New Toulouse

Bayou has changed so much recently. There is now the wonderful Fifolet, the backyard venue where I heard Bohemian and Zippedy Zabelin perform some great music. (Zippedy Zabelin, aka “Dr. Zip,” will give a concert there this Saturday at 1:00 PM.) Fifolet makes me not miss Swamp Manor so much. It is a great place to just hang out. I always enjoy watching the puppet theater, and the cats seem to enjoy it too.

I heard a rumor about a new establishment and decided to go check it out. I found it at the east end of the railroad tracks: the soup kitchen of the Cloche du Chat, in an old church building. The sign told me that there was free food and that I could go upstairs to make a wish. Upstairs was a bell that I couldn’t resist ringing. It gave me a fish!

Sitting at the nice desk on the porch was very relaxing with the view of the bayou outside. I wrote a note to Cybele Snowpaw, the proprietor here, asking her some questions that she was kind enough to answer:

Welcome back. Niki told me you used to live here years ago.

Thanks muchly! And yes, that’s right. I washed up onto the banks of the bayou in days of yore—and after having a great time shooting zombies and drinking from barrels and being slumped on porches, I became a wandering recluse for reasons only guessed at. I’m still guessing.

Is there a reason this soup kitchen is a church?

Well, apart from the abandoned church having already popped up and then gone peregrinating and then decided to return by special summoning—he who was and is and always shall be Fatty the King of Kitties, decided to annex it to his boundless realm. And by his grace (and at the kind suggestion and through the bountiful arts of Miz Nikita Weymann), he decreed that there should be a place where wanderers and dreamers and ne’er-do-wells can all nap and chase their tails after receiving a bit o’ some steaming potage to soothe the savage hungry beast within.

Miss Cybele Snowpaw

There is no life without kitties. Also—to bear tribute to he who was and is and always shall be (etc.) Fatty the King of Kitties. He came from parts unknown to rule for eight auspicious years (as has been recorded in worthy books of history), and then he succumbed to kidney degradation deriving from a poor but preferred diet of curried garbage, leaving many loyal hearts bereft. Now, thanks to la Cloche du Chat and his remaining retinue and his beneficence, a tasty but health-giving meal of jambalaya and raw seafood is available to all.

Nice touch with the church bell that gives wishes and fishes. How come?

Oh, thank you. Well, Fatty, in his most recent lifetime, was a great granter of wishes. He himself was a wish granted, or rather he decided after turning up and taking over that he was exactly what one would wish for—and now that all the catch belongs to him in his present expanded being, he figures that no one who appeals to him for their heart’s desire should leave without a fish in the hand, that being better than two noisy birds in the bush. And about the bell, well, he’s just a big old romantic who loves a good sonorous thing in a pretty golden form.

I guess I have a new place to relax, one where I feel safe. See you on the bayou!

The Ghost of Liza Veliz fell in love with New Toulouse at first sight. She publishes books by various authors; find them at her reading cafe on Shotgun Row. She also operates a bookstore and tattoo parlor in Gloryville, at the corner of Royale and Rossignol.

New Toulouse on a Budget

Various locations
New Toulouse

Woke up at predawn with a terrible thirst. I’m at the Hôtel Sur le Toit, a Gloryville rooftop flop. Drank a couple cups of joe and breakfasted on marshmallows roasted over a burning Christmas tree. Need water or something, maybe some toast. Checked my pockets: L$30, less L$10 now for the room and board. At the alleyway entrance to the hotel, some derelict has set up house in a crate. My accommodations last night were practically posh in comparison.

Passing by Lafitte’s. Ugh, fish nog is responsible for the evil elves tapdancing behind my eyeballs. I’d tell Morty the barkeep to go to hell, except I think he has a vacation spot there already. Anyway I can’t afford hair of the dog right now.

Click here for more!

Pictured are Nikita Weymann, Gigi Lapin, and me. We sit among some of the prizes you can get at the Post-Storm Pirate Booty Hunt that runs till September 1 in New Toulouse.

Last night was the hunt kickoff pub crawl, in which we enjoyed rum and went around to all the places where treasure chests are to be found. So much stuff washed ashore during the last hurricane that Taloosters have made these chests to get rid of it. The pub crawl was so much fun, but today I am completely exhausted. So I went to see Niki at her house on the bayou, and Gigi joined us, and I showed them some of my treasures.

The lovely little frog on the barrel, the washed-up trellis bench, and the junk shop lawn chair are from Noctis. The vampire gentleman and the zombie head trophy are from Harley’s Hotel. The zombie is wearing a black leather beret from the Old Spanish Stable.

Dare Munro’s book Musings in the Dark is published by my very own company, Darker Shadow Productions, and you get it from the Ghost of Liza Veliz Books & Poems at La Coquette. The book chaise Niki is lounging on is from Galerie Shotgun/Argonaut Travel on Shotgun Road.The kraken-themed rugs are from Look What the Cat Dragged In, #2 Spiegel Hall. The candle bowls are from Grimalkin Workshop in the bayou. Look out for bats—just saying.

The Paradiso Firepit is from Lei’s Café on the Bayou. The Poe’s Raven plushie I’m holding is from Ravenwood Arts & Curios on Shotgun Road. Do I need to mention that it says “Nevermore” when you touch it?

I am wearing the fish hat that Francesca Alva designed and put in her chest at the Green-Eyed Fairy for scurvy knaves to find. There’s a version for tinies too! To be totally honest, I was expecting us all to turn into fish people when the flood after the hurricane took so long to dry up, so I enjoy this cute hat very much. It is hilarious to watch it cuddle people as if it wants to eat them when they sit on my lap.

You should totally do this hunt! There are so many fun treasures in those chests that you can find all over the city and bayou. If you are feeling lazy, you can always use the list of treasure spots.

The start of the pub crawl, at the Still House Tavern

The Ghost of Liza Veliz fell in love with New Toulouse at first sight. She publishes books by various authors; find them at her reading cafe on Shotgun Row.