Mardi Gras 2015: Day 1

I know it is the time of year when you are all sitting on the edge of your seats to find out where the grandmas have gone wild this time. But this year you will have to wait until the fall for that secret.

So Robin and I decided to knock a little something off our Bucket Lists during our normal Grandmas time slot.

Mardi Gras in New Orleans!

Her first. My second, but my first time to actually stay in the French Quarter.


As with all great adventures, this one began with smiling faces and happy expectations. We waited for Houston's rush hour traffic to die down and then off we went hoping to be safely ensconced in our hotel room by the time of Friday's first parade.

Knowing I10 to be a tad tricky for travelers, we gave ourselves plenty of time. Or so we thought!

4 hours into our trip we hit this just west of Baton Rouge.

It took us nearly two hours to go less than 20 miles. No wrecks. No construction. Just sudden stops in the middle of nowhere. Then everyone would seemingly disappear and we would be moving again. Over and over it went. Five and a half hours later we made it to our hotel.

We were so exhausted that we skipped the parades and went to Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse for a wonderful and relaxing meal instead!

We are staying at the Hotel Monteleone in the heart of the French Quarter. It is beautifully old and elegant at the same time.

According to Historic Hotels of America it was once a frequent stop for the likes of Earnest Hemingway, Truman Capote and the like.

Today 'the cousins' arrive for the festivities. Robin's cousin, Lonnie, will arrive from Florida and soon after Rita will be making her way down from Monroe. It's going to be a great girls weekend!

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Location:Royal St,New Orleans,United States