Follow Our Road Tripper Around Kentucky

Posted on 12. Oct, 2009 by admin in News blog

Kentucky Tried?

Hi yall, I’m off to Kentucky: home of the thoroughbred racehorses and American racing, the bourbon capital of the world, the home of Muhammad Ali, the Louisville Slugger baseball bat, bluegrass music, the gateway to the South, Mammoth Caves, the biggest cave system in the US, and Cumberland Falls, the only place save for Victoria Falls where you get “moonbows”. Of vast state parks, sprawling lakes and good old southern hospitality. And yes, the home of Kentucky Fried Chicken and Colonel Sanders!

“How you doing”

The first thing that hits you about Kentucky, is the people. Friendly isn’t the word. Everyone says “hello”, or “morning”, or “hi”, or “how you doing”. They make eye contact. And when they say “have a good day”, it’s as if they mean it – none of this “have a nice day” supermarket checkout faux pleasantry, which can often translate as “Look I have to say this, otherwise I get sacked – I couldn’t really give two cents if you get mugged on the way out and your car gets totalled by a bus”.

“Yep, they’re friendly, very friendly” says Craig, a diver from Wisconsin checking out supports on one of the new river bridges. “And they mean it, it’s not like Detroit.”

I sat next to Craig on the plane from Detroit, perhaps the smallest airplane I have encountered. It figures, Lexington is one of the smallest airports I have encountered, save for the early days of Ryanair flying into one-man flying school aerodromes in suburban Oslo, Norway. On the other side of the coin, baggage pick-up, rental cars and the 10 yard walk from the plane to arrivals is a plus.

Lexington

East Main in Lexington, Kentucky

Now cute or quaint aint the word for this town, the capital of horses. Compared to much of urban America, it’s positively regal. Surrounded by undulating bluegrass fields, horse ranches and stud farms, pockmarked by old wooden barns, lined by pretty green, black or traditionally white plank fences or stone walls, all topped off by the palatial mansions of the “colonels”, the thoroughbred horse trainers and ranch owners.

The city of nearly 250,000 is brimming with Victorian townhouses, wooden arched gables, stone window ledges, clapperboard faciers, with neo-classical collonades on the leading up the covered porches; townhouses all, it’s an America I haven’t seen before. Most of the town seems to be lined with these old homes, save for a part of downtown, where the high-rise banks have sprouted, albeit for only a block or two. Banks such as the oddly named skyrise tower of the Fifth Third Ban”, which makes you wonder what happened to the first four.

Front Porches of Houses in Lexington, Kentucky

Its clear Lexington has history, as befits horse country. Pioneers came here after the Revolutionary War (the War of Independence in this Brit’s book), settling for the vast pastures and naming the town after the battle which sealed victory. The horse farms and breeders came soon afterwards.

It claims to be the Horse Capital of the World – and why not? Nearly everyone here has links to the trade, be they the marketing manager of a horse-feed firm, jockey or a trainee vet. Well, nearly everyone: in downtown Lexington, law practices abound, and it’s clear quite a few people are majoring in criminal justice or work at the nearby law firms. Perhaps there are major disputes between ranch owners (“hey, that’s my horse” … “no it’s not, it mine!” “Prove it!”)

Basketball

Don’t mention the word basketball; it’s Kentucky’s major sport and the team, UK (University of Kentucky, based in Lexington) has just lost in the quarter finals to Oklahoma). Still, they don’t seem too upset at the Sidebar grill, a funky indie-style bar serving value for money burgers and steaks on 147 North Limestone (www.sidebargrill.com). It’s $5.99 for a ground sirloin patty burger with cheddar, onion, pickle and lettuce, with fries. The bottled Kentucky Ale, a lively brew, and tasty, rocks in at 5.4%. “Yeh, don’t mention the game,” says Anna, the waitress. “It sucks.” If you want a more fancy meal, try La Deauville bistro or La La Lucy’s on East Main.

You won’t mention the game at Mia’s, either, a lively bar this Monday night. Everyone is too busy getting drunk. It’ the only bar buzzing this night on the edge of the downtown area; McCarthy’s is dead, as is Molly’s, and Cheapside, next to the being-renovated old market is quiet too. Well, it is Monday, and 10pm. so why is Mia’s throbbing? Karaoke. or, to be precise, gay and lesbian karaoke.

