Mardi Gras 2009 or how I spent my second to last weekend in America

This weekend we were in Louisiana visiting Kristi's family and it happened to be Mardi Gras time. On Sunday evening we went to New Orleans and attended the Bacchus parade. We found a nice little spot on St. Charles and 2nd from where we watched the floats, bands, cars and people go by. Being a mardi gras virgin, I was quite amazed at the scale of the parades (there are several throughout the weekend) and the mardi gras spirit of the locals. It was a very cool cultural experience to be a part of.
Here are the pictures, which at times look more like a riot scene with fire and cops everywhere than a happy parade.