applekisses said:

not too sure but I hear the Toledo version of the paczki is better than the Detroit version. But that's what I hear. We even have people from Metro Detroit coming down to the Glass City to get a taste.

our station has been paczki central for the past five days.

applekisses said:

it is a beautiful, wild scene, but definitely something that you would have had to experience first hand.....being from N.O. I could describe it all day, but it wouldn't do the experience any justice....every year that I went was different....and when I went as an adult, adding in spirits in quantity just made it that much more vivid and fun!

Even though Mardi Gras will never be what it was before Katrina, if enough folks go now, it should develop a new persona....so I would still recommend it if its in you to go.....

What's always intrigued me about NO is the history...I love old, musty buildings covered with plants. There is also a bit of wild mystery about it. I hope none of that was swept away with the storms.

applekisses said:

Some of it was spared, but not a lot...the area that pretty much surrounds the French Quarters made it ok..thats why they're able to have events downtown and what not...but a lot of areas took heavy hits....

...but if thats the draw for you, then you'd love it....I always told my friends from out of town to take the city in during the afternoon....her heart beats a little differently during the day...and there are plenty of hidden gems that you'd definitely miss at night.....

now I'm really missing the crib.....