Mardi Gras in New Orleans- The Big Easy

Louisiana is an incredible mix of diverse cultures, music, architectures and foods. Discovered by a Frenchman in 1682, it was said to be given by Louis XV to his cousin Charles in Spain in 1762, rumored to be a gambling debt? Slavery had been introduced in 1724 when the cultivation of cotton and sugar gave rise to the plantation era and a wealthy upper class.
The Nova Scotians, expelled by the British, in Canada, arrived in 1764 and thus are the foundation of the Cajun culture and cuisine. They get the credit for Louisana gumbo, athough it is said the native Indians created a soupy facsimile with vegetables, meats and seafoods. The Indians introduced an ingredient that has stood the test of time, a must, ground sassafras leaves. Creole culture, language and food is a mixture of French, West African, Native American Indian and Spanish.
Oil was discovered in 1901. The state now has a population of over 5 million people and is the 31st largest in America.
We drove over 35 miles by car on raised roads on 3' concrete stilts across the lakes, swamps and bayous to get down to the French Quarter, an area of 90 blocks in New Orleans for the Mardi Gras. It is said, this is the city of jazz and fun. As a child, Louis Armstrong used to follow the brass bands through the streets. The city's nickname, The Big Easy means 'Let the good times roll.'
We walked all over, Canal Street, then Boubon Street where we had chicken and sausage Jambalaya at the Checkered Parrot for lunch. Later, we shared a bowl of red beans and rice which also had smoked sausage in it. The food was delicious, something we'd not had before. Many people dress up with purple, green and gold being the Mardi Gras colors as seen in the hats on the ladies on the street and even the icing on donuts. Purple stands for justice, green denotes faith and gold represents power. There are musicians on the streets and very loud music everywhere. These two performers in gold and silver were hilarious, acting like robots and then heading into the crowds to kiss or surprise someone.
An hour parade went by and we all acted like 5 year olds, grabbing for the necklaces, doubloons, cups, souvenirs thrown by the masked people on the floats, as did everyone there. It's expected that you call out and participate. We weren't near the Karina area, so didn't see the rebuilding efforts.
Going home we stopped at a WalMart which 'Gabby' our talking Garmin told us how to get to. We love this woman Gabby. Ron's having a vodka or rum with coke drink occasionally so I was at the till when the clerk passed the vodka through the scanner and said it's not on sale and put it behind her till. I said O.K., then she passed the rum through the scanner and said this is not on sale and also put it on the back counter. I said, that's fine I'll take it anyway and she said "Oh no you won't dear, we don't sell alcohol on Sunday. Can you imagine the look on our faces, I guess you can get drunk as a skunk 6 days a week in St Martins Parish, but you'll definitely stay sober on Sunday.