Fourteen years before we retired we moved the the Greater Louisville, Kentucky area. For most of the time we lived on the Indiana side, but I really like Louisville. The first thing you need to know about Louisville is how to say it. Locals pronounce it this way: Lou – ah – vul. Sometimes you can get by with Louie – ville, but Never Say Lewis – ville.
Louisville is the perfect half north/half south kind of town. You know you’re in a half/half city because the waitresses ask you if you want your tea sweet or unsweet. North you only get unsweetened and in the south they assume you mean sweetened tea. But here they ask.
Louisville looks like a modern city in the downtown and the suburbs but you will find beautiful old houses on wide streets lined with old trees. Most people are very gracious with lovely manners. That is until they get behind the wheel of a vehicle. Then they become very aggressive. At first I thought they were all very rude drivers but they are just aggressive. Very different from the Midwest. I blame it on the road system which was designed by not-very-bright engineers. One particular area near downtown in called Spaghetti Junction. If you look at the roads from up above, it looks like a plate of spaghetti. To be in this area during rush hour is to be in a war zone. That’s where they learn that aggression.
Louisvillians are very serious about their sports. You might know Louisville as the home of Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby. They have horse races there all season long. The real passion comes when you talk basketball. Shortly after we moved her we were in a normally crowded restaurant and there were very few people there. As we sat looking out the window we saw very little traffic. The waitress knew we were not local when she let us know that an important college basketball game was on TV right then. It was the University of Louisville playing the University of Kentucky.
They also love baseball here. They are still making the worlds most famous baseball bats – the Louisville Slugger. Visitors can take a very nice tour. Louisville also has a great minor league baseball team – the Louisville Bats. They have a beautiful stadium that’s comfortable, affordable and has that old baseball magic stadiums used to have. The Bats are actually a farm team for the Cincinnatti Reds – about an hour and a half away. We’ve seen a couple of name players get their start with the bats.
Lou-ah-vul is one of our Favorite Places and not just because our youngest daughter still lives in the area. I’d recommend it if you are looking to visit a little big city. Just be careful when you are driving.
Fourteen years before we retired we moved to the the Greater Louisville, Kentucky area. For most of that time we lived on the Indiana side, but I really like Louisville. The first thing you need to know about Louisville is how to say it. Locals pronounce it this way: Lou – ah – vul. Sometimes you can get by with Louie – ville, but Never Say Lewis – ville.`
Louisville is the perfect half north/half south kind of town. You know you’re in a half/half city because the waitresses ask you if you want your tea “sweet or unsweet”. In the North you only get unsweetened and in the South they assume you mean sweetened tea. But here they ask.
Louisville looks like a modern city in the downtown area and the suburbs. You will also find beautiful old houses on wide streets lined with old trees. Most people are very gracious here with lovely manners.
That is until they get behind the wheel of a vehicle. Then they become very aggressive. At first I thought they were all very rude drivers but they are just aggressive. Very different from the Midwest. I blame it on the road system which was designed by not-very-bright engineers. One particular area near downtown in called Spaghetti Junction. If you look at the roads from up above, it looks like a plate of spaghetti. (See the picture above.) To be in this area during rush hour is to be in a war zone. That’s where they learn that aggression.
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Louisvillians are very serious about their sports. You might know Louisville as the home of Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby. They have horse races there all season long. The real passion comes when you talk basketball. Shortly after we moved her we were in a normally crowded restaurant but there were very few people there. As we sat looking out the window we saw very little traffic. The waitress knew we were not local. She finally let us know that an important college basketball game was on TV right then. It was the University of Louisville playing the University of Kentucky. After awhile we learned that life stops for those important games.
They also love baseball here. They are still making the worlds most famous baseball bats – the Louisville Slugger. Visitors can take a very nice tour. Louisville also has a great minor league baseball team – the Louisville Bats.
They have a beautiful stadium that’s comfortable, affordable and has that old baseball magic stadiums used to have. The Bats are actually a farm team for the Cincinnatti Reds – about an hour and a half away. We’ve seen a couple of name players get their start with the bats.`
Lou-ah-vul is one of our Favorite Places and not just because our youngest daughter still lives in the area. I’d recommend it if you are looking to visit a little big city. Just be careful if you drive.
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Come back next Sunday when I’ll share another of our Favorite Places.
NORTHERN CALLIFORNIA
Thanks for bringing back some memories, as I’ve been through Louisville (pronounced like a native) several times on the way to Lexington. And may I say that I was always glad I wasn’t the one who had to drive!
What a fun post! I didn’t know about the Louisville Bats. I love how different local pronunciations are. We just found out that Prescott (in Arizona) is pronounced PRESS-kit around these parts instead of PRESS-cot. And of course you know all about Wisconsin – the whole state is like that! :–)
I love the photo of the big bat for Louisville Slugger. I had cousins who lived there and I went visiting when I was about 10. Sadly I don’t remember much about the city. Since then, I’ve only driven through. I’ll have to take some time to visit on of these days.
I also love to visit Louisville. I grew up there but moved away 38 years ago. Work has taken me to 14 states in the meantime but Louisville is still my favorite – especially the old neighborhoods. And don’t forget the art, music, and theater. A few years in Atlanta have made me immune to the traffic but I’ve found that once you leave the interstates there is no problem (except for Hurstborne Lane, Louisville’s largest parking lot)
This is a great post. When Vance was playing t-ball Carl went to Louisville on business and was able to tour the factory and get Vance a bat there. The son of a friend of ours went to Louisville for school and he attempted to teach us the correct pronunciation, but I could never get it right. That brings up another funny story – when we lived in lower Alabama, I went to mail something to Louisville, AL and when I pronounced it Louie-ville, the postal worked was quick to tell me it’s pronounced Lewisville. You just can’t win!
You’ll have to forgive me for pronouncing it “Lewis-ville” all through your post. I’ll have to work on remedying that.
I’ve obviously never been there, or I would know how to say it right. It does sound like a nice city.
You make it sound inviting and interesting. I’ve added it to my list of places to visit when we get to the USA. Thanks to Cathy, we will be spending a LONG time in Arizona!
I know I’ve entered the South when the waitress or menu states “Sweet Tea.” And I think all that mispronunciation comes from the media screwing up the name of those bats all these years.
Living here you find that we tend to make fun of the pronunciation of Louisville. We have mugs and shirts with all the pronunciations on Louisville. But Even with the hot muggy summers and the freezing cold winters. I love living here because of the wondrous change of the seasons. I love to see the leaves change in the fall the first brisk bite of winter, the blooms of spring and being able to open your windows after a cold winter and the first warm/hot days of summer. The changes are so noticeable that I would not want to live anywhere that was ALWAYS nice…because you just cant appreciate the changes when it is always nice. lol Just my 2 cents about the Midwest.
My cousin has lived there on and off for about 20 years. I can never get the -vul quite right when I say it! I’ve been there a few times to visit her, but not really explored what the city has to offer. Thanks for letting me know I should
Congratulations, what the right words … great idea
Hello from Russia