Chapter Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Seven
By the end of the show’s first season Mary was completely hooked, and while still only a young teenager, she had promised herself that she would, one day, visit Louisiana and some of its most iconic towns, especially the ones where she knew some episodes had been shot.
With that in mind, Mary created a list of five cities that she really wanted to visit inside the Pelican State – Baton Rouge, Monroe, Natchitoches, Lafayette and, of course, New Orleans.
Mary started her journey through Louisiana right at the top of the state, in the city of Monroe.
From there, she slowly worked her way down, leaving the most famous city – New Orleans, also known as ‘The Big Easy’, for last. She spent two weeks exploring the Pelican State and she loved every minute of it, despite the oppressive heat.
Every city that Mary visited in Louisiana had its unique calling card.
Monroe with its many famous museums. Natchitoches with its national historic landmarks.
Baton Rouge with its beauty and rich past. Lafayette with its incredible festivals and Cajun music, not to mention the food.
And New Orleans with… well, New Orleans was a show apart – the wrought-iron balustrades, the sultry riffs of live jazz, the nightlife, the French Quarter – all of it was exactly like what Mary had always imagined it would be, simply spectacular.
But not surprisingly, the place that she most wanted to visit in The Big Easy wasn’t considered one of the city’s main attractions.
It was, in fact, just a tiny bar, tucked away right at the corner of Bourbon and St. Philip in the town’s French Quarter.
The bar was called Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop.
The building itself had originally been used as a base of operations for pirates from around 1730 to 1795 – but that had absolutely nothing to do with why Mary wanted to go there so badly.
Through a social media fan group, Mary had found out that several bar scenes that appeared in the first two seasons of Vamp Blood had been shot inside Lafitte’s.
Of course, the bar’s interior had been redecorated to better suit the series’ vampire theme, but all of its original, century-old fixtures that had featured in those scenes were still there, and the teenager inside Mary just couldn’t wait to go see them.
Mary spent three days in New Orleans where, of course, she chose a hotel in the famous French Quarter, the film location for many of the street scenes in Vamp Blood.
The hotel she picked was just a couple of blocks away from Lafitte’s, but she decided to keep the best for last, visiting all the other sites first, before, on her last day in ‘The Big Easy’, finally quenching a twenty-one-year-old thirst and visiting the vampire bar.
In the TV series, the bar was called The Black Shop, and as Mary got to the corner of Bourbon and St. Philip she paused, her eyes smiling just as much as her lips.
The dilapidated building did indeed have a dark and somewhat Gothic mystique to it.
If vampires really existed, Mary wouldn’t be surprised if that was where they’d hang out.
With a smile that could’ve rivaled the Joker’s, Mary crossed the road and finally, after so many years as a fan of the show, walked through the doors of The Black Shop.
As she did, a rush of heat, mixed with the smell of alcohol, immediately washed over her and she paused, but not because of the heat or the smell – somehow, once inside Lafitte’s, the place looked a lot more spacious than it did from the outside.
‘Vampire magic, I guess,’ Mary murmured, the teenager inside her giggling.
Up-tempo jazz played from the ceiling speakers, but the loud and animated chatter coming from just about everywhere, drowned it to nothing more than just background music.
The bar counter was straight ahead, L-shaped and made from stained bricks and mahogany wood. As soon as Mary’s eyes settled on it, a happy avalanche of images flooded her memory.
‘And there it is,’ she said in a nostalgic whisper.
To her left, as the main floor gained a single step to create a split-level floor, she recognized another historic feature that had appeared in several episodes – a floor to ceiling stained-brick fireplace.
Mary’s smile widened.
‘Hey there,’ one of the two bartenders behind the compact bar said, as he got to her. ‘Welcome to Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop. What can I do for you tonight?’ He was around fifty years old, with a bushy and peppery goatee that could’ve easily featured on a five-dollar bill.
Mary had never been one to truly appreciate bourbon, but since Nashville, she was beginning to get a taste for it.
‘Umm, do you have any Angel’s Envy?’
‘Of course.’ The bartender smiled. ‘Would you like it as a shot, a drink, or a chaser?’
‘A chaser would be great,’ Mary replied. ‘Any beer will do.’
As the bartender turned to fetch a beer from the fridge at the other end of the bar, Mary saw a corkboard to the right of the bar’s back-wall bottle display…
and the first picture that caught her eye was one of three Vamp Blood actors together – Mary’s three favorite characters in the entire show, and the photo had been signed by all three actors.
The bartender came back to Mary, placed a bottle of beer on the counter, and poured her a full shot of Angel’s Envy, Kentucky Straight bourbon. He also noticed the way that she was looking at the picture board.
‘Were you a fan of the show?’ he asked.
Mary nodded. ‘I guess you could say that.’ She paid the bartender in cash, leaving him a five-dollar tip.
‘In that case, welcome to The Black Shop… and you should try one of our Vamp Blood-inspired cocktails.’ He handed her a drinks menu before indicating a section right at the bottom of it.
There were three cocktails listed in that particular section – ‘Vamp Blood’, ‘Bluehouse’ and ‘Cliffhanger’.
‘Years ago, we used to have a lot more,’ the bartender explained, with a shrug.
‘But it’s an old show now. A lot of people who come in here have never even heard of it.
Those three stayed on the menu because they’re actually quite nice. ’
‘Thanks, I’ll certainly try one later.’
The bartender indicated right, past the brick fireplace and into the upper deck of the split-level floor. ‘Right on that corner, by that table over there, there’s another picture board with loads more photos and some memorabilia. You should go check it out.’
‘Oh, for sure. Thanks again.’ Mary had a swig of her beer and raised the shot glass at the bartender, who nodded at her.
‘To your health,’ he said. ‘Enjoy.’
She nodded back before downing her chaser in one and walking over to where the bartender had indicated.