We took a shuttle in the morning to go downtown - The French Quarter is where we were dropped off. It was a partly sunny and warm day 84-87 humid degrees. We went into the French Market shopping area, which is a covered/open shopping center where people could sell their unique items. The back side of the shopping area was lined with food stations selling local cuisine.
We walked several blocks to check out the unique architecture—beautiful buildings with rod iron railings, greenery, and florals.
We even got the chance to see a funeral procession come by. Very different to see for sure! You will see the gentleman carrying the Urn, the woman holding the flowers, and the little girl who seems happy and skipping along with beads.
We walked over to Cafe Du Monde as they are known for their awesome Beignets. The coffee was awesome as well! Boy, they know how to load the powered sugar on!
We took a walk along the riverside. Got a great breeze across the water, you can grab a trolley, go on a paddle boat just a great place to hang out on a nice day. The photo with the Church was the St. Louis Cathedral.
We then went down to Canal Street to pick up a shuttle to Mardi Gras World. We took a studio tour to get a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to build some of these amazing floats you see at Mardi Gras.
Mardi Gras, a festive day celebrated in France on Shrove Tuesday (the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday), which marks the close of the pre-Lenten season. The French name Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday, from the custom of using all the fats in the home before Lent in preparation for fasting and abstinence.
The name Mardi Gras (also known as Carnival) might come from a Latin phrase meaning “to take away meat.”In the United States the principal Carnival celebration is in New Orleans. The Carnival season opens on Twelfth Night (also called Epiphany, which is observed on January 6) and climaxes with the Mardi Gras festivities commencing 10 days before Shrove Tuesday. During this time, a citywide revelry and elaborate parades, both day and night, building up to Mardi Gras and the Rex parade. Beads of gold, green, and purple (representing power, faith, and justice, respectively) are commonly distributed, and the eating of king cake is an iconic part of the celebration.
Amazing the artistry envolved in making the floats. Many of the items are built on Styrofoam and paper mache'. The pieces of strofoam are glued together and then carved to form the base, then covered in paper mache' and painted. They have several figures that were built using fiberglass. The warehouse has many of the items that came from shows in the past - at times they can reuse or restructure an item for a new parade.
This is a robot carving a large piece of styrofoam. Super cool!
We enjoyed our day in New Orleans. We certainly didn't experience everything there is to see and do but think we got the vibe! We leave the New Orleans RV Resort and Marina on Wednesday to head to another location in Louisiana.