Louisville

Louisville, Kentucky is like some people you encounter, a little rough around the edges but if you take the time to look below the surface what you find is delightfully refreshing. On the surface the town seems a little past it's prime. The buildings are old, mostly worse for the wear, and there doesn't seem to be much of a revitalization effort going on. Added to that it is overcast and dreary today, so I was skeptical to say the least. But, once I started to really look at the town there are several examples of interesting architecture and there seems to be a thriving art scene in these old buildings.

I found this place called Glassworks that really was fascinating. It claims it is the only facility of its kind in the country and it showcases three different types of glass art studios. The studio I found most interesting was in a huge garage where they take molten glass and turn it into blown glass art. I spent a while watching that. Then there was another one that didn't fascinate me as much where they used glass tubes and blow torches. Last was an architectural gallery that showed how glass is incorporated in architecture. I found myself remembering how often I spent time wandering places like this with my college boyfriend. He would have loved to spend hours in this gallery. I found it enjoyable but was done after twenty minutes. Since he's no longer my boyfriend I was free to leave. Yeah, for being older and wiser!

I ate lunch at this interesting cafe - Lynn's Paradise Cafe. I found out about it prior to coming here. It's apparently one of the top places to eat in America. I would concur with that opinion. I had a fried green tomato blt for lunch and just got a derby pie milkshake to go. You see I'm typing this as I sit in Lynn's - they have wifi too. Add to that the interesting decor and the friendly waiter, Alex, and who could ask for anything more. I definitely recommend checking out Lynn's if you find yourself in Louisville.

While I enjoyed both of those places my favorite place in Louisville was the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory. Talk about a baseball fan's idea of fun. Once again, since I was alone I got to spend as much time as I wanted. The tour guide was funny, the shop guys were amusing, and I got to see all kinds of bats being made.

As you can see I've had a great day but I think the main reason for this is that Louisville is a friendly town. There's no other way to describe it. All the people I've encountered have been incredibly friendly. I think it's an attitude that's contagious, because I met some people from Minnesota and they were catching the friendly fever too.

Well, off to Indy now. Hoping it is as impressive as Louisville.