Lady
05-25-2003, 12:20 PM
KING CAKE
It is our last full day in New Orleans and a sadness came upon me - I really did not want to head home! There is so much more to do that we did not do, many restaurants still tempting us with their delicious offerings - and there were still more beignets puffing up in the hot oil!!!
The plan was for Tramp and Scamp to spend the morning at the D-Day Museum and I would go to Mardi Gras World across the river by ferry. We had breakfast and back in the room - the guys grabbed their stuff and off they went - I finally wrote a few postcards to some folks back home and various other States. I had wanted to be at the Ferry by 9:00 but did not make it til 9:30 - walked a couple blocks down to Riverwalk - went to the bottom floor then walked a few blocks inside - scanning the store windows - thinking I can look later on that night - came out onto the Spanish Plaza - Water Fountain - courtyard type area - went across to another building that held the terminal for waiting to catch the Ferry boat over to Mardi Gras World. It was nearly empty save for two other couples - who were sitting near each other and looking straight ahead - almost as if in shock.
I went out onto a balcony for a bit of air and filmed the area below - aquarium and walkway - as I was doing this - one of the workers came up behind me and said "Ma'am, please come back inside with me." They wanted us to be together in one group. It turns out that approximately 9:00 a.m. on the same balcony two other women were standing getting some air and a man robbed them at gunpoint. The police had just left out one door as I entered through the other - yikes - I sat down with the other two couples and looked straight ahead - darting my eyes around when I felt a sudden movement or a shadow's change in hue.
The ferry was soon here and we all piled on - a crowd had gathered in the next ten - fifteen minutes, it's an old ferry from the 60s I would guess - a bit rusty in spots - greasy in others but you are only on it for less than ten minutes - no sooner do you sit down and adjust your sunglasses when you are stepping off on the other side. I'll admit I felt a bit creepy walking from the ferry to the van that is at the bottom of the stairs on the street - takes you to Mardi Gras World - since the story had been told of the robbery - maybe if I had not heard it I would have felt better but, climbed into the van and we were on our way to Mardi Gras World - fun place! You pay for the tour and you get your ticket which is a strand of beads - any color you wish - I chose green and it has a court jester on it in various colors also - he has a sign that states - Mardi Gras World - A good sized gift shop with all sorts of gizmos and doodads - you walk into the next room and get to try on some costumes - they are on a platform all spread out and messed up - no bottoms and tops matching on a hanger with head piece attached - all the sections are here and there - you need to put it altogether if you want to dress up - mainly a few teens were trying stuff on - saw two women - I had wanted to but then thought I would have to have someone take my photo - and the stuff might not fit anyway - a short movie is shown of Mardi Gras and how Mardi Gras World originated - you move into the main rooms where the floats and props are designed and a table holds a tray of King Cake - a sliced piece sits on a napkin - purple sugar - green or gold sugar - the three traditional colors of Mardi Gras - I chose Green and took one of the cups of coffee just poured - if you get the slice with the baby Jesus in it - you can redeem the toy piece in the gift shop for a present - not sure what that is - maybe a few beads : ) no one in our group had the slice with the baby jesus in it and the tray still had five slices left - I was thinking can't we have seconds lol - one of the staff must have read my mind - she quickly removed the tray - shucks!
They take you around the warehouse showing various floats and props - they show designs on paper, then the framing, the paper mache, the painting, the finishing touches - here and there they will point at one of the props and tell you a little tid bit about it - an interesting tid bit we were told is - you can be on a float during the Mardi Gras Parade for $400.00 - this gets you on the float and gets you a costume that ties in with the theme of that float - anything you throw to the crowd comes from your purse - so if you wish to throw 1,000 beads and the beads cost five cents each - well figure it out and take extra money : )
I had to make sure I was on the Noon Van to take me back to the Ferry so I would be back over outside the Riverboat Natchez by 12:30 - Tramp and Scamp were meeting me there to begin our tour of the Louisiana Purchase - this tour is given by Grayline Tours and was very enjoyable - I walked a few blocks from the ferry to the guys and once I made eye contact with them I kept walking past them to a chair/bench and collapsed - Tramp gave me some of his beer and went to get another one for me. The tour would begin in 20 minutes – it was 1 PM and all I wanted to do was lay down on one of the benches – did I hear mention of walking? Where? All over town??? Oh oh!!
