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The Louisville Hotel Bar Crawl

Louisville’s Urban Bourbon Trail, once an achievable six bars, now comprises 26 bars and restaurants. I once thought about doing the original, and even had a partially-stamped passport. Then they let any bar with ample bourbon offerings join, and I lost interest. Instead, my husband and I came up with our own trail through the bars in hotels downtown.

All hotel bars are not equal. I can drink at Marriotts and Hiltons anywhere. For this excursion, I was interested in the historic hotels — the Brown, the Seelbach, the Galt House, and 21c, a hotel voted one of the top ten in the world by Condé Nast readers (for the record, the Seelbach is a Hilton hotel). 

We talked up this hotel bar crawl idea for a while and likely would never have done it. Fortunately (unfortunately?), we talked about it with enough people that a couple friends latched on and made us set a date. On May 24th, we took a bus downtown and started at the Brown Hotel… 

… where the lobby bar didn’t open for 45 minutes. Luckily, the J. Graham Cafe on the ground floor is open for lunch on Saturdays. We added their bar to our list and started with a round of Old Fashioneds. 

The Brown, built in 1923, is home to the artery-clogging Hot Brown Sandwich, which the bartender offered us when we sat down (we passed). She made a perfect Old Fashioned, but the buffet brunch and Bee Movie on the bar TV ruined any historic atmosphere. There was plenty at our next stop, the lobby bar, which opens at 3 on Saturdays. Hand-painted ceilings, gold, mahogany, Oriental vases, deep couches, thick carpet, and a drink menu that includes a page of specialty cocktails. I had a Kentucky Cocktail, which is an unspecial mix of ginger ale and bourbon. 

Next stop, the Seelbach Hotel, former F. Scott Fitzgerald hang-out. The Old Seelbach Bar, with its gold rail and dark green marble pillars, is slightly less opulent than the Brown lobby (no hand-painted ceilings), but feels equally historic. After our Seelbach Cocktails, we took a detour downstairs to the Rathskeller, a creepy event space best suited for vampire balls. 


The Rathskeller -- creepiest event space available? 

The Rathskeller -- creepiest event space available? 

Our next drink should not have happened. While I’m sure Sway, the Hyatt bar, has good drinks, “The Ghost of Sway,” a white-bourbon and orange-flavored concoction, is not one of them. The Hyatt is also not that historic, nor is this location one of the top ten hotels in the world.

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We walked off the Ghost on our way to 21C, where I had a pretty drink named Sprung in the shadow of the golden David. I misread (did not read) all the articles about the screening of this documentary and thought there was a Kehinde Wiley exhibit in the museum. I wandered around looking for it. I did not find it. I did find some pigeons. 

Our final hotel, the Galt House, involved two bars, Jockey Silks and Al J’s (there are more, but seven drinks are more than enough). This was my first visit to Jockey Silks. Instead of bar stools, you sit in chairs with arm rests around a bar with a lowered floor. We drank our bourbon Sidecars and pulled up Patsy, Dolly, and Cher on the digital jukebox. We asked for snacks and got a wine glass of Goldfish crackers, then visited the real fish in Al J’s Lounge.

Al J’s, or the “fish bar,” sits in the middle of the skywalk connecting the two Galt House towers. The bar is an aquarium (fish bar!), and sitting at it, you look out over the Ohio River. There’s also an aviary, home to sad birds. I’ve had good bourbon drinks at Al J’s in the past, but for my final hotel bar crawl drink, I strayed from bourbon to a rum specialty cocktail, Summertime in a Glass. A sprinkles-rimmed glass full of sugary juice — this was the sign that it was time to go home (we didn’t, we went to a cigar shop and had cigars, which is the best way to counter a drink with sprinkles on it).

I like Mardi Gras as much as the next person, but these sprinkles are ridiculous.

I like Mardi Gras as much as the next person, but these sprinkles are ridiculous.

Halfway through our endeavor, someone said, “This was a great idea. This was a terrible idea. “ Both are true. I’m glad we did it, but I’ll never do it again.  

What's your favorite hotel bar? Are there any other Louisville hotel bars worth a visit?  

Climbing Around the Falls of the Ohio

One of my favorite outdoor spots in Louisville is actually in Indiana. 

We tried to visit the Falls of the Ohio a few years ago, in August. The fossil beds can get something like 20 degrees hotter than whatever the temperature is, and on that day, the temperature was already too much. We made it halfway down the banks of the river before we turned around.

But the Falls of the Ohio in November? Perfect. 

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I like this spot because the Ohio is a different river on this side of the McAlpine dam. From Waterfront Park and the Big Four Bridge, the river looks slow and wide, and for whatever reason, I always wonder if I could swim across it (but I wonder that about most bodies of water). Pushed through the dam, the water turns to rapids and becomes powerful, intimidating, banishing all thoughts of swimming. 

Can't swim in that. 

Can't swim in that. 

I like the Falls of the Ohio because the path and guardrails from the interpretive center stop halfway to the river. From there, you can pick your path to the river, scrambling over boulders and climbing over bleached, beached tree trunks. There's nothing and no one (at least on Sunday) stopping you from walking up to the dam. 

