Mardi Gras Experience

Mardi Gras in NOLA is definitely an experience to go through once or maybe even a few times, that's just a personal choice. Going to college in the state of Louisiana, the students get a Mardi Gras break that usually is, I believe, 3 days off from classes. So there is a perk to going to college in Louisiana.I went to college at The University of Louisiana at Monroe, which is in the Northeastern part of the state. We are only about 4 hours from New Orleans.

I went my sophomore year, which was in February of 2004, and I went with my best friend and another girlfriend. We met up and ran into a lot of our friends and acquaintances from our College on the French Quarter and Bourbon Street.

The three of us left the Wednesday after Fat Tuesday, and our friend that was from New Orleans actually drove us down there in her car. Honestly, it was somewhat last minute plans to go to Mardi Gras, so we just went with the flow. Our friend from NOLA said she would take us and we could all stay at her parent's house. So we stayed from Wednesday to Sunday, and we did not really have to spend extra money on getting there, or a place to stay. Also, the three of us all went to the same college are we were all involved in the Athletic program at our College. As far as spending money went, we probably spent between $100 to $200 for the five days. We did not have to miss any class since it was our college Mardi Gras break. We all paid for our own drinks, food, and whatever else. So all in all it was not an expensive trip for any of us.

We had a great time, and we ended up running into and hanging out with a great number of our college friends at The French Quarter. There are so many bars and parades to check out, you will not ever get bored. The streets are extremely crowded and somewhat dirty, but it's sort of expected when you think about going to Mardi Gras. If you enjoy meeting new people, you will like the atmosphere. The beads are absolutely crazy and colorful and they are of abundance. The only advice I have is to go with people that know the area, do not be a push over, try not to be jealous or go with any people that are, and do not wear your nicest clothes because they are just going to get filthy.