Mardi Gras 2020: Thoughts From An Introvert & An Extrovert

Mardi Gras 2020: would it be something we’d regret attending, or would we enjoy the party atmosphere?

When we shared that we’d be spending five nights in New Orleans during the height of Mardi Gras, a number of people warned us against it due to the city being mayhem and that it wouldn’t give a good impression of the city.

It’s one of those things we felt we needed to experience though, with our 5 year, 50 state road trip giving us the perfect opportunity to do it. Now that it’s over, is it something we regret doing, or would we love to return and experience Mardi Gras in New Orleans again in the future?

Other than our Best & Worst Things series for each state, most of our posts are only written by one of us. We thought we’d shake that up a little for this post and share what we both thought of the celebration. I’m an introvert while Shae’s an extrovert, so being around hordes of people is something I tend to avoid whereas Shae thrives being around lots of people.

Would that affect our opinions of Mardi Gras? Read on to find out.

Stephen’s Thoughts

As the introvert, people’s warnings about the Mardi Gras madness had me a little apprehensive, but it turned out to be far more enjoyable than I thought it would.

I think the main reason I enjoyed it so much is because we took it at our own pace and didn’t spend too much time on Bourbon St. That’s not to say we didn’t spend any time on Bourbon St, but it’s not like we spent all day and all night in the street and bars there.

Fat Tuesday was on February 25 this year and it was definitely the busiest day in the city. The evening in particular was crazy and was standing room only. It was barely even that, as trying to walk along the street was virtually impossible.

Things were busy earlier that day too, but certainly more chill than the evening. We got lucky by coming across a parade which was actually the most fun parade that we saw during our five days there.

The music was catchy too and we both ended up humming it for the rest of the day (the video features a cameo by Truffles):

Mardi Gras was much better natured than I’d been expecting. New Orleans has an open container policy, so it’s no problem walking around the streets with a drink in your hands. While we saw a few people that were far too wasted for their own good, for the most part people seemed to be pretty responsible.

We took advantage of the open container policy by getting original Hurricanes from Pat O’Brien’s, 64oz fishbowl cocktails from Huge Ass Beers and vodka gummy bears from Slush which were extremely good.

Someone had mentioned to me that the police are incredibly lenient during Mardi Gras and that was certainly true. Walk around New Orleans in February and you’ll likely smell weed whatever street you’re on. Although I don’t smoke weed, I appreciated that the police didn’t seem to care about other people smoking it as no one getting stoned were causing any problems. It meant the atmosphere was much more relaxed overall and people could focus on enjoying themselves. Despite the heavy police presence, we only saw one person being arrested during our five days there, so she must’ve done something pretty egregious to warrant that!

I think one of the reasons I enjoyed Mardi Gras so much is because we weren’t stuck out and about. If we’d had to drive into New Orleans each day, I can imagine it being a more miserable experience. Traffic in and out would’ve been a nightmare, finding somewhere to park would’ve been hard, plus it would mean you’d be stuck in the city until it was time to go home or back to your hotel elsewhere.

Instead, we stayed at the Hyatt Centric in the French Quarter. This was one block over from Bourbon St which meant we were right next to the thick of it, but the corner the hotel was on wasn’t too busy itself. We could therefore walk around for as long as we wanted, head back to the hotel to rest and relax, then head back out in the evening. This made a huge difference to my enjoyment, so although we redeemed more points than I normally would, it was certainly worth the investment.

It was also nice that Shae and I were on the same page about parades. While we wanted to experience some of the big parades seeing as that’s a large part of what Mardi Gras is about, neither of us found the main parade (Endymion) we attended all that exciting. It didn’t help that it continually got delayed, although sadly it seems that was because someone watching the parade passed away after getting trapped in or under some parade floats while trying to catch some beads.

Overall, I had a great time at Mardi Gras despite being an introvert. Staying in the French Quarter meant we didn’t have to constantly deal with crowds, while the atmosphere was even more fun than I’d been expecting.