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And there's no signage (that I saw) explaining the siren from the dam that sounded at 1 o'clock. 

We took it to mean, "Run away!" which we did until it stopped. None of the fishermen seemed concern, and logically, I figured it didn't mean, "We're opening this and flushing you out." The few results Google has imply that it might actually mean that, but no one seemed to care. Do you know what it is? Because apart from terrifying alarms, the Falls are wonderful. It would be reassuring to know for sure that I don't risk drowning from open floodgates while climbing around.  

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Photos from a September Louisville Jaunt

In September, I entered some photos into a competition sponsored by Preservation Louisville. I did not win, but I loved biking and driving around to the different buildings on their Top 10 Preservation Successes list. Here are some of my favorite shots from my jaunt about town.

Shawnee Library

Shawnee Library

I always like going new places, and there were several buildings on that list that I'd never seen (and still haven't -- after one long bike ride and a shorter drive, I abandoned the farther locations). The Shawnee Library was new to me. I loved the addition so much that I took most of my pictures from the back. Because it was Sunday morning, the library was closed, but I'll have to go back to see what it looks like inside. 

Union Station - TARC  

Union Station - TARC  

I've been inside Union Station before, and the inside is as beautiful as the exterior. There's also an original mule-drawn trolley inside. Definitely worth a visit. 

West Grocery & Liquor Store

West Grocery & Liquor Store

This building was not on the Preservation Success List, but I love this entrance and its sassy paint. 

Morning Glory galore

Morning Glory galore

Finally, I biked through an alley to get to one of the locations and found this wall of morning glory. I don't care if it's an invasive vine, this flower makes me happy. 

Have you found any gems in your home base lately? 

I Love the Fair, 2013 edition

I almost missed the state fair this year. 

I was out of town the first weekend, and by Wednesday, when we had no definite fair plans, I started to a panic. I almost caused a fight trying to get my husband to commit to a day, fearing the ducklings and quilts would be packed up before I could get my yearly dose. 

But this story ends well, with an impromptu, post-podcasting trip with Melissa. We only stayed four hours, but in that time, we made it through most of the exhibits. Tiny owl and bald eagle at the Kentucky Raptor Rehabilitation booth? Yes. Ducklings? Would I ever skip them? Cakes and enormous produce? But of course. 

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A bald eagle carved from elk horn

With only a few hours on the second weekend, we made some sacrifices. We skipped the quilts, saw no shows, and only checked in on a couple of pigs (for livestock, I prefer the first weekend's poultry and rabbits. Also the mold-free baked goods in the competitive entries).

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The most beautiful chicken I've ever seen, at last year's state fair

Still, I love the fair. I am giddy within five minutes of arriving ("Miniature horses! I love the fair!") and exhausted by the time I leave. I miss it when it's over, and I firmly believe you need two days at the fair. Next year, I'll be sure to get at least a full one.  

More photos here. 

Finally, a Cronut (or Doughssant)

A few months ago, Gabe went to New York and came back talking about croissant-doughnuts, or "cronuts" (or "cornets." Thank you, auto-correct). In July, we spent some time at the beach with our New York friends, and cronuts came up every day. Apparently, New Yorkers now pay others to stand in line to buy their cronuts for them.

In Norfolk, we saw a fauxnut at a Kroger. It was a donut in the shape of a croissant. This is what I imagined the cronut would look like, so I was surprised when we got to Wiltshire Bakery & Cafe at seven this morning and saw these:

"Doughssants"at Wiltshire. Not what I was expecting.

I didn't really think deeply about what a cronut would look like. Or, you know, look it up on the internet. 

But yes, after all the cronut build-up, when Eater Louisville reported that Wiltshire had cronuts (or "doughssants," as they're calling them) and would serve them again today, I was happy when Gabe said, "Do you want to wake up at six and walk to cronuts?" And when I say I was happy, I mean I said, "That's ridiculous. But yes." 

I got the coconut and the lemon-glaze with sprinkles. They are as delicious as you would expect fried croissant dough to be. I would eat more. And we walked 2.5 miles, so it's not like any of those cronut calories count, right? 

Just Exploring Lebowksi Fest

I have a confession to make. 

A Walter (from St. Louis) with this year's Best Dude (from L.A.)

I have still only seen The Big Lebowski once. Even now, after attending my first Lebowski Fest, I've only seen the film one time. Does that make me a poser? Yes. Did I have fun anyway? Let's see... 

March Madness Marching Band

March Madness Marching Band dancers

I talked to visitors from Kansas, Missouri, California, and Michigan. I saw three new-to-me bands (and got to see the March Madness Marching Band, again).  I saw awesome costumes, sat on some Michaganders' rug, had my picture taken with two giant bowling pins (one was Lebowski Fest founder, Will Russell), and spent half my weekend surrounded by happy nerds. Did I have fun? I don't think there's any other option.

You can see more photos here.  

Yours truly with two giant bowling pins. It helps when the photographer doesn't cover the lens with his finger, but you know.