>Does anyone on here live in or near Louisville and have recommendations
>for places to eat and/or things to do?  My flight doesn't leave until
>5:30 Monday afternoon so I'll have some time to kill on Monday.
>
>Sara
 
Hey, Sara!  I won't be able to make the Forum, but I did live in
Louisville for the first 18 years of my life, so I'll take this one.
Oh, and so everyone knows, the official pronounciation of the city name
is loo-uh-vull.  Yes, we know it was named after Louis XVl and should
have an "ee" sound in there somewhere.  It's still loo-uh-vull... ;-)
 
Touristy stuff:
 
The Belle of Louisville is a 92 year old, still-working steamboat; a
National Historic Landmark, and a much-loved symbol of the city.  You
can find her schedule and fare information here (along with that of her
sister ship, the riverboat Spirit of Jefferson)
 
http://www.belleoflouisville.org/schedule/
 
Farmington is a beautiful Federal-style home, built from a plan by Thomas
Jefferson and completed in 1816.  It was the home of the Speed family
before being turned into a museum, and I spent a lot of afternoons there.
It was one of Mom's favorite historic properties.
 
http://www.historicfarmington.org/
 
Speaking of the Speed family, the J.B. Speed Art Museum is well worth
a visit.  Although it's on the U of L campus (which is also worth a
look-see; the buildings are gorgeous), the museum is open to the public.
Worth noting is the English Renaissance Room, which was moved in its
entirety from Devonshire to be installed at the Museum.
 
http://www.speedmuseum.org/planning_a_visit.html
 
Old Louisville is a historic preservation district; the third largest
in the country, and the single largest featuring purely Victorian
architecture.  If you decide to go sightseeing there, wave at my old
house for me (1334 S. 2nd St.)
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Louisville
 
Locust Grove: another incredible early 19th century home and farm.
Revolutionary War hero Gen.  George Rogers Clark spent the last 9 years
of his life there, with his sister and brother-in-law.
 
http://www.locustgrove.org/aboutlg_hours.html
 
As far as places to eat go, the only one I can recommend right now is
Lentini's, on Bardstown Road.  My very extended family and I were back
in Louisville for my Granddad's funeral a couple of weeks ago, and the
lot of us went there for dinner.  (Mom and Cousin Diane both went there
on dates in high school, so the place is an institution.)  Great Italian
food, fantastic service, and they're very accomodating of large groups
showing up on the doorstep -- which might make it a good location for
FML'ers to get together.
 
There's a whole lot more that I could pack in here, but I'll leave it
with some links instead.  It's a beautiful city, and I wish that I could
make the trip -- especially since the magnolias are starting to bloom
::sigh::
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_attractions_and_events_in_Louisville
 
http://www.velocityweekly.com/100things.html
 
http://www.louisville.com/ (Restaurant search lets you set parameters
like kid-friendly and smoke-free)
 
Have fun!
 
~Becca, missing the scent of magnolia in arid Denver...
[Posted in FML issue 5217]