a rainy day in Louisville

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Damp, and cold.

We found milk and oj in a CVS a few blocks from the hotel, but have not found yogurt or fruit.

Louisville is like St. Louis (at least, the St. Louis we saw several years ago) -- no one lives downtown.  Very different from places that are actually inhabited rather than just worked in......

After our usual morning Cheerios, my better half went off to play bridge, and I headed out to see Louisville.  In the rain.  It wasn't too cold, and it wasn't raining too hard......

There is a lot of interesting architecture.  Lots of buildings that are 100+? years old, with a lot of embellishment.  Some that are well taken care of, and some that are open to the sky.....

Lots of museums and galleries are on Main Street east of our hotel.  I went to the Kentucky Art and Craft Museum.  It has a big gallery, and some nice well-lit exhibition space.  I saw an exhibit of collections -- small random stuff, arranged in a human silhouette;  masks,  hands (including a quilt by Jane Burch Cochran -- the only artist whose name I recognized).  The other exhibit was Kentucky outsider art.  Many interesting carved pieces, some fiber, an alabaster bowl.....  Pictures once I get home.....

I also went to the International History Museum, which, I think, used to be called the Arms Museum, and maybe still should be -- it was mostly arms and armor.  I think that anyone who was interested in arms and armor could happily spend many many hours in there.  It is a very nicely-put-together museum.  Lots of explanatory material about fighting and manufacture and use of arms and armor.  I saw part of a video on shield walls, and how it is probable that the men (with shields) making up the wall did not stand side by side, as they could fight more efficiently (and allow archers better position do do their thing) if they stood a bit farther apart.  They had a chain-mail shirt of modern manufacture that we were invited to handle.  Verrrrrry heavy!  And flexible.

As someone who knows next to nothing about arms or armor, it seemed to me that they had a very extensive collection of very nice things, well documented and heavily explained. Lots of video. Many hands-on things to do -- "can you draw a long bow?" "which of your eyes is dominant? (an archer would use the dominant eye to focus)"

I can admire embellished armor, but have limited interest, and less than that for the weapons, and still less for guns.  Many many many guns.  Handguns, long guns.  All old, and all, I think, with historical significance.

I found it interesting, for something in which I have no interest.

They also had an exhibit on Louisville's potable water -- where it comes from, how it's treated, how it gets to houses.  Wooden water pipe, I kid you not.....

And an exhibit called "The Good, the Bad, and the Cuddly" on toys -- with a focus on Toy Story 3 toys.  That was a fun exhibit.  In addition to story-board illustrations, and lots of toys, they had dioramas that were snapshots of other movies, with Toy Story 3 characters. A big Rex and a tiny Woody as a part of Jurassic Park. Star Wars, with Darth, a storm trouper, and someone else, all played by Mr. Potato Head. Independence Day, with the piggy bank pig as the alien space ship over the White House.

Clever, and fun.

When I came out of the museum, it was not raining, but it was chilly and quite windy. I was wearing a tshirt and a flannel shirt, and that was distinctly not enough.

Luckily, I was only several small blocks from the hotel.

I warmed up, ate some snacks, and read some of Reading the OED. Some of it is laugh-out-loud funny. Who knew there was a word for "To act stupidly together."

In our family, we use a different term than "constult" -- a last name. We know a bunch of very smart people, who like to do stupid things, often together. Who knew there was an official word for it, right there in the OED......

For dinner, we went to a Saphron's -- a Persian restaurant that got very good reviews. I liked it. More description and one paltry pic later...... I had my first Turkish coffee. Mmmmmm. It came in a very cute cup, too.

And that was Tuesday.

My better half's bridge team (who came with us to dinner) wondered what a non-playing spouse would be doing while the bridge player was playing.

As Calvin said, my day was packed......

The bridge team won this afternoon, and are playing tonight. I'm hanging out with the internet and the tv......


I have put a link at the end of each post to the next one. The post after this one is here

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