On the long and winding road…

You know you have been bitten by the travel bug when you plan a road trip across six states, with sightseeing stops in three cities, traveling 1,600 miles in a bright red car… and you do all this in a span of four days.

We started planning almost a month ago with Dipanjan and Vaishakhi, two of our close friends here. However, they couldn’t join us for the trip, and instead, another set of friends, Sudeep and Anindita, came along. Starting with New Orleans as our destination to experience the Mardi Gras madness, we also added a visit to Elvis’s house in Memphis, a drive on US 90 with views of the Atlantic Ocean by our side, and a stop at Dauphin Island for a few hours. Armed with ‘what to do’ knowledge, printouts of Google Maps, a talkative GPS, we set off toward our first stop, Memphis. (Just to add, our current home base is St. Louis, MO.)

Visiting Graceland

Elvis Lives

The drive to Memphis was pretty exciting, as it was the first day of our trip. After spending the first night at a motel, we visited Elvis’s house the next day. To be honest, all of us were aware of Elvis fame and some of his music, none of us in the group were die hard fans.

Elivs purchased the house, Graceland, when he was just 22 and paid around $100,000 for it. His home has now been turned into a museum, where visitors can get a glimpse into his lifestyle. It was amazing to see how the King of Rock and Roll used to live. The most amazing part of the house was the Jungle Room, where everything—from rugs and furniture to paintings—is tastefully done and uniquely styled. We only took the mansion tour, so we didn’t get to see his collection of bikes, cars, etc.

Every piece of furniture was unique in this room

Laissez les bon temps rouler @ New Orleans

Our next stop was at New Orleans where we were headed to experience Mardi Gras celebrations at its peak. Recent win of Saints in Superbowl added to the celebrations of Mardi Gras. Everywhere we went, we heard their chant of ‘Who dat’.

We reached French Quarters with plans to start with a brunch at Café du Monde. Not surprisingly, almost 100 other people had the same plan as ours. So the really long queue, made us skip it!Speaking of the French Quarter, the entire area was packed with people and alive with music. The energy was electric, and a sense of wild excitement filled the air throughout our stay. As we wandered the streets, we admired the architecture and the quaint beauty of the historic buildings. While soaking in the charm of the area, we kept bumping into groups of people who were—quite enthusiastically—drinking nonstop.

We finally reached the (in)famous Bourbon street and were immediately acquainted with its claim to fame. Bourbon Street has many strip clubs and you can find many half naked men and women advertising their strip club. This was where crowds were busy collecting beads. There were many people in balconies ready to throw beads at ones who were willing to flash. And then there were people in streets who wanted the beads. So there was a lot of action on streets, if you know what I mean ;-(

People who threw beads from the balconies

Outstretched hands requesting beads

As evening fell, it was time for the official Mardi Gras parade. The wait for it to start felt endless—we stood in silence with frozen faces, got nearly squashed by the ever-growing crowd, and even managed to survive a fistfight breaking out next to us! In the end, our patience paid off as the parade finally began. We caught plenty of beads and other trinkets, but after a while, the excitement wore off, and we decided to call it a night.

Views on the US 90 Scenic Drive

The next day, we drove to Dauphin Island, taking the scenic route along US 90 with stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean. The bright, sunny weather made the beach vistas even more breathtaking. Along the way, we were unexpectedly treated to another Mardi Gras parade—a delightful surprise!

Dauphin Island – We were a bit late to do much but this was a beautiful place

We finally reached Dauphin Island, but it was too late for sightseeing. Instead, we spent some time taking pictures before continuing on to our overnight stop in Birmingham.

Replica of Parthenon

The next day was our drive back home. We stopped in Nashville to see the Parthenon replica, but it was closed, so we settled for taking some pictures. The highlight of our Nashville visit, however, was the lunch buffet at Sitar Indian Restaurant—a must-visit for any Indian cuisine lover. We all enjoyed the food before finally heading home.

For more travels in the US, click here.