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.
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!
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.
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.
On my last morning in New Orleans, I had breakfast at Cafe Rose Nicaud (632 Frenchman Street). Reportedly named after a slave who first sold coffee in New Orleans, she saved her earnings and bought her freedom. The cafe is a friendly and cheerful place with high ceilings and lively conversation among what seemed like neighborhood locals. The food arrived as expected without waiting too long. I had a "southern" breakfast (above) including grits. I had a small forkful and passed on the rest. 
The tall, narrow, yellow building (below) is now home to Faulkner House Books. In 1925 William Faulkner lived in what was then a boarding house at 624 Pirates Alley and worked on his first novels, Mosquitoes, and Soldiers' Pay. It is now a bookshop on the first floor and the shop's proprietor lives on the three floors above. (adapted from Frommer's New Orleans 2008, p. 226)
This trio - consisting of a young woman playing a guitar, a young man playing a trombone, and another young man with a drum - was entertaining passersby on a street corner in the French Quarter one evening.
The Mississippi River is an integral part of the Crescent City. In fact, the nickname comes from the location of the city in a crescent of the river! Near the Central Business District, the river is about 1/4 mile wide, very deep and quickly flowing. Streets parallel the river and directions such as north, south, east, and west have little meaning. Instead "upriver" and "downriver" better describe which way to go. The CBD is pictured above from the ferry that goes from Canal Street to Algiers Point, a quiet neighborhood dating back to the 19th century.
The taller buildings of the CBD provide a contrast to the older, shorter buildings of the adjacent French Quarter. St. Louis Cathedral in the French Quarter sends her steeples above the surrounding buildings.
Beignets are French doughnuts ubiquitous among the tourist fare of New Orleans. They are fried and served covered in powdered sugar. The ones pictured above were purchased from Cafe Beignet on Bourbon Street. I later went for a reprise of the beignet experience at Cafe du Monde, a 24-hour place in the French Market (picture below). Although I didn't have it, they are noted for serving beignets with chicory coffee.
Cemeteries in New Orleans are "above ground" since the land is at or near sea level and the water table is high. Prior to doing this, bodies were buried and they would later "float" back to the surface. The cemetery pictured here, Lafayette No. 1, was founded in 1833. It is located in the Uptown Garden District. 
Second to the French Quarter, New Orleans' Garden District draws tourists who want to view the large stately homes between St. Charles Avenue and Magazine Street. This area of Uptown New Orleans was developed after the Louisiana Purchase when Americans took control of the city.
Rue Bourbon (Bourbon Street) is the famous street within the French Quarter where you can find bars, strip clubs, tourist shops, and restaurants. The street is closed to traffic in the evenings and people fill the streets going from one venue to the next. Sidewalk musicians and brass bands can usually be heard along this street and in other parts of the quarter. Also you may see kids tap dancing on the sidewalk with their hat nearby. 
This building is at the corner of Toulouse and Royal Streets. Royal Street is one block from Bourbon but has a distinctly different character. Many fine art galleries, antique stores, hotels, and restaurants are along this street.
The French Quarter is also home to many residences. These are located on the lake side of the Quarter, toward Rampart Street. Most windows and doors have shutters on them and the homes are painted a variety of colors.
Hansen's Sno-Bliz (4801 Tchoupitoulas Street) has been serving up treats for nearly 70 years. The store is run by the granddaughter of the original owners and inventors. She made each Sno-Bliz shown in the picture. The one in the foreground is Cream of Ice Cream with with a sweetened condensed milk topping. The one in the background is Cream of Strawberry topped with crushed strawberries. The granddaughter told me her grandfather invented the machine to shave the ice (it is finer than a typical snow cone) and her grandmother created the flavored syrups that are poured over the ice.
The store is located a few blocks from Magazine Street (a major street running parallel to the Mississippi, going upriver from the French Quarter) in a residential and industrial area. There is no seating inside the store. I noticed a steady flow of people through the place from my seat across the street on the porch of a bookstore. In fact, at one point, a limo pulled up and a half dozen people piled out and all got a Sno-Bliz before getting back into the limo and pulling away.
This place is certainly off the beaten path but worth the trip for the tasty treats and a piece of nostalgia. The owner is extremely friendly and seemed excited to hear that people from a distance were visiting her shop.
(The Louisiana Superdome as viewed from the train.)