You do know it’s a gay and lesbian bar, ask Brian? I kinda figured, a casual glance of the student clientele and the karaoke playlist gave it away (Neil Diamond, for your future reference). And who else, on a Monday night, before the start of the annual spring race meet at nearby Keeneland racetrack, would be whooping it up on a Monday night.

Oh, my God, I just love your accent….

Kentucky doesn’t get many visitors from across the pond (well, not just across the pond – across the Appalachians, and West Virginia, then Virgina, and then the pond). You can tell, ‘cos when you speak, many people look, well, if not exactly awestruck, at least phazed or non-plussed. “Oh-my-God, I just love your accent!” You can never tire of that phrase. I might even get a t-shirt saying it. I was gonna get a T-shirt with the design I Heart Kentucky, in the same design as HK or NY, but with KY being the abbreviation, well, perhaps not.

Gratz Park Inn in Kentucky

The Gratz Park Inn

I’m staying at the Gratz Park Inn (http://www.gratzparkinn.com/photoGallery.html), a converted old Victorian mansion home in deep downtown, a refurbished grand Victorian property with a classical piano taking pride of place in the lounge/reception. The bedroom is vast, dominated by perhaps the comfiest double-poster bed I have slept in. After the missed connection at Detroit, I need some shuteye. A lush four-poster bed kinda helps.

DAY TWO

Come on, when in America, it’s best to track down some little corner of Americana, which is kinda hard to find in refined, Victorian Lexington. Take one step forward, the Parkette, a fabled old 50s drive-in diner just off the junction to Winchester. Hidden in a sea of drive-in shops, motor malls, fast-food joints and other assembled anomalies, sits the Parkette. The huge towering sign shouts Shrimp boxes and fried chicken.

Sign outside Parkette

You simply pull in, drive up to a bay with a speaker and menu and order, the waitress will then come deliver. Sounds simple, but it aint – for starter, you have to make sure you park driver-side next to the meNu and ordering machine. Secondly, you have to make sure that particular bay machine works. On the third attempt, my face as red as burger ketchup, I succeed.

Gloria rolls out with my “poorboy”, a $2.99 Big Mac double beef ground sirloin, with red onion, tomato, special Parkette sauce and mustard and pickle. It’s not bad for $2.99, redolent of a Big Mac, but less processed, which kinda figures, cos apparently, the Parkette used to be an original McDonald’s. Hee they offer shrimpbozes, tender shrimp, deep fried, or chicken, deep fried, apparently it’s famous, it’s deep fried in lard.

Parkette Owners

Nowadays, the Parkette host 50s retro nights, where, I guess, people in long ra-ra skirts bobby socks, ponytails and pluco-quiffed guys in baseball jackets re-enact the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies in their old cadillacs.

Photo of Yellow Plymouth Duster

Next up, the drive to Louisville, through Georgetown, Frankfort and Shelbyville …
(“Oooh, there’s a cow!)

Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby Museum

Posted on 12. Oct, 2009 by admin in Places to visit

Located at Gate 1 of historic Churchill Downs, the Museum presents the traditions and excitement of the “greatest two minutes in sports.” Highlights include 2 floors of interactive, horse racing-related exhibits, a 360-degree high-definition video presentation and a walking tour of Churchill Downs. On the first Saturday in May, the sports world’s spotlight shines on Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby, known as the “Greatest Two Minutes in Sports.”

Kentucky Films

Posted on 12. Oct, 2009 by admin in Highlights

Kentucky has been been captured many times in the movies, on both the small and big screen.

Bluegrass Kentucky

Posted on 12. Oct, 2009 by admin in Highlights

Kentucky is as home to the rolling bluegrass hills as the footstomping bluegrass beat, a kissing cousin of country music with roots easily identified in old-style English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish folk and even west African music.

Sound kinda odd? Well then let the founding father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe, explain it better:

“Bluegrass is Scotch bagpipes and ole-time fiddlin’. It’s Methodist and Holiness and Baptist. It’s blues and jazz, and it has a high lonesome sound. It’s plain music that tells a good story. It’s played from my heart to your heart, and it will touch you. Bluegrass is music that matters.”

Got that? No? Well, just refer to the Coen Brothers’ movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?, an apparent homage to old time bluegrass music, starring Kentucky local boy, George Clooney.

Or check out Bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs on iTunes, Grammy awardwinning Alison Krauss, or even comic actor Steve Martin, a big convert to the banjo and bluegrass, mastering the instrument on his first solo album, called The Crow, with guest vocals by music legend Dolly Parton.

