Endless Bliss | Happy Lifestyle Blog: I Went to New Orleans, and All I Got Were Some Plastic Beads.

I Went to New Orleans, and All I Got Were Some Plastic Beads.

new orleans mardi gras


As I mentioned before, I took a trip to New Orleans last week for work. Even though my favorite part of the trip was my bike tour, I still got to do lots of other fun things. I was there from Sunday until Thursday, and with Mardi Gras season in full swing, there was no shortage of fun to be had.

SUNDAY
When we got to New Orleans, traffic was horrendous. We ended up having to get dropped off on the side of the street, lugging our bags behind us because our hotel, the Intercontinental New Orleans, was on the parade route, and there was a parade that had already started. I looked a hot mess, but that didn't stop some random guy from whistling at me from his car window. Welcome to New Orleans.

Naturally, the first thing I did after getting ready was go down to watch the parade. The floats were incredible, and people were so aggressive with trying to get some beads. I've actually never been a really good bead catcher, especially when I have a camera in hand, but I still managed to catch some beads without even trying. Mind you, the people in front of me were practically bullying the people in the floats to give them beads and other goodies plus fighting with each other to make sure they got the best stuff. It was a mad house, and it was only 1 pm. There were two more parades after that, but I had to go help with work stuff, so I sauntered up to my room. 

new orleans mardi gras parade

new orleans mardi gras parade
new orleans mardi gras parade

new orleans mardi gras parade


After doing some work stuff, I went to Pat O'Brien's and had the most delicious shrimp and grits of my life. The grits were fried, and I had never had them like that before. It was so good! We also had some duck bites, which I devoured. The sauce they came with was delicious.

pat o'brien's new orleans

shrimp and grits pat o'brien's


MONDAY
I got up and got ready for a lunch meeting with the person I was giving the social media presentation with. We ate at Trenasse, which is inside of the hotel. I didn't expect it to be as good as it was, but man, I didn't want to stop eating. I had a shrimp and oyster po-boy, aka a "shoyster," and some seafood chowder soup. Both were so delicious.

Later, I went shopping at the Riverwalk. I'm not a big shopper, but I ended up buying a light jacket, two blouses, a headband, and a pair of sunglasses (I forgot to bring a pair on the trip!). I had some wings at a place called Poppy's Time Out Bar & Grill right outside of the Riverwalk. The wings were good, but not great. The service was really good though. Everyone was super nice, even though I felt like the servers were just talking to me because I was eating by myself.

new orleans riverwalk

new orleans riverwalk

poppy's time out bar and grill


TUESDAY
Presentation day! I was so nervous, but everyone had nice things to say about my presentation, so I'm grateful for that. 

new orleans
My presentation outfit! 


That night, was the awards night for my company, and there was so much good food! I didn't want to stop eating. 

intercontinental new orleans
The table decor was so cute.

intercontinental new orleans trenasse
Louisiana gumbo with duck, chicken and andouille sausage

intercontinental new orleans trenasse
Fried green tomatoes over crawfish etouffee. I don't even like tomatoes, but I still ate it, and it was delicious. 
intercontinental new orleans trenasse
Smoked braised beef short ribs with pepper jack grits and speckled trout meuniere

intercontinental new orleans trenasse
King cake bread pudding


WEDNESDAY
I woke up super early in the morning for my 9:15 am bike tour. Read all about it and my delicious lunch at The Royal House and dessert at Cafe Beignet here. 

That afternoon, I went with my boss and her sister to a little restaurant called The Market Cafe. I had some gumbo, and it was so delicious. I swear, everything that I ate in New Orleans was amazing. I would live in New Orleans just for the food. After we finished eating, we did a little street shopping, and I bought the usual souvenirs I buy when I travel - a magnet and some post cards.

That night, there was a little cocktail reception before everyone went out to the bleachers for the parade. I thought that watching the parade from the bleachers would be exciting, but I actually prefer being on the ground. It was neat to see the parade from the bleachers, but you could only see it if you were in the front row. Also, they threw more stuff to the people on the ground, and a lot of things were dropped on the ground because people (myself included) suck at catching. That said, it was still fun to experience the parade from the bleachers.

new orleans mardi gras parade

new orleans mardi gras parade

new orleans mardi gras parade

new orleans mardi gras parade

new orleans mardi gras parade

new orleans mardi gras parade
My parade stash


I'm glad that I can finally scratch "Experience Mardi Gras in New Orleans" off of my bucket list. I've experienced Mardi Gras in north Louisiana, but they really go all out for it in New Orleans. 

