Downtown Louisville, KY

Some scenes from downtown Louisville, Kentucky. The city is located on the south side of the Ohio River across from Indiana. The city of Louisville has approximately 250,000 residents and nearly 1 million more people live in the Louisville metropolitan area. The Louisville area is probably best known for the Kentucky Derby, held each year at Churchill Downs. The Louisville Slugger factory and museum are located in an historic part of downtown Louisville that has been reborn into a touristy area with the Slugger Museum, artists' glass studios, a children's museum, and other attractions. Louisville is also known as the home of Bourbon whiskey.

The World's Biggest Bat! Made of steel, it weighs 68,000 pounds and stands 120-feet tall. The Big Bat is an exact-scale replica of Babe Ruth's 34-inch Louisville Slugger. Bud Hillerich's signature is on the Big Bat, a tribute to the man who turned the company's first bat. It stands at the entrance to the Slugger Museum.

Barge on the Ohio River.


A Riverboat docked in the Ohio River along the seawall in downtown Lousiville.

Historic Brown Hotel in Louisville.

Wild Eggs - Louisville, KY

Wild Eggs (3985 Dutchmans Lane) is a wonderful breakfast/brunch place in Louisville, KY. The atmosphere is sunny and cheery with a friendly waitstaff (many with piercings in non-traditional places). The pancakes (shown above) are named "The King Would Eat These." The pancakes are layered with fresh bananas, peanut butter syrup, milk chocolate chips, and fresh whipped cream. Yum!! The other dish shown above is the Creole Omelet. It contains rock shrimp, andouille sausage, bell pepper, onion, cheddar jack cheese, Creole hollandaise, skillet potatoes, and an everything muffin. According to the menu, "Everything muffins are home-made with fabulous flavors: roasted garlic, onion, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and kosher salt." These are a restaurant specialty. If you're in Louisville, try to make it to Wild Eggs. I know I'd stop there the next time I'm in Louisville!

Food: ****
Ambience: *****
Service: ****
(out of 5 stars)

Churchill Downs - Louisville, KY

Churchill Downs was a pleasant surprise. Although I knew nothing about horseracing, they had a nice museum and interesting tours. Of course, the racetrack is best known as the home of the Kentucky Derby. We toured the stands along with a look "behind the scenes" including the jockeys' areas, millionaires row (we saw the room where Queen Elizabeth II enjoyed the race last year), and other off-track betting areas. If you're in Louisville and have the time, I recommend spending a few hours at the track to learn a little about the industry and folklore.

Hot Brown

According to wikipedia, "A Hot Brown is a hot sandwich originally created at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, by Fred K. Schmidt in 1926. It was one of two signature sandwiches created by chefs at the Brown Hotel shortly after its founding in 1923." While I did not order it from the originators at the Brown Hotel, I trust my replica from a restaurant down the street in Louisville is close to authentic. It is nothing I'd ever order again! The open-faced sandwich consists of sliced turkey on top of white toast and covered with cheddar cheese. The one I ordered was garnished with bacon and a tomato. The presentation was unappealing and the taste was uninspiring.