Versailles – Riveted

The Versailles Municipal Building and William Shatner

Laura Domela — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 23:45:08 +0000

I forgot this image in the last post about Versailles, KY. The municipal building downtown, with its outdoor weather warning siren on top:

Also, when trying to research this building I didn't find much, but I did learn that a notable resident of Versailles, KY (and Saddlebred owner) is/was William Shatner. Really?

More Horses, Versailles, and a Sad Sad Spartan

Laura Domela — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 21:48:48 +0000

Today was the day to drive around and look at horses and horse stuff. First, I went back over to the gift shop at Buffalo Trace to get a couple of bottle stoppers (like the one in yesterday's post) for my mom. Then, I called to see if I could get a tour of Three Chimneys stallion farm in Versailles but they are not doing tours during the breeding stock sale that's going on right now over at Keeneland Race Course. Here's some info about their stallions and stallion fees. They did tell me I could go over to Keeneland and the sale was open to the public, so I did.

Keeneland is a gorgeous facility. I wandered around a bit and watched the foals and fillies as they were walked and shown (Three Chimneys, below):

Denali Stud showing some of their horses:

The area around here is so beautiful. I drove around for quite a while just enjoying the landscape:

I drove into the town of Midway and checked out the historic downtown area. (Midway was the first town in Kentucky founded by a railroad, and there's a bunch more history here.)

The railroad tracks go right down the middle of the main street so one side of the street is on one side of the tracks, the other side is…um…on the other side of the tracks. Anyway, it's quaint.

I decided to stop and get a bite to eat here at Wallace Station. Cute place, food just okay, but convenient, since it was right there when I got hungry.

Next I headed toward Versailles (pronounced: Versayles…my GPS got it right).

Versailles was founded on June 23, 1792, on 80 acres of land owned by Hezekiah Briscoe, at the time only a child. His guardian, Major Marquis Calmes, named the town after Versailles, France, in honor of General Lafayette, a family friend. The city was officially incorporated on February 13, 1837. It was briefly occupied during the American Civil War by both Confederate and Union forces. (Source)

I wandered up and down the main street and took a few photos.

A yarn-bombed telephone pole:

Little gold horsie in the window:

I stopped and went in this store because of some cool jewelry in the window (still want that necklace) and it was a great little shop with some unique things. 5 Seasons on Main Street in Versailles. Stop in if you're in the area and check it out.

I left with a pair of really cute one-of-a-kind wrist/hand warmers (like long fingerless gloves with thumb holes). I can't seem to get a decent photo of them tonight, so I'll give it a shot tomorrow.

I headed home and saw this poor old Spartan on my way out. Awwww, needs a little lovin' don't you think?

Versailles for Cuban Food

Laura Domela — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 14:34:36 +0000

Yesterday we'd planned to go sailing with Craig, but the weather didn't cooperate. We all did a little work (while the thunder roared) and then headed to Calle Ocho/Little Havana for some Cuban food at Versailles Restaurant. According to their website:

Versailles Restaurant, The World’s Most Famous Cuban Restaurant, has been serving tasty Cuban cuisine and culture to the South Florida community and tourists from around the world for four decades. Soon after it opened its doors in 1971, Versailles quickly became the gathering place and unofficial town square for Miami’s Cuban exiles. Today, it remains the unrelenting gauge of the community’s pulse. Not surprisingly, Versailles is typically the first place politicians visit locally to garner support from the Cuban exile community, and the restaurant is equally a favorite among the media for gathering commentary and footage of the community’s take on social and political issues. It is not uncommon to see local, national and international media set up camp in Versailles’ parking lot, where they’re sure to get a flood of local viewpoints.

Versailles is a cool cross between local hangout and tourist attraction. Food was good (cuban sandwiches, plantain soup, vaca frita, cafe Cubano) but the people-watching and the environment was even better. The restaurant apparently started as a French restaurant (hence the name and extraordinarily non-Cuban ornate decor) but didn't do very well and ended up as a Cuban place instead.