Bardstown Road and Birdseed

(A hasty, scattered kind of post)

Writing about Frankfort made me realize that we haven't actually explored our own downtown Louisville. Apart from the Thunder fireworks show, Isaac and I haven't visited the riverside city center.

And that didn't change this past week (which was pretty uneventful save for getting a nice haircut) but there is another area closer to home that we know pretty well now. Known as the Highlands, this part of town is full of quirky shops, hip restaurants and some pretty architecture. Most of the fun lies alongside Bardstown Road, which seems to be a major artery of cool here. I only have a couple of pictures I snapped while driving and walking around, but I think they show some of the area's cuteness. And I think it's worth sharing since the Highlands has quickly become one of our favorite parts of town.

It's that kind of place that has more than its share of music stores, consignment shops, cafes and tearooms.

I love grungy buildings with different textures and patterns like these two.

In South Carolina, the palmetto tree and crescent moon are popular motifs for just about anything. I think we've discovered the Louisville equivalents - the fleur de lis and horse. The fleur de lis seems especially popular here, in the city named after a French king. It decorates the top of this short iron fence but we see it pop up on all sorts of things.





















When we saw the neon sign below in the window of a restaurant on Bardstown Road, we knew that we're not the only ones to be a little confused about the pronunciation of this place. I've settled for "Loo-a-vul" and Isaac jokes around with his even shorter version "Loo-vul" which is quickly becoming a habit.

We tried out a tasty brunch restaurant called Highland Morning. I think this is the first time I've ever seen breakfast food graffiti like what decorates the corner of the building. I'm a fan.

 And this coffee place, Safai, has some seriously delicious drinks. Isaac was so impressed, saying that it was just as good or better as some of the Korean cafes.

Yea, we like to pretend we are coffee snobs sometimes.

So that's all I have to say about the Highlands and Bardstown Road. I've got just one other (totally unrelated) little snippet worth sharing this week.

Growing up, Mimi and Uncle Mark always had bird feeders full of seed in their yard. We sat at the kitchen window many days watching the birds pick away - chickadees, cowbirds, cardinals, wrens, titmouses (titmice?), a cute little pair of mourning doves, the occasional obnoxious blue jay and some other one nicknamed "the little robber". Squirrels would climb up and jump on the feeder, resulting in a small mountain of seeds piled beneath the feeder.

Except for a brief sliver of time, I only ever remember Mom having a humming bird feeder. When I asked, the reason given was because Dad didn't want weeds growing in the yard.

I couldn't help but remember this when I walked towards our apartment's stairwell this week. A family living on the first floor recently started putting out a bowl of birdseed on their balcony rail. Now there is a healthy stalk of corn growing just beneath it.