Right, I promised MG weekend update. Being a local, I've done my fair share of revelry, but I'd have to say that this year was one of the best. Great weather, great company, and an all-around fantastic time. Saturday we went to Mulate's for some good creole food and a little zydeco dancing (no dancing since that part of the restaurant's still closed...gotta love the post-Katrina world we live in). I ordered the alligator, and it was good enough to nearly make up for the lack of dancing...mmm. Don't cringe. It's good stuff. Don't knock it till you try it! We ended up walking around the Quarter for a bit too...it was a little rainy and chilly...just enough to walk around with umbrellas and feel a bit British. Nice.
Sunday was pretty laid-back also...church, lunch, naps...then that night we went to see Bacchus and Endymion...two of the biggest parades of the Mardi Gras season. (For those nerds like me who like knowing the etymology, Bacchus is the Roman name for the god of wine and revelry...same as Dionysius. Endymion is from the word for "dive" or "plunge into" and is a sun deity who personifies the setting of the sun. Okay, enough nerdiness for now). We definitely had a great time...although we FROZE while we waited forever on Canal Street for the parades to come. Charity, Sylvia and I met up with Dominique and we all walked over together...all in hooded sweatshirts and more layers than you can imagine. Which is why everyone around u
s at the parade was so shocked when we ended up catching the most beads. Even with our lack of visible skin, we brought back seven huge bags of beads...quite impressive if I say so myself.Monday, Lundi Gras, we went to see the mayor hand over the city to Rex (very New Orleans-ish) and then we went to watch a movie. After Bacchus and Endymion back to back, we needed a break. Especially in preparation for Tuesday. We climbed out of bed early to catch the craziness that is the Krewe of Zulu. Dominique, in all of her amazingness, managed to score us 10 coconuts in about an hour. (The members of the krewe hand-paint and decorate coconuts and give them out to people along the route...it's hard enough to get one, much less 10!) It was awesome to watch...this year they even had actual Zulu tribesmen marching (or dancing, rather) along with the parade. Very cool stuff.
We ended up trying to call it a day then and heading back to the Friendship House (the battered women's shelter where my friends minister), but we got sidetracked by a group of college-aged people at the Moon Walk. They
were doing free face painting, dancing, and all sorts of entertainment as part of a ministry effort with Answer the Cries Ministry. We spent a few hours with them and had a fantastic time...I even got up and sang at the amphitheatre (they were giving away a dvd player that would have been great for the Friendship House). Craziness. I'll definitely post more about them and their efforts later.We finally wandered back to the Friendship House with sunburns, beads, and Matt (he met up with us at the Moon Walk)...we sat around for a bit discussing just how bad all of us smelled (the heat was intense that day!) and finally decided to go back out into the craziness to get some food. Dinner at Margaritaville was good, and we even saw the people we stood next to that morning during Zulu.
When I finally came home (I hadn't been home in four days), I couldn't marinate in my Mardi Gras smell anymore, so I scrubbed it all off in the shower and hopped into bed where I dreamt about Zulu warriors and the beads Willie Nelson gave me (which really did happen!) All in all, it was a fantastic Mardi Gras. I didn't have class today because it's Ash Wednesday, and Loyola's Catholic enough to give us the day off. Being the good Baplic girl I am, I'm still working on what to give up for Lent. I thought I'd go for schoolwork, but I don't suppose that would be too keen. More brainstorming is needed.
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