a glimpse of mardi gras

We may have missed out on Mardi Gras, but we still managed to get the best glimpse of it while we were in New Orleans. 

We got to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the massive warehouse where they build and store the parade floats for the year. This was definitely a favorite stop during our time in NOLA. It gave us such a great perspective on this city and its traditions. 

I've always thought of Mardi Gras as being a crazy time and it definitely is. But there is so much history and pride and culture that goes into this parade too. 

During our tour we learned so much about the different krewes of the city. A krewe is a club that you pay membership into. Every krewe hosts its own parade during the year and each one is known for something different. The more well known krewes also have the honor of being featured in the Mardi Gras parade. 

Getting to see the process of making a parade float...these are for Mardi Gras 2019!  

they really take it seriously here

After our tour of learning about the krewes and the float making process, we spent lots of time roaming around on our own. So much fun! It's a giant playground. 

They reuse everything they can, so we found Lincoln's head with no body because it had been used on another float.

Had to take a pic with this skull and his gold crown. 

also found a prop from a dental parade float...who says dentistry isn't fun? 

I cannot imagine being in New Orleans during actual Mardi Gras. Honestly, I wouldn't want to be. But I'm glad that we had the opportunity to learn more about it and understand it better because it is so much different than what I had thought.

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