Tag Archives: louisville metro parks

What To Do in Louisville

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Hi, All!

Since it is now September (can you believe it?!) and most of the activities associated with “Welcome Week” have passed, many Bellarmine students might be wondering where to go and what to do with their precious free time.  In an attempt to help make this decision a little easier, I have researched the fun things to which us Louisvillians have access. Here are some of the most popular:

Attractions:

-The Louisville Zoo, located less than five minutes from Bellarmine’s campus, offers many indoor and outdoor animal exhibits, along with an extensive Horticulture Area

-Churchill Downs, the sight of the famous Kentucky Derby, hosts fun, unique events throughout the school year such as Downs After Dark and College Scholarship Day

-Fourth Street Live! which is located in the heart of downtown Louisville offers dining, shopping, and entertainment

Parks:

-Cherokee Park offers a 2.4 mile walking/running loop, basketball courts, hiking trails, picnic shelters, biking trails, and a dog park

-Joe Creason Park, located across from Bellarmine on Newburg Road, offers playgrounds, a cross country trail, hiking trails, picnic shelters, and some pretty awesome sledding hills!

-Louisville Waterfront Park, located along the bank of the Ohio River, offers playgrounds, picnic spaces, and a scenic view.  Waterfront Park also hosts numerous concerts and festivals throughout the year, many of which are free!

Museums:

-Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory, located in downtown Louisville, showcases the history of the Louisville Slugger baseball bats

-Speed Art Museum, Kentucky’s oldest and largest art museum

-Muhammad Ali Center, which is located in downtown Louisville, is a cultural attraction and an international education center

Places to Shop:

-Bardstown Road, which includes stores such as Urban Outfitters, Pitaya, and General Eccentric

-Oxmoor Mall, which has stores such as Macy’s, Lucky Brand Jeans, and Teavana

- Westport Village, an outdoor mall that has a variety of boutiques including Apricot Lane and Serendipity

Outdoor Attractions:

-Louisville Mega Cavern, a series of manmade caverns under the city of Louisville, offers both walking tours and “ZipTours”

-Joe Huber’s Family Farm and Restaurant, although located in Starlight, Indiana, is a popular place for Louisville residents to visit in the fall for apple picking, pumpkin picking, hay rides, organic food, and games

-The Louisville Bats, the Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, plays home games at Louisville Slugger Field in downtown Louisville.

Other Attractions around Kentucky:

-Mammoth Cave, in Mammoth Cave, KY offers trails on which to bike or hike, horseback riding, camping, and cave tours

-The Bourbon Trail, which includes distilleries such as the Maker’s Mark Distillery in Loretto, the Jim Beam Distillery in Clermont, and the Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles.

-Red River Gorge, located in eastern Kentucky, offers camping, zip lines, and rock climbing

Although all of these attractions, shops, and restaurants are Louisville originals, there are several things that stand out as being truly unique to Louisville.  These include:

-Lynn’s Paradise Café, a restaurant five minutes from Bellarmine’s campus that is a “quirky independent restaurant with a national reputation built on great food, wacky décor, and wild events”

-Why Louisville, a shop on Bardstown Road that specializes in “locally designed shirts and accessories, books and magazines, gifts and cards, and general curiosities”

-Gallopalooza: Louisville’s Sidewalk Derby, which is a “civic pride project featuring brightly painted, life-size horses displayed throughout the community” offers a fun, unique way to explore Louisville

Enjoy your time exploring!

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“Sun is shining. Weather is sweet. Make you wanna move your dancing feet.”

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Hi everyone! As I adjust to not being entirely busy all the time, I figured I’d write a blog post to brainstorm what I’ll be up to this summer! Here are some of the main things I want to do this summer, and would love to hear what my readers are doing too!

Dairy Kastle – Yelp.com

1.) Make routine Dairy Kastle trips: I just went there for the first time a couple days ago and I’m hooked! This cute little store is only open for the late spring and summer months and can be found off Eastern Parkway, close to University of Louisville. None of their items are under $6.00 and you definitely get your money’s worth. I got their Cookie Dough “Flurry” the first time I went and I’m anxious to try anything else because it was absolutely delicious! An 18 oz. serving was considered a small, and could have easily replaced a meal!

Joe Creason Park – by Louisville Images

2.) Check out the Louisville Metro Parks. I definitely plan on taking a couple of runs through the Joe Creason park across from Bellarmine’s campus, but I also want to see the rest of the parks around our city! I’m trying to get into a better exercise plan now that I have some more free time, and being able to run through pretty and scenic parks would motivate me to stick to it!

3.) Get in some summer reads. One of my coworkers from CFL is letting me borrow her copy of The Hunger Games so I can finally see what the hype is all about! Yes, I know, I’m late to join the bandwagon, but better late than never, right? I also plan on reading 50 Shades of Grey, The Help, and more! Feel free to toss around some suggestions!

Dance Louisville

4.) Take dance classes. Yes, I said it. Dance classes. I may be trying to take a couple group ballroom dance classes, just for the fun of it. From one of my friend’s recommendations, I think I might try some at Dance Louisville with Michael. After we danced at Phi Mu’s Formal, we always thought it would be fun to actually know what we’re doing with hopes that we can use our skills at someone’s wedding or something in the future! You never know when these skills could come in handy! If I don’t make it to any classes this summer, I’m sure I’ll be hitting up some of the salsa dance classes that Bellarmine offers during the school year.

5. RELAX! I spend most of my hours during the school year busy with something, whether it’s time spent in class, doing homework, going to meetings, going to my internship, or simply hanging out with friends, so I’m really excited to have some free time to do absolutely nothing. I have already started to see what it’s like having unconsumed hours and it makes me feel anxious, like I have something to do and I’m not doing it. I’m looking forward to adjusting and learning how to relax, settle down, and turn my brain off for a while, and I hope I can do this by doing the other four things I wanted to do this summer. I plan on making a short weekend trip to Pennsylvania to visit my family and I’ll also be making a trip to Hilton Head Island, SC in July with some of the family as well.

What are you all doing this summer? I’d love to hear!

Song of the day: Call Me Maybe by Carly Jepsen. Yes, I know that this song is slightly overplayed by now, but I absolutely adore this music video. Some of the baseball boys from Harvard decided to sing along to this song while also helping out a charity called Friends of Jaclyn. Too cute! Enjoy!