With the Super Bowl Thrown In

Carnival took a deep breath and a brief pause this year, to welcome the Ravens and the Forty-Niners for the Super Bowl. Technically, I didn't have a dog in this hunt BUT! I have a long memory and still don't like how the Niners treated Joe Montana. Add that to the fact that the Ravens players were coming out ~ loudly ~ in favor of LGBTQ rights and the Niners were just as loud about wanting to be as unsafe a place as possible for the LGBTQ community, and I was thrilled to watch the Ravens win. Plus, hello, ravens. All of which is to say, while I didn't care as much as if it had been the Cowboys, the Patriots, or even the Giants (hi Grill Master!), I still cared enough to cheer and celebrate. And take pictures.

First, there was the VIP convoy on my street:

Then, there was the map that appeared on my corner. It looks helpful. In truth, it tells you absolutely nothing. It doesn't give you any of the information it claims to give you. Yes. It is a map of the area. No, it doesn't show you parking lots, or one ways, and the grids make no sense. It was a pretty purple color, though.

The quiet during the game itself:

Unless the streets are closed (see the Mardi Gras night post), it's never this quiet. Never.

And then the party afterwards, because any reason is reason to party:

Preparations

We live in the CBD neighborhood of NOLA. This is wonderful. We are right in the middle of everything, yet far enough away from the Quarter to not be in the chaos.

We also have a bathroom in our lobby. 350 days a year, this does not matter. I cannot stress how much this does not matter. Then there is Mardi Gras. And Super Bowl. Suddenly, we are very popular here in our little apartment building.

These showed up in our elevator:

You're damn right we wore them.

And the First Night Parade

Because there is something particularly exciting about a night parade. Yes, the pictures suck for the most part, but look at the colors. You can still see the colors. The Krewe of Cleopatra...

Carnival Begins (for us) With Krewe of Pontchartrain

This is what January looks like down here. I am totally screwed if I ever have to live in the north again.

New Year's Eve, NOLA Style

Monday, December 31st...

Along about 6:30, it dawned on Lithus that it, actually and for real, was New Year's Eve, that very night. Although we had talked about staying in that evening, this was game-changing information. Also, New Orleans has been dubbed the best place to celebrate New Year's Eve, so we kind of wanted to see what all the hoopla was about. At the same time, when you are a local here, the parties can coagulate into one giant mess of drunken tourists, rivers of booze, feathers and beads. Still...it was New Year's Eve. It was still early. We went out.

The heart of NYE in NOLA is Jackson Square, so we wandered down that way. Sure enough, the fleur de lys was on top of Jax and ready to drop. People we already seated on the benches along the river, waiting for the midnight fireworks. Across the way, we could see the Gretna fireworks going full bore.

When they were over, Lithus cocked his head and said "that sounds like live music." Of course it was; it is New Orleans. So, we headed toward the music. The band was doing a Huey Lewis and the News cover, and doing it pretty well. As we got closer, we realized they were doing another Huey Lewis cover. The venue was free, so we headed in. To realize the band wasn't doing Huey Lewis and the News covers after all. They were Huey Lewis and the News, doing their own stuff.

Huh. What do you know about that.

Now, while not a fan, even in the '80s, I never had to turn them off when they came on the radio *cough*RickSpringfield*cough* and didn't mind it if they were played at parties. This night? It was free live music on New Year's Eve in New Orleans. We were about 30 yards away from the stage, but completely uncrowded. No way I'm walking away from that. You know what? I had a blast. I was amazed at all the lyrics I knew ~ and I knew all the lyrics. We danced. We laughed. We sang. They finished their set and came back for an encore.

It was great. Maybe I've become a Huey Lewis fan. Okay, probably not, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a damn good time. Plus, we were home with hot cocoa by 9:00 and got to watch the fleur de lys drop from the comfort of our own living room.

They say you should start the year the way you intend to spend it. Unexpected delights and a little adventure, bookended with the comforts of home...Looks like 2013 is going to be a good year.

A Lot Like Christmas

The other night, there were opera singers on the balcony in Jackson square. Of course, the Square itself is beautifully lit. Fulton Street is decked out. Yes, it's beginning to look a light like Christmas.

And Then There Are...Other...Events

We were wandering, as we are wont to do, and found a poster for a Robot Parade. Ooooo...a robot parade! This could be exciting. When we got home, we searched out more information. It was being heavily promoted on nola.com. Pictures from last year looked so cool. George Jetson cool. We were totally going.

Lithus was particularly excited. He was texting BIL like a school kid. I would almost use the word giddy.

And he wasn't the only one. The crowds were huge. People were lining the sidewalks. Children through grandparents and everything in between. Yuppies and preppies and gothies and everything in between.

The people watching was great. Two girls wanted to know from dad what the robots would be throwing. When dad said he didn't know if they'd be throwing anything, the girls took it to mean there would "only" be beads. The dad tried to explain that in other cities, the parades didn't throw anything. The girls were shocked and disgusted and convinced the dad was foolish.

Two bikers came by and asked us if we knew which way the parade would be heading. When it was established that we didn't, we made a pact that, if one of us found out, the other group would know. It was a pact I planned to keep.

The energy and excitement was palpable.

Four o'clock came. And four o'clock went. And the clock kept ticking. Until ...

Yep. That was it. In the back was this:

Both of which are cool, but hardly the robot parade we'd been expecting. Still, it was a holiday event and really, what says holidays better than a bunch of people dressed up in cardboard with a banner?