Martin loves the banjo, to him it’s a “high lonesome sound … generated nostalgia for experiences I never had, joy I was yet to experience, and melancholy that was yet to come”.

Thousands of devotees agree, flocking to the annual bluegrass celebration known as the River of Music Party (aka ROMP) in Owensboro every June, at the genre’s dedicated centre, the International Bluegrass Music Museum.
http://www.bluegrass-museum.org/riverofmusic/. Or if you have a phone, dial 1-888-mybanjo

The Urban Bourbon Trail

Posted on 12. Oct, 2009 by admin in Highlights

Get your tasting boots on, it’s time to hit the Urban Bourbon Trail, a tour round downtown Louisville’s premier bars and hotels, where the likes of writer Scott F Fitzgerald or the “non-writer” Al Capone took their drinks or where Louisville’s trendsetters kick back.

There’s the Old Seelbach Bar, the 1892 tavern or the lounge bar at Brown’s, redolent of a 1930s movie set, or sample the wares at the in-vogue 21c Museum hotel’s restaurant bar, Proof on Main, or the urban cool bar at Blu.

Grab your Urban Trail passport and tick off the destinations with a stamp, sampling en route some classic bourbons and cocktails, such as the ubiquitous Manhattan or the legendary Mint Julep. Most venues offer tastings and can talk you through the subtle nuances of up to 50 different, and largely distinct bourbons, with most serving up innovative food and snacks, such as the fabled mint julep pancake or bourbon barrel smoked salmon.

OK, you don’t have to finish the whole trail in one go – that would be dangerous, and a waste. Just grab the passport and pick off again whenever you want.

For more details, visit http://www.justaddbourbon.com/planavisit/urbantrail.aspx
Or why not joi the Facebok group http://www.facebook.com/pages/Urban-Bourbon-Trail/62763884459

Girls in Kentucky

Posted on 07. Oct, 2009 by admin in Featured

Girls in Kentucky

Kentucky is all about good looks. For starters, it boasts George Clooney, Johnny Depp and Tom Cruise as adopted sons. You may be able to spot them mingling in with all the other celebs who flock to the Kentucky Derby, America’s favourite and biggest horserace at the Churchill Downs. Just park your car in the lot, bumper to bumper, and enjoy a bloody Mary at the fabled race-day “tailgate parties”.

You can swap star treatment for spa treatment, as well. Especially at the award-winning 21c Museum Hotel in Louisville, which boasts some serious contemporary art and sumptuous pampering packages, notably its ‘Ménage-a-spa package’.

Kentucky boasts natural beauty, too, all 40,000 square miles of it. Be it the rolling bluegrass hills, the vast, sprawling lakes or the awe-inspiring celestial beauty of meteor showers and moonbows. just get into the car and ride any of the fabled scenic routes Kentucky offers.

For the more sporty and energetic, there’s oodles of horseback trails and riding holidays on the state’s myriad horse farms. If you can’t ride, then learn – thousands do! In most states, you learn to drive, in Kentucky, you learn to ride.

For urban chic, trawl the boutiques, stores and galleries of Louisville, and it’s burgeoning boho quarter. Or try the Bourbon Drive-in Cinema in Paris, from early spring to late autumn or sample the delights of America’s fast-growing bluegrass scene, in Paris. That’s Paris, Kentucky, of course.

Hot August Blues Festival

Posted on 05. Feb, 2009 by sarah in What’s on

Set the Mood this Summer with Kentucky’s Hot August Blues Festival

Don’t miss the Hot August Blues Festival this August in Kentucky at Lake Hardin, bringing you the best in Blues music.

From the 27th – 28th of August 2010, enjoy some of the finest Blues acts from around the world as well as much-loved local favourites. With the scenic Lake Hardin as the backdrop, food and drink available to purchase throughout the festival, good music and good company, the Hot August Blues Festival makes for a very entertaining weekend.

In the past the Hot August Blues Festival has been selected as one of the state’s Top Ten summer events and has remained a “must attend” festival in the western Kentucky region.

Book in advance and you can purchase tickets from only £8 – £12 per person or tickets are available at the entrance gates and cost from £10 – £14 per person. The ticket prices vary according to the day of attendance. Weekend combo tickets are also available for either £17 per person if booked in advance or £20 per person if bought at the gate.

For more information on the Hot August Blues Festival and purchasing tickets visit www.hotaugustbluesfestival.com.