VADOULOU

We left Louisville after breakfast & began our journey to Nashville. Again Doug the navigator got us on to the right road despite some road closures in Louisville itself. Off we set on I65 South following this all the way to Nashville. The weather deteriorated very quickly & we had some torrential downpours to negotiate. Visibility was almost zero but American truck drivers must be blessed with better eye sight than us ‘cos they were able to travel in the outside lane way above the speed limit. After a couple of stops & a snack & coffee in The Waffle House (nearly drowned Doug here as I couldn’t find the switch to open the passenger door) we made it to the outskirts of Nashville. It was here that our sat nav lady decided to go in another direction but Doug & Google maps prevailed & we arrived right outside our hotel & quickly abandoned the car. I am in awe of English universities & geography degrees. 

An exhibit in our hotel lobby! 

 

We’ve seen and heard lots of claims of the worlds biggest, greatest etc and this time I’m prepared to believe it! The worlds biggest baseball bat. 

 

        

Firstly, what do forensic engineers, E-type Jaguars and city buses have in common? Well, you hang around for ages and then 2 come along at the same time. We met up with my second cousin Crispin, in Chicago and he’s the first forensic engineer I’ve ever met. And he has a great E-Type Jag. Then we move onto St Louis and meet up with Mark Ezra from Vaour, and hey, he too is a forensic engineer. And guess what, he has an E-type too, although his is currently in pieces! This calls for some further research, I believe. They also, with their respective partners, Cécile and Eliane, make great tour guides. We need to put them in touch.
And the result is that the more that we saw of Chicago and of St Louis, the more that we wanted to see. We could have spent more time everywhere so far, and return trips are likely.
Louisville is definitely different, and we’re beginning to appreciate what people have said about the mid-west. God seems to be everywhere, and she doesn’t seem to be all forgiving! clearly there are lots of Americas inside the USA. 1 in 3 vehicles is a pickup here, and guns aren’t allowed in filling stations and museums. That’s a relief, then.
Moving on to food and drink. There are some great local beers everywhere, proper beers, not lagers. But eating isn’t a family or social occasion, it’s a fuel stop. Plates are removed whilst you’re chewing the last mouthful, if you don’t order more immediately the check is right there, they’re looking to move you on whether there’s anyone else waiting or not. It’s more like filling up with petrol and back on the road.
Speaking of the roads, European road markings, and road and roadside maintenance, are infinitely better. Concrete roads clearly suffer with the winters here, and there is tyre debris all over the roads from lorry tyres blowing out. But the road signage is good, and the grid systems in town do help.
Last night brought home the lip service paid to “service” here. A waiter who had no idea of the draught beers, no idea of the origin of the only bottle of red wine on the list, and had seemingly never heard of sparkling mineral water still indulged in all the “sincere” trappings such as “Hi, I’m X and I’m your server tonight, y’all have a great day, gee where y’all from etc” without any embarrassment at all. Then the check arrives with a suggested tip of 18% or 20%! And really, we’d only gone for the music, and we had to play that game where you listen to the lyrics, which seem really familiar, but not with the tune that was accompanying it! We didn’t stay too long.
But our hotel is excellent and we’re really looking forward to dinner here tonight.
I really enjoyed the visit to the Louisville Sluggers factory and museum for baseball bats. Far more interesting than you might imagine, bit it’s not cricket. Still sport based, but so much more than that, the Muhammad Ali Centre holds its own with the finest interactive museums we’ve ever visited. It would hold its own in a much larger city, and should be much busier than it was. You hope that everyone visiting Louisville gets there.
We’re intending to go to the Martin Luther King Centre in the next few days, and it makes very grim listening. All within our lifetime, and still we see the same attitudes. And all with God and the bible being used to justify the unjustifiable! Sorry, off my soapbox now.
And to round off, we’re really into the music trail now, having been to Chuck Berry’s hangout, and to a biker bar. In the photos I’m attaching, is the biker from the tarn? And why do I feel so at home in Louisville? And is the cyclist cheating, or sensible?
Next stop Nashville!