New Orleans - Day 3

We fueled up for our last full day of sightseeing by enjoying brunch on the garden patio of Court of Two Sisters.

The last destination on our New Orleans "must do" list was Mardi Gras World. We had some trouble getting there as I thought, for some reason, that it was on the other side of the river. So, we took the ferry across the Mississippi River only to find out we had to go back to the side we started on. Once we had our bearings about us, we called for the free shuttle that picked us up and drove us to Mardi Gras World.

On the ferry ride across the Mississippi River

Mardi Gras World is located along the river in a huge warehouse. Every year over 500 floats are either built or decorated by the craftsmen at this location. The tour of Mardi Gras World starts with a video about the history of the Mardi Gras celebration, the sampling of the traditional king cake, and time for trying on some Mardi Gras costumes. But the best part of the tour is when you are turned loose in the warehouse to wander around and watch the artisans working on the floats. The warehouse also stores many floats from past Mardi Gras parades that were interesting to see.

Who are these jokers?

A float prop carved out of foam.

A past Mardi Gras parade float

The floats are packed into the warehouse

Once our Mardi Gras World tour concluded, we took the shuttle bus back to town where we had to take one last family picture at Jackson Square. 

Sadly our time in New Orleans has come to an end!