Downtown Lafayette Surprises

On our way to Kentucky we swung through downtown Lafayette in Indiana for a look around. We were surprised to find some sculptures, some murals and a great courthouse building.  Get off the highway, folks!

In its earliest days Lafayette was a frontier town and shipping center on the Wabash River.  The Wabash and Erie Canal stimulated trade in the 1840's and the railroad arrived in the 1850's which expanded opportunities even further.  I'll be sharing more history of this town in the next post with my photos from the County Courthouse building.

Federal building entrance, home to the USPS

Here's a little postal history to go with the 2 murals located in the U.S. Post Office lobby: Lafayette was the site of the first official air mail delivery in the United States, which took place on August 17, 1859, when John Wise piloted a balloon starting on the Lafayette courthouse grounds. Wise hoped to reach New York; however, weather conditions forced the balloon down near Crawfordsville, Indiana, and the mail reached its final destination by train. In 1959, the U.S. Postal Service issued a 7¢ airmail stamp commemorating the centennial of the event.

"Sad News" by Henrik Martin Mayer, 1936

I'd like to take a moment to thank Barbara for all her comments, it's been fun reading them!  I don't get a lot of comments here on the blog, which isn't a complaint.  Not only have I not commented on other blogs in almost a year...I haven't even had time to READ any blogs on my reading list!

"Rural Delivery" by Henrik Martin Mayer, 1936

My excuse? Truthfully I need to quit watching so much TV.  But I find that after work I'm so tired I can't concentrate well enough to read a blog, much less a book. I used to make fun of my parents for falling asleep on the couch while they were watching TV and now I nod off there almost every night and have to rewind the show I was watching!

I know these are drama masks, and expertly done to make it look like they are the brick wall itself, but every time I look at them I think "If you don't laugh, you'd cry". Curious about the origin of the saying I googled it, and came across this interesting scientific article on how laughing affects our physiology. Or you can watch this adorable BBC clip about making Bonobos laugh!

Last Look at Louisville

Horses are everywhere in Kentucky, but are especially well represented in Louisville.  We even had a traveling horse outside our hotel.

A few painted horses were seen trotting around downtown that are part of the Gallopalooza public art display that has been added to twice since 2003.

"G'Day, Mate" features scenes from Australia and a pair of Koalas

Gallopalooza isn't just horses, there are giant mint juleps to sample as well.  We found this one when we picked up Katrina's Urban Bourbon Trail t-shirt at the Visitor Center downtown.

"All About Lou" outside the Visitor Center

We spotted the Colonel's image quite often during our wanderings, but the one in the Visitor Center was pretty life-like, and dressed for the holidays as well.

When you take to the street on foot you never know what you might find.

Fractured Selfie

Louisville has its share of interesting buildings...

..and buildings that are only a shell of what they once were as well.

And of course some sported murals, including this adorable lady cozied up next to some smaller murals.  Gettin' lucky in Kentucky, indeed!

That's my last look at Louisville, but I have more from our trip including our stops in Lafayette and Chicago.

NuLu Mural Trio

The East Market District of downtown is also referred to as NuLu (New Louisville).

We enjoyed a few murals...

Mural on side of Red Tree - mural #1

...which led us inside their shops.

Fun stuff inside of Red Tree!

We spent a few dollars at the Macaron Bar...

..but passed on lunch from Royals Hot Chicken.  The neon sign was almost as good as the mural!

Royal's Hot Chicken - mural #2

Please and Thank You claims to have Kentucky's best chocolate chip cookie so we gave them a try...

..and they were so delicious that they made us feel like we could fly!

Louisville Wings - mural #3

Which mural do you like best?  Linking up to Monday Mural.

Four Roses and a Few Antiques

We stopped at 3 antique markets while in Louisville, including Joe Ley Antiques in the NuLu neighborhood.

The building alone was worth a look, but the amount of lighting fixtures was pretty impressive when we walked in the front door.

Keep your eyes open and look high and low in antique stores, you never know what you will see!

Like a propeller with a woman's face on it hanging from the ceiling...never seen one of those before.

Every turn brought new surprises, hope no one is afraid of clowns.

Architectural Salvage on Broadway was small but full of friendly cats.