Shae’s Thoughts

The short version? I loved it! I do agree with Stephen though, the reason I loved it so much is because we did our own thing. I wouldn’t have enjoyed just trying to be drunk the whole time. Here’s more of my thoughts about Mardi Gras 2020.

The long version…

Hotel

I really liked the hotel we stayed at and the location. The staff were lovely from the first night. Even when they were exhausted on day 5 of our stay, they were still friendly, hardworking and professional. I loved being a block from the action. It was close enough to wander out at any time for some fun and far enough to be quiet at night for decent rest.

Shops

I had a great time just wandering the streets. I was a little sad that a few places were closed at various times for Mardi Gras but I was able to get in before we left. Two of my favorites were Southern Paws (a pet store for furbulous outfits and treats) and The Gallery Burguieres and its sister store, Cocoally. We encountered great staff on each visit and the Gallery and Cocoally were full of unique and adorable items! If you’re in NOLA, you MUST drop by and pick up something cute and local.

Food and Drinks

Alligator hot dogs at Dat Dog were so good we went twice. We tried a few beignets but, sorry, they aren’t as good as donuts. Although we preferred Cafe Beignet to Cafe Du Monde.

I could drink Hurricanes ALL.DAY.LONG. They were so amazing. The 64oz fishbowl was tasty, but more for the novelty of it. But really, the Hurricane. So worth the trip to Pat O’Briens… twice. Those vodka infused gummy bears? Delicious but strong, take it easy with those.

People

The majority of people were there, having fun, doing their own thing and that was partly what made Mardi Gras so fun. People were funny, fun, kind, relaxed and enjoying themselves.

I’ll be honest, I was expecting to be grabbed on the butt and spoken to lewdly because of my “curvy” shape. I was shocked when nothing even close happened (not bad-shocked obviously, but I was so sure it would) and it added to the fun I had.

There were a few groups I could’ve done without – there were quite a few corners full of religious people shouting about how we were all going to hell. As a person of faith, I’m all for living your beliefs, but these particular methods are, in my opinion, counterproductive and unfruitful. There were others who were just offering hugs or prayer which I thought were kinder approaches to reaching the masses on Bourbon Street if you felt it necessary.

I loved the party atmosphere on most streets. Locals sitting outside people watching. We got chatting to a few people on their stoops and that was a great time. Truffles draws a lot of attention so it helps get conversations started. There was even a very cool guy walking his iguana so I got a pic with him.

There were a few too many people on Bourbon Street the last night even for an “extra-vert” like me. I love me some people, but I can’t stand feeling pressed in and unsafe which at one point I did. I ended up following a man and his dog to make it through since Stephen and I got separated. There were just so many people. If anyone tripped it would be easy to be trampled.

One other thing that went too far over the top, even for this touchy-feely extrovert – the hug line. There was a line of 50 people or so who were offering free hugs like the Soul Train line.

Just. No.

Dressing Up

There were so many great costumes. I wish we’d gotten outfits for us. But we did get a great little dress for Truffles which just added to the fun we all had. Everyone “oohed and aahhed” at her. Some people took pictures with her.

And obviously, she couldn’t get her beads without being able to open her top to flash the balconies.

Beads

The very best part of Mardi Gras was helping Truffles get her beads. If you are familiar with Mardi Gras traditions, women typically flash their breasts for beads on Bourbon Street. You can get beads from the parades as well so that’s how I got my beads. We thought it would be funny to have Truffles flash her six little puppy nips for beads and it was HILARIOUS.

Here’s a video so you can see her little shimmy!

Like any good “pawty-goer” Truffles donated her beads at the end of the weekend to help non-profit fundraisers for next year.

I loved Mardi Gras and New Orleans. It’s a party scene for sure though and it’s dirty at times as you’d expect. But the morning after Mardi Gras it’s all cleared up and it’s business as usual. There are about 12 hours between these two pictures.

While I don’t have to get back every year, I’d happily go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans again in the future.