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Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Make your way to Mardi Gras
New Orleans vs. Mobile?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s Mardi Gras time again, but where do you go to “laissez les bon temps roullex”? If “letting the good times roll” is just an excuse to get your kit off among a throng of drunken strangers, then head on down to New Orleans’ Bourbon Street for your beads and booze. But if you don’t plan to audition for the next Girls Gone Wild vid, you do have options.
New Orleans is famous for its weeks-long Fat Tuesday parties, but Mobile, Ala. holds claim to our country’s first Mardi Gras madness way back in 1703. Apparently, a bunch of French soldiers on the mend from yellow fever painted their faces and ran crazily around to celebrate. That celebration became a yearly ritual, and more than 100 years later, Mardi Gras floats were rolling through the streets of Mobile and New Orleans on the run-up to Lent.
Mobile’s Mardi Gras is often considered the family alternative to a wild, raucous New Orleans fest. But New Orleans natives say the true, family-friendly Mardi Gras spirit is found in its many parades and parties throughout the city and its suburbs. In fact, they don’t consider Bourbon Street the real Mardi Gras at all. Major parades don’t even go through the French Quarter.
Both cities offer dozens of parades in the weeks before Ash Wednesday, with brilliant floats, costumed revelers and tons of “throws” for the parade watchers. Purple, gold and green beads are coveted throws, and Mobile is known for throwing spectators an especially sweet treat - Moon Pies.
If you’re thinking of heading down, check out these sites for Mardi Gras info, parade routes and schedules in New Orleans and Mobile. And remember to let the good times roll!
Which city do you prefer for Mardi Gras? Where’s the best place to stay? Do you have a favorite parade or route? Have you been to any of the elaborate balls that accompany the Mardi Gras parades? Tell us about your Mardi Gras trips.
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