08 March 2011

It is a thing that can hardly exist in the practical North.

Happy Fat Tuesday everyone!

Oh how I love the South, and how I wished I lived in New Orleans. My love for New Orleans grows the more and more I learn about it. It all started in Disneyland...


When I was a weee child, Haunted Mansion (which is in New Orleans Square) was my absolute favorite ride. When we went back my senior year in high school, I fell in love with the architecture of this little part of Disney.

When Jake and I went to Disneyland together for Halloween in 2009, we had a few small miracles happen. Not only did we think it was the cutest thing ever that our room number at our hotel was 319 (our anniversary), we decided one night that we wanted to eat at Disneyland's one nice restaurant, The Blue Bayou. We trudged our tired feet over there around 4 o'clock to make reservations and...they were booked! We were so sad. Then a nice lady came up to us, apologized for eavesdropping, and told us that her date cancelled on her, and she believed that someone should be able to enjoy her reservations even if she couldn't.
Miracles happen!


This was our first taste of New Orleans food! And it was delish. I ended up adding gumbo permanently to my recipe box.
After that, Jake and I sat outside and watched the rest of Fantasmic. Following the show, real live jazz bands began playing around the Square. Oh my goodness, I was in love. New Orleans Jazz is everything that I love about life. It's vibrant and playful and silly and can be soothing. I wish I could play an instrument that could be in a Jazz band!

Not long after that, my second favorite Disney princess movie of all time came out.

via Disney

Jazz, Jazz, Jazz!
This movie just increased my desire to be a part of New Orleans culture. If only!

And today, my friends in New Orleans are celebrating Fat Tuesday with Mardi Gras! I wish I could be there. Not to get beads, but to see the tradition! Also, because while I'm there I'm getting married here:


It looks like the Disneyland castle. Except prettier. And a church. And beautiful! No big deal.

Anyways...
In honor of Mardi Gras, since I cannot really be there as much as I'd love to be, I'll settle for this.


Srsly, my favorite restaurant of all time. It's delicious, nutritious, and New Orleans style! I only said nutritious because it rhymed. Don't hate. Srsly again, if you haven't had this place yet, go tonight. Celebrate Mardi Gras (even if you're not Catholic!). Be adventurous. Eat the Mardi Gras Chicken. That's what I'll be eating.
Mmm!

For the soul of it is romantic, not the funny and the grotesque. Take away the romantic mysteries, the kings and knights and big-sounding titles, Mardi Gras would die, down there in the South.

*Quote from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain.

3 comments:

  1. My family eats at The Blue Bayou every time we go! We only get like, one thing though...and that's the Monte Cristo sandwiches. Oh.Em.Gee. They are amazing. We even found a similar Diney Recipe for these amazing treats and have made them at my house. So delicious!

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  2. You can actually go to City Hall in Disneyland and get the recipes, that's how I got my gumbo one!

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  3. I want to go to Disneyland again and have awesome, cute adventures like the ones described above :)
    P.S. Let's move to the south. We can eat gumbo and read Gone with the Wind all the day.

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