mini-getaway : bardstown, ky

I remember sitting across from my husband the first night I met him.

We were barely twenty-years-old.  Babies. 

We were both living in St. Paul, Minnesota (my home state.)

He was well-spoken and seemed pretty intelligent, but for some reason when he kept mentioning his hometown it sounded garbled.  Something like "I'm from the city of Blou-bloul."

I was so confused.  He said it various times and I thought I was going crazy.

Turns out he was saying Louisville (Looey-ville, to us northerners.) 

That summer night I never would have dreamt that one day Blou-bloul would be a place I would go on a regular basis.  That Kentucky would become my state.  

That I, too, would pronounce the city in such a way.

While I still feel Minnesotan at heart, I have grown to love things about Kentucky and the South.  I still call soda "pop" and casseroles "hot dishes" -- but I'll now drink sweet tea and bourbon and wear giant hats to certain events throughout the year.  Occasionally I'll throw in a "ya'll" despite still retaining a slight Minnesotan accent.

Anyhow, I've enjoyed getting to know parts of Kentucky, and got to know it a bit more this past weekend.

Since my first trimester had been riddled with constant nausea, I was very excited when Hubby suggested we have a little weekend getaway, now that I was past all that,  just the two of us!  

The kids got to spend a couple days with the grandparents in Louisville, while we drove a little ways farther to the little town of Bardstown - famous for its bourbon festival and many nearby distilleries.  Kentucky, of course, has The Bourbon Trail and this is a popular stop on that.  

No bourbon was to be consumed by us,  considering babe and all, but we strolled the cute town and grabbed a bite to eat at a bustling diner before driving out to our bed and breakfast.

After an hour or so in Bardstown downtown area, we headed out to our B+B, which Hubby had chosen.  I was so excited it was out in the country!  There was something so peaceful about it, and getting out in the fresh farm air made me think of my childhood.   I made us stop on the long driveway so I could take pics of the llamas grazing (or alpaca??? the farm had both.)

You can see our B+B - The Maple Hill Manor - in the distance.  

hubby is not that tall...but these giant doors make everyone look pretty short!

we stayed in what I called "the blue room" - which was calming and lovely. 

we basically kept the fireplace on our entire stay.  sorry, not sorry.

Just enjoying my cozy robe and the fire.  Gotta soak up the little luxuries (like silence) when you can as a mama!

hubby brought me my morning coffee.  so thankful I can stomach black coffee again!

peaceful view from our room.

after all the other guests checked out we got to see all the other rooms - all gorgeous, but this pink one with an extra canopy bed was so bright and girly and sweet.

The breakfast was lovely.  Pretty sure I ate every bit of goodness I was offered.  We were the last to eat...I wanted it to be less "people-y" in the breakfast room and to get to chat with the innkeeper one-on-one to get the history of the place.  Finally, we peeked in all the other rooms and marveled at how beautiful and old the place was.

After we checked out, we went back to Bardstown and toured "My Old Kentucky Home" which is a famous mansion there.  So gorgeous!

Then, back to reality!  It was a quick, mini-getaway, but just what we needed to refresh and reconnect.

If you only had about thirty-six hours for a getaway, where would you go?