on Monday the Krewe of Orpheus does up the ConvenAon Center as well. This all leads to the finale with the Krewe of Zulu starAng fesAviAes on Mardi Gras Day, followed by the Krewe of Rex -‐ King of Carnival, King of the City on Fat Tuesday.
During the parades, riders man the beauAful floats and throw beads, doubloons, cups, stuffed animals -‐ oh, you name it -‐ at the people lining the parade route with the hands in the air yelling “Throw Me Something, Mister!” You’ve really got to see it to believe it. And, yes, the floats are loaded with alcohol, as well as throws, and by the Ame the parade ends a lot of the riders are totally drunk.Party Central
Revelers
Everywhere – BEADS
Crowds?
A Fabulous Float
Travel • Eat • Play Special Edition
Extending our stay past Mardi Gras also gave us the opportunity to dine at Antoine's, one of the signature restaurants in New Orleans. Antoine's is steeped in history as it is one of the oldest dining establishments in the city.
Since 1840 it has set the standard that make New Orleans one of the greatest dining centers of the world. For over 160 years, Antoine’s excellent French-‐Creole cuisine, service, and atmosphere have combined to create an unmatched dining experience. It is casual elegance, ushering one into a nostalgic period of the past. The waiters are all clad in tuxedos, while diners are seated at tables that are
laid out on a terra-‐co_a floor. It is so New Orleans.
Antoine's is huge. Covering almost a city block, with a collecAon of 14 dining rooms, each with their own unique history and charm. Memorabilia from its many notable guests line the walls....and include General Pa_on, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, President Roosevelt, Judy Garland, Carol Burne_ and Pope John Paul the II...to
name just a few.
They have two signature specialAes that everyone has to try...the Puffed Potatoes and the Oysters Rockefeller. Antoine's actually invented the Oysters Rockefeller and they hand out a postcard with Antoine's grandson being served the millionth oyster. Oysters Rockefeller remains one of the great culinary creaAons of all Ame and the recipe remains a closely-‐guarded Antoine's secret ... though it has been imitated countless Ames. Today today Antoine’s is shepherded by a fiXh generaAon great great grandson who makes sure that tradiAon is maintained. Antoine’s
is a must-‐do. It sets the standard for French-‐Creole Cuisine, not only in the Big Easy, but also for the world.
So there you have it. An utterly fabulous Mardi Gras and a Super Bowl rotation
Three weeks in Party Central. The transition from Super Bowl to Mardi Gras seems seamless. The Super Bowl is an awesome experience and comes off exactly as planned. Everything is close by and it’s easy to walk just about everywhere - even to the game. Mardi Gras follows and on a Monday following the game the City takes on its Mardi Gras persona. To put the cherry on top of the Sundae, the last title game between the 49ers and Ravens was a classic, decided on the last play. Brother against brother. What an ending...John beat Jim.
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Mardi Gras Colors Are Purple Green and Gold