To see my trip in action, you can also check out my New Orleans vlog:


Have you ever been to New Orleans? 

22 comments :

  1. That's awesome! I'm glad that you not only did so well on your presentation but you also got to cross something off your bucketlist! (that's on mine, too — one day!)

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  2. Ah you make me want to to go to New Orleans so bad. I honestly have never heard of certain mardi gras foods like King Cake until I started reading blogs. The only things I new about are from The Princess and The Frog ha. One thing I always wondered about...I thought Mardi Gras was basically like a big "flash me boobs" festival. Is it like that or just overplayed

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  3. This looks so awesome! I'll definitely have to visit New Orleans one day and that food looks delish xx

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  4. It was a great trip, and I'm glad I was able to go! I hope you get to cross New Orleans Mardi Gras off of your bucket list soon!

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  5. Do it! Do it! Do it! It's always so interesting to learn about things from other places around the world through blogging. I feel like I've learned to much too thanks to blogging! I love Princess and the Frog, and the mention Shreveport in there, which is where I live!


    As for the boob flashing thing, I didn't see any of that when I was down there. Since the parade is so long, there are certain places that are more family friendly. The part that's closer to Bourbon St. is usually where the tourists go, and I've heard that there are some people who flash their boobs (only tourists though), but that's not how you have to "earn" your beads. You just scream and jump up and down and people will throw things even if you're not that enthusiastic. I've never seen any boobs on my trips to New Orleans haha.

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  6. You definitely should, Claudia! It's such a fun city to explore, and everything I ate was so good!

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  7. I want your job. That is all. :-)

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  8. I've never been to New Orleans! :[ It's going on my bucket list! I'd love to try out the food, and it looks so festive and fun!

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  9. I want to travel to New Orleans so bad! I love cajun food and everything French culture. I am so jealous! Usually my favorite thing about traveling is the food, and these pictures make me want to drive to New Orleans right now. Great post as usual. :)

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  10. Looks amazing! All of that food looks SOOOO good! I'm from the South, so I've had my fair share of grits in my time, but I've never heard of *fried* grits! I'll have to be on the lookout for that next time I make it to NOLA! Thanks for sharing your trip with us! Makes me want to hop on a plane for New Orleans right now (if for nothing else....it's warm there!!).

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  11. I have a friend that lives near Baton Rouge and I've done NOLA, but only during the day and not during MArdi Gras. Tampa Gasparilla is enough for me, lol. GLad you had such a great time and what a fabulous time to travel there for work!

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  12. Farrah, you've GOT to go! I know you'd love it, especially the food! I know how much you appreciate food. New Orleans is full of amazing food.

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  13. Whaaaat?! I've never heard of such a thing! I think Mardi Gras started in Alabama, so I suppose it would make sense that AL would do something crazy and awesome like that! You are so sweet, Christal! Thanks so much for visiting and becoming part of the Blogging Elite!

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  14. Bobbie, I have a feeling you would fall in love with New Orleans and never leave if you ever visited. The food is incredible. I was literally mad when I got full because I never wanted to stop eating! Food is definitely one of my favorite parts about traveling too. I hope you get to visit one day!

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  15. I had never heard of fried grits either, but I must say, it was pretty delicious! I thought it was going to be like a giant hashbrown, but it was actually grits. It was so interesting. And yes, the weather was perfect when I was there. I wasn't built for the cold, so I definitely enjoyed all of the sunshine!

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  16. New Orleans can definitely get pretty crazy, especially during Mardi Gras! Luckily, I was only there during the week this time, so it wasn't too crazy, but crazy enough. I've never heard of Tampa Gasparilla, but it already sounds fun!

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  17. All of those floats look so cool & I'm so jealous of all of your yummy food experiences!


    xoxo, SS


    The
    Southern Stylista

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  18. The floats were incredible! All of those people did an amazing job creating them. And all of the food I ate was so good!

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  19. That food. There's nothing like south Louisiana food.

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  20. Really though! I think all of my favorite meals have been eaten in south Louisiana.

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  21. I'm not sure how things work in New Orleans, but here in Mobile, everyone goes crazy over the Mardi Gras beads as well because immediately after Fat Tuesday, Krispy Kreme starts giving you free dozens of donuts per pound of beads...mm. Also, let me just say that I absolutely love your personality!

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