The souvenir stores in New Orleans sell a variety of products, but the big sellers are bead necklaces, feather masks and boas, voodoo paraphernalia, and of course the usual souvenirs such as t-shirts, keyrings etc. The bead necklaces are everywhere, and there seem to be hundreds of different types, from very simple shiny beads to ornate, well manufactured expensive beads with the logo of your favourite football team.

"So what are the beads for?" you may ask. Well the tradition was that at Mardi-Gras time the people on floats would throw beads to the women. Over time, it became common for women to receive beads for baring their breasts on the streets or balconies at Mardi-Gras time. People would buy strings of beads to throw to the women who dared to flaunt themselves in public. Today, you don't have to be in New Orleans at Mardi-Gras to see this. Bourbon Street has become such a magnet for people looking to party that every Friday and Saturday night you will see women collecting beads. It is a little seedy, but hey, that's Bourbon Street all over!

So in tribute to colourful New Orleans, here's a selection of shots of some of the many displays you will undoubtedly see when visiting the city's souvenir stores.

Should these be around your neck or on your Christmas tree?

Minolta XD11 with 50mm f/1.2 MD Rokkor-X Film: Fuji NPZ 800

Man there are a lot of beads in New Orleans.

Minolta X-570 with 50mm f/1.2 MD Rokkor-X Film: Fuji Superia Reala

Just when you thought you had enough neck decorations, how about a feather boa as well?

The French in New Orleans celebrated Mardi-Gras with private masked balls in the early 1800's. Lower class people took to the streets in celebration at the same time. When the Spanish took over, the street parties were stopped, and did not commence again until 1827, after the Americans gained control of the city. In the 1850's the Mardi-Gras became a more organised function, with various secret societies, called 'Krewes' springing up to organise celebrations. Each of these Krewes has a different route through the city.

The beer of choice was a lovely brew from San Francisco, called Anchor Steam Beer. This beer, with its rich amber colour and thick creamy head was a pleasant surprise after days of insipid mainstream American beers. It is brewed using an all-malt mash in a traditional handmade copper brewhouse, using the same recipe since 1896.

After several beers we discovered that despite his Lone Star State upbringing, Hudson just wasn't in our class when it came to the consumption of fine ale, and he went about one beer for each two David and I enjoyed. I probably should make allowances for the fact that he weighs about half what I do, but hey, he's from Texas. After an hour or so we headed back to our respective hotels to freshen up before meeting again for dinner.

Dinner was a feast of epic proportions at one of the most popular restaurants in New Orleans, Dickie Brennan's Bourbon House. We had a stunningly good seafood platter with garlic mussels, fresh oysters with caviar, sour cream & lemon, prawns, crab fingers, lobster, and calamari, plus more that I can't remember. Mains included an outstanding crawfish etouffee, and fried catfish with Jambalaya. For dessert we had bourbon ice cream. What a great meal!

At the end of dinner we walked down Bourbon Street, admiring some of the sights and enjoying the warm evening. We said our goodbyes to Hudson and Barba who were heading back to Houston on the following day, and retired to our hotel for the night. After all, we had to be up early in the morning - we were going on a swamp tour!