I bought a small coat hook that wasn't an antique, but if my pockets were deeper I would have loved to buy one of these tiles.  I've seen them on Etsy too so if I win the lottery I've seen them in person now and know what to spend some of my winnings on!

But, as Wayne says you have to play to win so that is unlikely.  

We also made a quick stop in Frankfort for a last look at the Capitol, and a few moments in a charming bookstore before moving on to Four Roses Bourbon Distillery in Lawrenceburg.

Roses were everywhere

Four Roses has been around since 1888 and I believe they said they were the only bourbon in Kentucky still being sold during Prohibition as "for medicinal purposes".  I'll let you hear the rest of the history when you come for a tasting.

Bring your prescription!

Tastings never go well for me, unfortunately it wasn't until the end that our pourer suggested tossing in an ice cube which helped quite a bit.

We got to take home the glass, which I've used a few times already to take my pills in the morning and I love seeing the four roses in the bottom!

David in the Dark, David by Day

The final stop on our bourbon tour was a visit to Proof on Main.  The restaurant is located in the same historic building as the 21c Museum Hotel.

From the massive golden reproduction of David out front to the award winning bar filled with art and more than 120 types of bourbon, this was definitely the most unique place we stopped.

Just step through the bar to the hotel lobby for more art and feel free to walk around and see it all for FREE!

There are multiple hotels in the 21c family, and the current exhibit at Louisville is Dress Up, Speak Up at least until March.

My favorite pieces were displayed in the bar area.

The Native American series in the dining room was a close second, but I think Katrina liked the golden cat the best.

We ordered some food and dessert, neither of which were very special, and prices were high.  I'd suggest skipping the food and going right to the cocktail list, but to each their own.  

A return visit to the area during the day revealed a cheeky side of David...

A little more to come from our trip, but that's THE END of the Urban Bourbon Trail report!

Highlands Stroll

A little stroll around the Highlands neighborhood in Louisville reveals an interesting mix of coffee shops, restaurants and hip stores.  And a mural or two.

Stately homes on one block, shotgun houses on the next, the neighborhood is also an eclectic mix of architectural styles.

 Santa was climbing the wall of an Irish Pub, but we bypassed a pint for a cold brew coffee instead.

Then we strolled around a few antique stores and made friends with a few pups, what could be better?

Unforgettable Urban Bourbon Trail Adventures

Stop #3 was at Momma's, where I had a small sample of the Pineapple "Blushy" (Bourbon Slushy) and Katrina got a strawberry lemonade vodka cocktail.  A mouthful of bourbon counts, right? It was so good that I've bought the ingredients to make it at home...but have been too busy to make it yet unfortunately.

The stop was chosen because it was just a few minutes from the big New Years Day sale at Dillard's where we cleaned up on bargains but were left exhausted and hungry.  Momma's BBQ was delicious and the business donates 2% to local charities - just over 1/4 million dollars as of this time last year!  Momma's was Katrina's favorite stop, both for the food and the charitable contributions.

Waiting in line at Dillard's with my pile of bargains

Another stop was the Troll Pub Under the Bridge. This place had a sports bar atmosphere so we only stayed long enough for Katrina to have a drink at the bar and get our passport stamped.

I may have loved the drinks at the historic hotels, and loved the BBQ at Momma's, but I have to say that Buck's was my favorite place to go just for the place itself.

We were instantly impressed by all the flowers on the bar, and by the welcoming personalities of all the staff.  We had the most personal service I've ever had anywhere, and great conversation with our bartender who introduced me to Luxardo cherries - another item added to my grocery list!

The dinner menu was tempting but it was just too soon after our last meal so we settled for a seat at  the bar and just admired the decor while we tried to decide on a cocktail.

After tasting those Luxardo cherries we settled on the Kiss of Kentucky, which Katrina enjoyed more than I did. I found the pecans distracting and the alcohol taste a little strong for a lightweight like myself.

I should have ordered the Lily for myself instead of ordering the same drink she did. Or maybe the Bourbon Bee? Or the Billionaire? Tough decisions.

I hated to leave and if I get back to Louisville I will definitely stop in again.  Our bartender sent us on our way with Star of Bethlehem flowers which is their signature flower and that are still blooming 11 days later. The piano player with the husky voice made me wish I was hungry enough to stay for dinner.  Next time!

Still blooming!

Which drink would you have wanted while listening to "Unforgettable"?