My dad has been itching to get back to the 504 ever since he came to help us move last summer! So, I spent a good portion of the new year planning out places to take the fam on their visit!
Our first outing: My favorite, the Audubon Zoo!!!
My husband has oft noted that noone over the age of 4 acts the way that I do at the zoo, but, come on y’all! It’s the ZOOOOO!!!
We had a low key night at home that night to prepare for a long day in the French Quarter. We got Chinese carryout and watched movies: Red and The Social Network. Red is not my usual style of movie (there is very little gore in this film, and comedy-action just doesn’t do it for me). Maybe it was the presence of the statuesque and sexy Helen Mirren that did it, but I was pleasantly surprised with this little “romp” (a word one cannot really use to describe my usual cinematic fare). I knew I would enjoy The Social Network, and I did, nuff said.
The next day, after a lot of carefully coordinated preparation (5 people in a 4 room shotgun apartment can resemble a game of Twister), we headed downtown on the streetcar! It was the first time to see the French Quarter for my mom and brother, so I wanted to make the most of it!
We saw it all!...Ok, so not ALL of it….but the family friendly portions…Bourbon Street, the mighty Mississippi, the French Market, Café du Monde, Pat O’Briens, Jackson Square, all the famous architecture, character, and characters of the district, and, of course, we watched Krewe du Vieux!!!! My family's first Mardi Gras experience!!!
The next day we were all exhausted, and took a day off to relax. Dad and I walked to the market and stopped off at Big Fisherman to pick up some freshly boiled crawfish!
Monday after work, my folks picked me up in their rental car and we drove uptown through the Riverbend and Carollton, looping City Park, and stopping for a moment at the Canal Street cemetery complex! We completed our journey by trekking through traffic to Mardi Gras World, so my fam could see the innerworkings of the big Mardi Gras parades!
Tuesday, mom and dad went on a date night, so my brother and I went out on our own. He's really into all things supernatural, so I took him on one of the Haunted History tours. It turned out to be really fun, though, I occasionally felt a little more like a tourist than I'd like.
It was an eventful week, and I think (hope?) a good time was had by all! After the fam left, I cleaned up the house....only to immediately trash it again with fabrics, sequins, patterns, and beads to resume the increasingly serious work of Mardi Gras! Laissez le bons temps roulet!
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