Kentucky Places: Rupp Arena

Nothing embodies the spirit of Downtown Lexington like Rupp Arena.

Happy Basketball Season, y'all!

Kentucky Places: The Balconies Overlooking Keeneland's Paddock

Via State-Journal.

On Keeneland's second floor, just off the Sports Bar, lie a series of balconies that can tell a million Lexington stories.  They are among my very favorite Kentucky places.

Yes, it would be easier to just say that Keeneland itself is one of my favorite places.  That would be a true, true statement.  But the thing about Keeneland is that there are so many different worlds within the track.  There's the everyday folks, dressed down and hanging out by the track.  There's the college crowd, dressed for church or a fraternity semi-formal, in the Sports Bar and the Equestrian Room.  There are the professionals taking in meetings and working lunches in the upstairs dining rooms.  And then there's the Clubhouse crowd, enjoying a more subdued, members-only atmosphere.  

Via Shedrow.

Most of the time, the worlds never meet.  You go through an elaborate ritual of text messages and near-misses to find a friend who's enjoying a very different day at a different part of the track.  But the second-floor balconies provide an equalizer of sorts.  You'll see many romantic assignations go down on those balconies. You often watch business deals take shape.  You see suit-clad professional types sneak a smoke, while true horse enthusiasts strain to get a better look at the magnificent creatures that will soon be racing.  In a lot of ways, it's a microcosm of Lexington itself- college town meets horse town, rural meets urban.

via Keeneland.

For my money, the balcony on the farthest left (just off the betting windows) is the preferred spot.  It's the most scenic.  It sees the most action.  And, it always seems to have a roomful of people on constant watch to find a vacant spot.  But, no matter which balcony you find yourself standing upon, you'll always have a great view.

Red's Donuts

I'll make this simple. Paducah is home to the best donuts in the world. And look, I like to consider myself something of a fried dough connoisseur. I've eaten ponchkes in New York City, beignets in New Orleans, and yo-yos from a food cart in Tunisia, but nothing - and I mean nothing - comes close to a glazed donut from Red's. 

The story goes that Vernon Rudolph bought a doughnut shop from a French chef from New Orleans. As a part of the deal, he also got the chef's secret recipe for yeast-raised doughnuts. The shop eventually became Red's and if the name Vernon Rudolph sounds familar, it's because he went on to found Krispy Kreme. 

I won't sully this discussion with a comparison of Krispy Kreme and a Red's donut because there is no comparison. I will only say this - Red's donuts don't have to be eaten hot off the assembly line. They are good cold. They are good several days old. They are good - no matter what. 

So, next time you're in Paducah or anywhere in a 100 mile radius I suggest you stop by. You will not be disappointed.

~ Sarah Stewart Holland

Kentucky Places: The Seelbach

Louisville's Seelbach Hotel is a throwback to more elegant days. With a storied past that includes bourbon with Scott Fitzgerald and poker with Al Capone, the Seelbach is a flashy time capsule amidst downtown Louisville's office buildings and tourist sites.

Built in the early 1900s by Bavarian brothers Otto and Louis Seelbach, the hotel became synonymous with luxury.  The early guest list included gangsters like Al Capone and Lucky Luciano, as well as Presidents Taft and Harding. F. Scott Fitzgerald is said to have been ejected from the Seelbach after a night of debauchery, and later included the hotel as the backdrop for Daisy and Tom Buchanan's wedding in The Great Gatsby.

The Seelbach has been renovated, rebranded, and reinvented many times since its 1905 opening, but retains the elegance and charm of its early years.  Most every Kentucky girl has a Seelbach story; we've attended frat formals and weddings  in the Rathskeller,  met colleagues for drinks in the lobby bar, and dined in the five-diamond Oak Room.  It's as much a Louisville tradition as baseball bats or horse racing.

I always recommend the Seelbach to anyone visiting Louisville for the first (or the fortieth) time.  The  gorgeous rooms, complete with four-poster mahogany beds, are the epitome of Southern hospitality. (Did I mention that my beloved labrador, Max, was treated like a king there?)  It's thrilling to imagine you're staying among the ghosts of Prohibition-era gangsters or Jazz Age belles.  The Starbucks (around the corner from my beau's old office) is the best in the city.  The lunch buffet at Otto's is a downtown tradition.  And the services at Z Salon are amazing. (I can't recommend the massages highly enough!)

Just try to keep yourself a little more restrained than Fitzgerald did...

Seelbach Hilton
500 Fourth Street
Louisville, KY 40202
http://www.seelbachhilton.com