New Orleans.

Let me start off by saying that New Orleans is most arguably one of my favorite U.S. cities. It's just something about the city, the culture, the food, the music, the people.... I just cannot even begin to explain my love affair for this city. 

I'm fortunate enough to have lived less than an hour away from New Orleans during my time in college, so the visits were more than frequent. As an adult, it still feels like I find myself drawn to the city atleast once or twice a year and this year will be no different. 

 

This past weekend, my friends and I made our 2nd annual (as it appears to be becoming a tradition) trip to New Orleans for Mardi Gras and the Zulu Ball. I had to cut my trip short due to other obligations, but that Thursday and Friday in the city were enough for me to get my fix for the weekend. 

I flew into New Orleans that Thursday afternoon, and after getting settled into my hotel walked over to Harrah's Casino to partake in a few complimentary beverages with my friends sister before the rest of our group arrived. 

Sadly, I did not hit it big. I did however partake in some slots & enjoyed a beverage or four from Harrah's. After we had our fill, we headed down the street to catch the tail end of the Krewe of Muses parade. 

It was cold out there, so we sobered right up as we managed to catch a few beads from the floats. 

We finally reached our stopping point and headed back to our hotel to meet up with our friends who had just arrived shortly after midnight. 

Everyone was pretty tired, so it was an early night for me....

Friday morning I was up bright and early. We went out and picked up our tickets for the ball, then headed back to pick up our other friends for breakfast before we checked into our other hotel and ran errands. 

The Trolley Stop is worth a trip on any New Orleans visit. I didn't take any pictures because I was too busy eating. 

After we ate, we made a Costco run to get our liquor for the ball (the Zulu Ball is a BYOB event) and a few other pit stops before we finally made our way back to hotel number two for some rest before we were scheduled to get our makeup done. 

I napped a bit. Then we walked a few blocked to meet up with our make up artist who came from Texas to set up shop to do makeup for all of his Zulu ball going clients. 

Steven Coleman is a miracle worker. Makeup was perfection. 

We waited a long while, and then eventually it was time to go to Zulu!

The Zulu Ball is the equivalent of a party with 20,000 of your closest friends, with unlimited food, drink and a concert featuring Charlie Wilson, and Juvenile that lasts till about 4:30 in the morning. 

There aren't many pictures because we were too busy dancing, but take my word for it, an excellent time was had by all. 

I probably slept for like two good hours that night before I was up and headed to the airport to catch my flight back to Houston. I was exhausted but satisfied. 

I got to see a lot of my old friends from college and make even more memories with my Zulu crew. 

Overall I enjoyed my 36 hours in New Orleans, and I can't wait till my next visit. I'm still recovering from the weekend, but I wouldn't change a thing about it. But that's New Orleans for you.