It is our last full day in New Orleans and a sadness came upon me - I really did not want to head home! There is so much more to do that we did not do, many restaurants still tempting us with their delicious offerings - and there were still more beignets puffing up in the hot oil!!!
The plan was for Tramp and Scamp to spend the morning at the D-Day Museum and I would go to Mardi Gras World across the river by ferry. We had breakfast and back in the room - the guys grabbed their stuff and off they went - I finally wrote a few postcards to some folks back home and various other States. I had wanted to be at the Ferry by 9:00 but did not make it til 9:30 - walked a couple blocks down to Riverwalk - went to the bottom floor then walked a few blocks inside - scanning the store windows - thinking I can look later on that night - came out onto the Spanish Plaza - Water Fountain - courtyard type area - went across to another building that held the terminal for waiting to catch the Ferry boat over to Mardi Gras World. It was nearly empty save for two other couples - who were sitting near each other and looking straight ahead - almost as if in shock.
I went out onto a balcony for a bit of air and filmed the area below - aquarium and walkway - as I was doing this - one of the workers came up behind me and said "Ma'am, please come back inside with me." They wanted us to be together in one group. It turns out that approximately 9:00 a.m. on the same balcony two other women were standing getting some air and a man robbed them at gunpoint. The police had just left out one door as I entered through the other - yikes - I sat down with the other two couples and looked straight ahead - darting my eyes around when I felt a sudden movement or a shadow's change in hue.
The ferry was soon here and we all piled on - a crowd had gathered in the next ten - fifteen minutes, it's an old ferry from the 60s I would guess - a bit rusty in spots - greasy in others but you are only on it for less than ten minutes - no sooner do you sit down and adjust your sunglasses when you are stepping off on the other side. I'll admit I felt a bit creepy walking from the ferry to the van that is at the bottom of the stairs on the street - takes you to Mardi Gras World - since the story had been told of the robbery - maybe if I had not heard it I would have felt better but, climbed into the van and we were on our way to Mardi Gras World - fun place! You pay for the tour and you get your ticket which is a strand of beads - any color you wish - I chose green and it has a court jester on it in various colors also - he has a sign that states - Mardi Gras World - A good sized gift shop with all sorts of gizmos and doodads - you walk into the next room and get to try on some costumes - they are on a platform all spread out and messed up - no bottoms and tops matching on a hanger with head piece attached - all the sections are here and there - you need to put it altogether if you want to dress up - mainly a few teens were trying stuff on - saw two women - I had wanted to but then thought I would have to have someone take my photo - and the stuff might not fit anyway - a short movie is shown of Mardi Gras and how Mardi Gras World originated - you move into the main rooms where the floats and props are designed and a table holds a tray of King Cake - a sliced piece sits on a napkin - purple sugar - green or gold sugar - the three traditional colors of Mardi Gras - I chose Green and took one of the cups of coffee just poured - if you get the slice with the baby Jesus in it - you can redeem the toy piece in the gift shop for a present - not sure what that is - maybe a few beads : ) no one in our group had the slice with the baby jesus in it and the tray still had five slices left - I was thinking can't we have seconds lol - one of the staff must have read my mind - she quickly removed the tray - shucks!
They take you around the warehouse showing various floats and props - they show designs on paper, then the framing, the paper mache, the painting, the finishing touches - here and there they will point at one of the props and tell you a little tid bit about it - an interesting tid bit we were told is - you can be on a float during the Mardi Gras Parade for $400.00 - this gets you on the float and gets you a costume that ties in with the theme of that float - anything you throw to the crowd comes from your purse - so if you wish to throw 1,000 beads and the beads cost five cents each - well figure it out and take extra money : )
I had to make sure I was on the Noon Van to take me back to the Ferry so I would be back over outside the Riverboat Natchez by 12:30 - Tramp and Scamp were meeting me there to begin our tour of the Louisiana Purchase - this tour is given by Grayline Tours and was very enjoyable - I walked a few blocks from the ferry to the guys and once I made eye contact with them I kept walking past them to a chair/bench and collapsed - Tramp gave me some of his beer and went to get another one for me. The tour would begin in 20 minutes – it was 1 PM and all I wanted to do was lay down on one of the benches – did I hear mention of walking? Where? All over town??? Oh oh!!