T Stands For Mardi Gras

This is a very long post and I got a bit carried away.

Today we celebrate Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, or Shrove Tuesday.  It is the decadent day before Catholics and a few Protestant Churches celebrate Lent, the 40 days of fasting that begins on Ash Wednesday in commemoration of the forty days Jesus spent fasting in the desert.

Depending on the individual church and customs, it ends at sundown on Holy Saturday or on the morning of Easter Sunday.


Traditional colors for this event are green, purple, and gold.

Unfortunately, I didn't like how the images scanned,

so I took a couple photos, too.

I began by laying down both green and purple acrylic paint in my large art journal.  Then I found the two Mardi Gras mask images and cut them out.  I attached them to the page, then framed them with gold washi tape.  Afterward, I added the hand written words using green, purple, and gold gel pens, and the feather, which I messed up when I tried to glue it to the page.

Where better to celebrate Mardi Gras than in New Orleans.  It is sometimes abbreviated NOLA.  The one in New Orleans, Louisiana (a city that sits at the mouth of the Mississippi) is considered one of the longest.  Mardi Gras stretches the entire period from Twelfth Night (the last night of Christmas which begins Epiphany) to Ash Wednesday.

Not long after I graduated high school, I was enrolled in classes at a Community College and working full time.  When I learned Spring Break and Mardi Gras were occurring at the same time, I took a week's vacation and headed to New Orleans.

I had heard of Antoine's Restaurant, and decided to go there for dinner.  I made the reservation the first day I arrived in New Orleans, and it was a good thing I did, because

it took another two days before they could give me a dinner reservation.  That's how solid they are booked, especially during Mardi Gras celebrations.  And because I was requesting a single reservation, I'm sure that didn't help me advance on their list.   ALL PHOTOS are from the Internet, because I can't find mine, which are stored in my wet basement.

Although it was the early 1980s and my memory is a bit fuzzy, I believe this is the room I was seated in,

which is the first room in the building.  This will be my drink for this event, even though I would probably not drink Perrier.  In fact, I am not sure I was even aware of bottled water (although I was familiar with mineral and sparkling waters) until the early 1990s, when it came on the scene and made a big splash (pun intended) about the same time coffee bars sprung up all over the country.

There were other rooms, too and

I remember walking through them before I left.

I also found their menu on the Internet.

This is the cover.

It was a large menu and this is their opening, although when I was there, there were no social media sites, and no public Internet, either.

I know you all want to know about the drinks, or you might not be here.   I remember it was the first time I had French Roast coffee and it's when I fell in love with the dark, husky brew.  Did anyone notice the Pimm's Cup?  I bet Jo did!

 

I apologize that some of these pages are redundant, but they were taken by different patrons and I was hoping you might be able to make out a menu item better in one photo than another.  Although  I don't see it on the menu, I was sure I had a shrimp dish.  Please note that everything is ala carte, as is the case in most high end restaurants.

I hope you enjoyed this trip (thanks to the internet and my memories of the event) to Antoine's in New Orleans as we celebrate Mardi Gras today.

By now, I'm sure most of you know the drill.  It's your turn to share a drink related post.  It can be photos, a place you visited, movies, postcards, books, sketches, mixed media, drawings, paintings, tags, teabags, teapots, cups and saucers, mugs, scrapbooking, or any other art that is digital, hybrid, or traditional, as long as it in some way relates back to a drink, any drink. Regardless, please share below and Bleubeard and I, along with the rest of the T gang will be by to visit.  Old photos are acceptable because they may be taken any time.