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February 2001
New Orleans (Thoth, Bacchus and Orpheus)
David Aaronson2005-09-25 18:19:36
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associated with the French Quarter during Mardi Gras. The parades themselves do not enter the French Quarter (too narrow) and a more family atmosphere prevails. This is the only nudity we have amongst our pictures if you count it.
We stayed at the Hilton Riverwalk and when we finally reached it we found ourselves on the 26th floor. Many of the Krewes for the day's parades were also staying in the hotel and it was rather chaotic to say the least. We had a nice view of New Orleans out our window though. The French Quarter would be just off to the right of this picture (5). On the left side is a small four-story red building with an awning. That is the Ambassador Hotel which we mention because we watched both the Orpheus and Bacchus parades directly across the street from it. More on that later.
The Bacchus parade started at 6:00 PM. We arrived at St. Charles street at about 6:30 to find an elaborate set of constructions of scaffolding, plywood, duct tape, ladders, and whatever else people could use to rope off territory. It was stunning. People had clearly been there all day, setting up netting and blankets even to catch extra stuff. We fled back to Tchoutopoulas St. and our aforementioned location. The Ambassador Hotel was serving food and drinks out front so we sat on the curb and had a few adult beverages while we waited. The parade itself arrived sometime after 9:00 and lasted until midnight. You might say we were a bit early. We caught so much stuff that we returned to the hotel in the middle to empty out the backpack we had brought to fill. On the very last float we caught a purple drawstring bag with Mardi Gras masks painted on it which turned out to be great for storing loot. We also collected seven Bacchus medallions, though none of the ones with glowing green eyes that actually spoke 'Hail Bacchus'. We have no pictures of Bacchus and their 'Denizens of the Deep' theme. Most of them were very impressive but after seeing manta rays, sharks, killer whales, jellyfish, eels, the Kraken, and crocodiles, we have to question the inclusion of the float titled 'Schools of Mahi Mahi'. This picture is of a fais-do-do on Bourbon Street the next day (6). A fais-do-do is a sort of impromptu parade with a band and they happen all year long in New Orleans.
Bourbon Street is crowded all year round, though primarily late at night. This is an average scene on Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras at 2 o'clock in the afternoon (7). We can't even describe how crowded it was at 2 o'clock in the morning, and that's only partially because we can't really remember. We don't include the 'World Famous Love Acts' sign in our no-nudity claim from earlier. It's important to note also that nothing relating to Mardi Gras really happens here. All of this and the antics that are generally linked to Mardi Gras are fairly restricted to the French Quarter and are completely whimsical and unplanned. If you wander around long enough you'll see everything. If you stay out of the French Quarter completely, you probably won't be subject to anything you might consider objectionable. If you don't believe there's anything you would consider objectionable, then you probably haven't wandered around the French Quarter long enough.
See photographs from:
United States Gallery
