The boys are back in town! They had a fabulous time. Spent the first night in the Holiday Inn French Quarter - it was a perfect location they said. Right in the heart of all the action.
Collected all kinds of fabulous beads and medallions from the parades. Had no problems in the bars at all. No issues at all with crime of any type. People were amazing. They came home armed with recipes for muffalettas & po'boys. They stayed at the Frat House at Tulane and were treated royally - great bunch of guys. Then their last two nights at Avenue Garden Hotel which they said was lovely - kind of a bed & breakfast feel - but really reasonable at $50/night. All my worrying for nothing! Most definitely their best holiday yet! Cheers NOLA!

So glad to hear they had a safe, fun trip, lavisitor! I can only imagine how relieved you are to have them home!:)

It's wonderful that they had such a good experience.

lavisitor,

It's great you followed our advice. Now your sons have memories that they will cherish their whole life.

I agree! Good for the boys and good for you. The media often does a great disservice to New Orleans.

prewitt25, you state:
"I'm not sure that I agree that Mardi Gras will be 90% of what it used to be; I hope it is, but that seems optimistic this year."

Here's an article from CityBusiness from the following URL:
http://www.neworleanscitybusiness.co...fm?recID=18267

Carnival net soars past 2006 profit
by Richard A. Webster
02/26/2007

Mardi Gras 2007 came close to matching the excitement and profit of Mardi Gras 2005. The only thing missing were the mean drunks, said business owners.
Profits soared over 2006 with some approaching pre-Katrina levels.

Mel Ziggler, general manager of Karno Cos., which operates five French Quarter clubs including the Krazy Korner and the Steak Pit on Bourbon Street, said the goal going into this Carnival season was to match 2005 numbers. They exceeded them instead.



I guess I really do know what I'm talking about, huh?

The fact that the numbers surpassed 2006 are not surprising -- it was the first year post K. If you'll recall, too, 2005 Mardi Gras was very early and also had soft numbers.
Finally, I wasn't questioning your numbers. In fact, as a resident who loves this city, I hoped (and hope) that all of our festivals exceed previous years in terms of revenues. To say that Mardi Gras is 90% back is a very relative statement.
Finally, your "See, I told you so," sentiment is kind of childish, wouldn't you say?

prewitt25,

It was all said in jest :) No harm intended...

We both want New Orleans to succeed and that's all that counts :)