Blogs from Louisville, Kentucky, United States, North America

There’s a certain energy in the air here in Louisville cause its Derby week. Although many of the locals I’ve talked to say they’ve never been , there is still a party atmosphere. Guess its kinda like New Yorkers and Times Square on New Years eve. The band Velcro Pygmy’s http://www.velcropygmies.com/default2.aspx That I saw last night at 4th street live talked about skipping school and going to work all week with a hangover. They were a Heavy Metal cover band complete with a horn section and choreographed head banging, or so I thought till they played a few old favorites like 867 5309 and Jessie’s Girl but they were a lot of fun to watch. Yesterday I found the Main street trolley-a free trolley that I used as a city orientation. I walked the waterfront ,saw ... read more

It's been an actual whole year and 2 days since my last post from China--the move back post. I am writing from Louisville, Kentucky, our home for the past 10 months. It's been a great almost year in this fantastic city. We've really loved it here, though we miss Chicago. I am back to working full time, the kids made it through a somewhat rocky first year of school of public school, resulting in our decision to move to private school next year, but we are all well and happy. We've made some great friends, reconnected with some long-time friends, and have managed to stay in touch and connected to our friends and family all over the world through all of this change. How fun to be back here and ready to report again as Mark ... read more

Today dawned cold, rainy, and miserable. I decided to spend the morning somewhere more reasonable, hiding in my room catching up on paperwork. The rain finally stopped during the afternoon, and I had time to see things. I ultimately decided on one of Louisville’s biggest contributions to pop culture and an unmissable tourist trap. Johann Fredrich Hillerich was a German immigrant in the late 1800s who was a very good woodworker. He made ice chests. Louisville at the time was home to an early major league baseball team, the Eclipse. One of the players, Pete Browning, asked Hillerich to make a bat for him. Hillerich, after much deliberation, agreed. The pla... read more

Today was mostly another day off. I need to pace myself during big festivals, otherwise I burn out. The main event today was a concert of Christian rock music, so I figured it was a good day to rest. It did have one major highlight. I went to Gryslain. This restaurant is set up like a Parisian bistro. While they serve very good gourmet sandwiches, that is just the sideshow. Gryslain is run by one of Louisville’s best pastry chefs Ghyslain Maurais, and he uses it as a showcase for his work. It has long displays of mouth watering treats, each one looking like a work of art. Just being here will give chocolate lovers hea... read more

Today’s first event is a slice of Southern culture that I have never seen in person. Southerners, especially African Americans, take marching bands very seriously. They have competitions to show off their skills. Today was the one for the Derby Festival. It began with a traditional African drumming group, followed by the eight competition teams. They ranged from community groups to universities. It became one long afternoon of beats. Teams were judged on rhythm, precision, difficulty, and choreography. Marching in formations was just the start of it. People drummed while lying on their backs. People flipped sticks into the air, in unison, while playing. Cy... read more

My main purpose of today is to recover from yesterday. I knew when I booked my room that I would need time off after Thunder; I had no idea I would need this much time off. I ended up sleeping ten hours, waking for breakfast, and then napping for four more. The rest of the day was spent doing laundry and other errands. I had dinner at a nice coffee shop near the University of Louisville. Tomorrow the road calls again.... read more