Last week Zydeco, this week Swing!

We have finally found a place to dance! Rock-n-Bowl is only about 2 miles from our house and they have live music and a dance floor just about every night. There's food and a small bowling alley too in the same huge room. What a cool place! This week we went to Swing night and danced to the sounds of the Creole String Beans! We're going back to Zydeco this week too!!

Zydeco at Rock-n-Bowl with Buckwheat Zydeco!

Buckwheat Zydeco is a legend around here. Some say he's one of the founding fathers of zydeco music. In reality, zydeco dates back to at least the 1940's and "Buckwheat" is simply one of the few that ever went mainstream. He's from Lafayette, LA. He started playing music on the organ, then started a folk band, and then switched to zydeco. He plays at Jazz Fest and other music festivals, but if you're lucky (like us!!) you can catch him at a smaller venue. We got to see him at Mid City Lanes Rock-n-Bowl this week. We also discovered that our swing dance steps are perfectly compatible with Zydeco music!

Parades and King Cakes!

There are over 60 parades scheduled in the New Orleans area for Mardi Gras! We are optimistically hoping to make it to about 20 of them! We bought parade tickets to a few of them- that secures us grandstand seating along St. Charles Avenue which should help us get some really good pictures of floats. There are some other parades that we want to be able to run around to catch throws which would be difficult in the seating area. We've also been invited to the Krewe of Endymion's private open house and float viewing. We'll get to see the floats BEFORE the parade even rolls out! Beyond that, there's a king cake tasting party and all sorts of other fun we have on our schedule! Tentatively, here it is:

February 1: NOLA EATS King Cake Tasting Party
February 15: Krewe du Vieux Parade in the French Quarter
February 15: KOE Open House
February 21: Krewe of Cork Parade in the French Quarter
February 22: Krewe of Chewbacchus Parade
February 23: Carrollton, Arthur, and Alla Parades (we have grandstand tickets to these!)
February 26: Ancient Druids and Nyx Parades
February 27: Krewe of Muses (this krewe throws glittery decorated high heel shoes!)
February 28: Hermes, D'Etat, and Morpheus Parades (we have tickets to these too!)
March 1: Endymion Parade
March 2: Mardi Gras Brunch at Commanders Palace
March 2: Krewe of Bacchus Parade (Hugh Laurie will be there!)
March 3: Lundi Gras (all day free concert and Mardi Gras party on the riverfront!!)
March 4: Fat Tuesday! A Day of Parades, Daiquiris, and Costuming!!

First King Cake of the Season...

We got our first king cake of the season at Sucre- a candy, chocolate, and sweet shop here in New Orleans. It was fabulous. I've only had one other king cake but I got it from the supposed "best place to get a king cake". This cake from Sucre was worlds above the other. I cannot explain how delicious it was. Imagine flakey, pastry cake, infused with cream cheese, twisted into a circle knot and baked, glazed with shiny thin icing and golden dust sprinkles. If you ever have a chance to get a king cake, get this one.

Mardi Gras Decorations!!!

Yep, we have our decorations up and my office is covered in green, purple, and gold too!

It's Carnival Time in New Orleans!

It's January 6, Twelfth Night, the first day of Carnival Season! Our decorations are up and we are ready! Tonight we went to our first parade: the Krewe de Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc). We caught lots of fun throws (no beads) like chocolate and candles. It was very cold- not quite parade weather but we weren't going to miss it!

 

Beach Bums

As part of our 2013 Christmas, we decided to spend a weekend in Panama City Beach. We drove the scenic route, 30A, and caught this amazing sunset somewhere near Santa Rosa Beach. Winter is such a great time for Panama City because rates are super low, you have the beach to yourself, and there's no wait at the really great seafood restaurants (the ones that stay open for the winter that is!). The waves are just as beautiful, you just have to bundle up!

The Joint...

We've been hearing since we moved here how we've just got to eat at "The Joint". It's a hole in the wall BBQ place in the 9th Ward and everyone says it just might be the best BBQ ever- even Guy Fieri! Yep, it was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. We finally made it over there and sure enough, it was some of the best BBQ we've ever had. If you're ever in NOLA, be sure to put it on your list! I hade the combo platter of ribs, brisket, and pulled pork as well as mac-n-cheese of course! Here's a pic- it was delicious!